Bill Description: House Bill 397 would replace the current civics test requirement derived from the 2008 naturalization test with a new test developed by the department of education and written in conjunction with the Idaho social studies content standards.

Bill Rating: +2

Does it in any way restrict public access to information related to government activity or otherwise compromise government transparency, accountability, or election integrity? Conversely, does it increase public access to information related to government activity or increase government transparency, accountability, or election integrity?

House Bill 397 transfers the primary responsibility of developing and administering the civics test from individual school districts to the state department of education (SDE). Currently, school districts are not required to report the results of the civics assessment to the SDE and many of them do not compile aggregate data on the results at all. With this change, the SDE will be better positioned to collect performance data on civic literacy, improving accountability in our public education system. 

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Does it promote the breakdown of the traditional family or the deconstruction of societal norms? Examples include promoting or incentivizing degeneracy, violating parental rights, and compromising the innocence of children. Conversely, does it protect or uphold the structure, tenets, and traditional values of Western society?

The first and primary purpose of education in a republic is to “instruct the mass of our citizens in…their rights, interests and duties, as men and citizens” (Thomas Jefferson, Rockfish Gap Report, 1818). Over the past several decades, however, this function of our public education system has been relegated to a secondary concern behind “workforce development.” As a result, our nation is now facing a crisis of civic illiteracy. A recent survey of over 3,000 college and university students conducted by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, found that only 36 percent of students correctly identified Article I of the Constitution as outlining the powers of the Legislative branch. The preservation of our republican form of government depends upon reorienting our public education system back to its primary purpose, forming citizens capable of self-government.

House Bill 397 helps achieve this end by reforming the civics test. Among the topics students will be tested on are: 

• “The influence of the history of Western civilization on the founding of the American republic, including Greek democracy, Roman republicanism, and the English political and legal tradition;
• The arguments presented in the declaration of independence;
• The governing principles at the foundation of the United States constitution, including popular sovereignty, rule of law, federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances, judicial review, and majority rule and protection of minority rights;
• The role of the bill of rights in limiting the powers of government and protecting individual rights;”

In doing so, House Bill 397 will help ensure that students who graduate high school have a sufficient knowledge of our government's fundamental principles.

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