Civics Learning Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 400 To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to increase civics education programs, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 21, 2021 Mr. HASTINGS (for himself, Mr. AGUILAR, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. CAR- SON, Mr. CASTEN, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. CRIST, Ms. DEAN, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. DEUTCH, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. HIMES, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. KEATING, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Ms. KUSTER, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. MENG, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mrs. MURPHY of Florida, Mr. RASKIN, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Ms. SA´NCHEZ, Ms. SCAN- LON, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SIRES, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. WILD, and Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia) intro- duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Edu- cation and Labor A BILL To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to increase civics education programs, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:51 Feb 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H400.IH H400 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 400 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Civics Learning Act 2 of 2021’’. 3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 4 Congress finds the following: 5 (1) The dearth of civics lessons available to stu- 6 dents across the United States has helped to foster 7 a political climate that is deeply partisan and di- 8 vided. 9 (2) Polarized party politics in the United States 10 has fractured public morale in our institutions and 11 has created an environment in which people are less 12 likely to be well-informed on the current state of af- 13 fairs and to participate in the political process. 14 (3) According to the Annenberg Constitution 15 Day Civics Survey conducted by the Annenberg Pub- 16 lic Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania— 17 (A) in 2018, only 32 percent of people in 18 the United States surveyed were capable of 19 naming all 3 branches of Government, while 33 20 percent of Americans were not able to name 21 any of the branches of government; 22 (B) in 2018, 30 percent of people in the 23 United States surveyed knew that the Senate is 24 in charge of Supreme Court nominee confirma- 25 tions; and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:51 Feb 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H400.IH H400 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 400 IH (C) in 2017, 37 percent could not name 1 any of the rights guaranteed under the First 2 Amendment. 3 (4) In 2014, only 23 percent of eighth graders 4 were found to have performed at or above the pro- 5 ficient level on the National Assessment of Edu- 6 cational Progress civics exam conducted by the Na- 7 tional Center of Education Studies. 8 (5) A lack of knowledge on the basics of the 9 structure of our democratic republic creates an in- 10 creasingly ill-prepared electorate which over time 11 has, and will continue to, contribute to a weakened 12 democracy. 13 SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE ELEMENTARY AND SEC- 14 ONDARY EDUCATION ACT OF 1965. 15 Section 2233 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu- 16 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6663) is amended— 17 (1) in subsection (a)— 18 (A) by inserting ‘‘and prioritize innovative 19 civics learning and teaching, including by en- 20 couraging’’ after ‘‘to encourage’’; and 21 (B) by inserting ‘‘(including students and 22 teachers at high-need schools (as defined in sec- 23 tion 2221))’’ before the period; 24 (2) in subsection (b)— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:51 Feb 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H400.IH H400 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 400 IH (A) by inserting ‘‘and appropriated under 1 subsection (h) of this section’’ after 2 ‘‘2231(b)(2)’’; and 3 (B) by striking paragraph (2) and insert- 4 ing the following: 5 ‘‘(2) may include— 6 ‘‘(A) hands-on civic engagement activities 7 for teachers and students; 8 ‘‘(B) activities about the history and prin- 9 ciples of the Constitution of the United States, 10 including the Bill of Rights; 11 ‘‘(C) before-school, during-school, after- 12 school, and extracurricular activities; 13 ‘‘(D) activities that include service learning 14 and community service projects that are linked 15 to school curriculum; 16 ‘‘(E) activities that encourage and support 17 student participation in school governance; and 18 ‘‘(F) online and video game based learn- 19 ing.’’; 20 (3) in subsection (c), by striking paragraph (3) 21 and inserting the following: 22 ‘‘(3) DIVERSITY OF PROJECTS.— 23 ‘‘(A) DIVERSITY OF GRANTS.—In awarding 24 grants under this section, the Secretary shall 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:51 Feb 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H400.IH H400 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 400 IH ensure that, to the extent practicable, grants 1 are distributed among eligible entities that will 2 serve geographically diverse areas, including 3 urban, suburban, and rural areas, and public el- 4 ementary schools. 5 ‘‘(B) ALLOCATION OF GRANT FUNDING.— 6 To the extent practicable based on the applica- 7 tions received under subsection (d), the Sec- 8 retary shall ensure that— 9 ‘‘(i) not less than 30 percent of the 10 grant funds under this section are awarded 11 to eligible entities that serve elementary 12 school students and teachers; 13 ‘‘(ii) not less than 30 percent of the 14 grant funds under this section are awarded 15 to eligible entities that serve middle school 16 students and teachers; and 17 ‘‘(iii) not more than 40 percent of the 18 grant funds under this section are awarded 19 to eligible entities that serve high school 20 students and teachers.’’; 21 (4) in subsection (d), by inserting ‘‘, and con- 22 taining such information,’’ after ‘‘manner’’; and 23 (5) by adding at the end the following: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:51 Feb 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H400.IH H400 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 400 IH ‘‘(f) GRANT AWARD PREFERENCE.—In awarding 1 grants under this section, the Secretary shall give pref- 2 erence to applications for programs that carry out the ac- 3 tivities listed in subsection (b)(2) for the purpose of 4 strengthening civics education and learning. 5 ‘‘(g) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after 6 the end of each fiscal year, the Secretary shall submit to 7 the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of 8 Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, 9 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate a report containing— 10 ‘‘(1) a description of each eligible entity award- 11 ed a grant under this section during the preceding 12 fiscal year; 13 ‘‘(2) a description of whether each such eligible 14 entity was able to met each of the purposes under 15 subsection (a), and if so, how such eligible entity 16 was able to meet such purposes; and 17 ‘‘(3) any recommendations for continuation of 18 the grant program under this section. 19 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In ad- 20 dition to the amounts reserved under section 2231(b)(2), 21 there are authorized to be appropriated $30,000,000 to 22 carry out this section for fiscal year 2022.’’. 23 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:51 Feb 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H400.IH H400 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS