Civics Secures Democracy Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1814 To authorize the Secretary of Education to make grants to support educational programs in civics and history, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 11, 2021 Ms. DELAURO (for herself, Mr. COLE, and Mr. BLUMENAUER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To authorize the Secretary of Education to make grants to support educational programs in civics and history, 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 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Civics Secures Democ- 4 racy Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. PURPOSES; RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 6 (a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 7 (1) to support local educational agencies, ele- 8 mentary schools, and secondary schools in selecting 9 and making available to all students innovative, en- 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:21 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1814.IH H1814 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1814 IH gaging curricula and programs in civics and history 1 that prepare them to understand American Govern- 2 ment and engage in American democratic practices 3 as citizens and residents of the United States; 4 (2) to provide resources to institutions of higher 5 education for the purposes of offering effective pro- 6 fessional development opportunities to enable and 7 encourage teachers to deliver instruction that en- 8 gages students in learning civics and history; 9 (3) to provide resources to nonprofit organiza- 10 tions that have developed, or are developing, pro- 11 grams in civic education that incorporate practices 12 that are proven to be effective in engaging students, 13 and to assist in making such curricula and programs 14 more widely available to schools and students, par- 15 ticularly in rural and inner-city urban areas that 16 have traditionally been underserved by civic learning 17 programs; 18 (4) to provide resources to continue and expand 19 research into practices, methods, and approaches 20 that are effective in instructing elementary and sec- 21 ondary school students in civics and history; and 22 (5) to diversify the civics, history, and govern- 23 ment education workforce by offering targeted incen- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:21 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1814.IH H1814 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1814 IH tives and honoring those who commit to the profes- 1 sion; 2 (6) to encourage participation in the National 3 Assessment of Educational Progress assessments in 4 civics and history in grades 4, 8, and 12, using a 5 methodology sufficient to provide accurate State- 6 level data on student proficiency in civics and history 7 disaggregated so as to have statistical significance 8 for every State; 9 (7) to reauthorize and modernize the existing 10 Federal civics education grant program for institu- 11 tions of higher education, including by strengthening 12 academic independence and supporting partnerships 13 between academic centers and local educational 14 agencies; and 15 (8) to strengthen and make independently sus- 16 tainable the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Founda- 17 tion Trust Fund and the James Madison Memorial 18 Fellowship Trust Fund, which respectively support 19 exceptional Americans who aspire to careers in pub- 20 lic service and as secondary school history, govern- 21 ment, and civics educators. 22 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 23 shall be construed to authorize the Secretary of Education 24 to prescribe a civics and history curriculum. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:21 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1814.IH H1814 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1814 IH TITLE I—GRANT PROGRAM 1 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 2 In this Act: 3 (1) The term ‘‘civics’’, when used with respect 4 to an educational program, means a program that 5 addresses the following: 6 (A) Acquisition of civic knowledge, includ- 7 ing an understanding of the history, heritage, 8 civic life, and civic institutions of the United 9 States. 10 (B) Acquisition of civic skills, such as the 11 ability to analyze text and determine the reli- 12 ability of sources and an understanding of the 13 ways in which civic institutions operate and how 14 individuals may be involved in civic life. 15 (C) Acquisition of civic dispositions, values 16 such as appreciation for free speech, civil dis- 17 course, tolerance and inclusion, and under- 18 standing perspectives that differ from one’s own 19 as well as a disposition to be civically engaged. 20 (D) Development of civic behaviors, includ- 21 ing civic habits and practices such as voting, 22 serving on juries, engagement in deliberative 23 discussions, volunteering, attending public 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:21 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1814.IH H1814 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1814 IH meetings, and other activities related to civic 1 life. 2 (2) The term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means— 3 (A) with respect to grant program under 4 section 103, a State; 5 (B) with respect to the grant program 6 under section 104, a qualified nonprofit organi- 7 zation; 8 (C) with respect to the grant program 9 under section 105, an institution of higher edu- 10 cation; and 11 (D) with respect to the grant program 12 under section 106, a qualified researcher. 13 (3) The term ‘‘evidence-based practices’’ means 14 practices proven to contribute to the effectiveness of 15 educational programs in civics, including— 16 (A) innovative and engaging classroom in- 17 struction in civics, Government, and history; 18 (B) service learning and student civic 19 projects linked to classroom learning; 20 (C) learning through participation in mod- 21 els and simulations of democratic processes and 22 experiential learning; 23 (D) guided classroom discussion of current 24 issues and events; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:21 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1814.IH H1814 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1814 IH (E) meaningful participation in school gov- 1 ernance; and 2 (F) instruction in media literacy. 3 (4) The term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ 4 has the meaning given that term in section 101 of 5 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6 1001). 7 (5) The term ‘‘National Assessment of Edu- 8 cational Progress’’ means the National Assessment 9 of Educational Progress carried out under section 10 303(b) of the National Assessment of Educational 11 Progress Authorization Act (20 U.S.C. 9622(b)). 12 (6) The term ‘‘qualified nonprofit organization’’ 13 means an organization that— 14 (A) is described in section 501(c)(3) of the 15 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and which is ex- 16 empt from taxation under section 501(a) of 17 such Code; and 18 (B) has experience developing curricula, in- 19 structional models, and other educational pro- 20 grams for students in elementary schools and 21 secondary schools. 22 (7) The term ‘‘qualified researcher’’ means— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:21 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1814.IH H1814 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1814 IH (A) a nonprofit organization that has abil- 1 ity and capacity to carry out scientifically valid 2 research; or 3 (B) an individual affiliated with such an 4 organization. 5 (8) The terms ‘‘English learner’’, ‘‘elementary 6 school’’, ‘‘local educational agency’’, ‘‘secondary 7 school’’, and ‘‘State’’ have the meanings given those 8 terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec- 9 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 10 SEC. 102. GENERAL PROVISIONS. 11 (a) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made available 12 under section 107 the Secretary of Education is author- 13 ized to carry out the civics education grant programs de- 14 scribed in sections 103 through 106. 15 (b) APPLICATION.—To be considered for a grant 16 under this Act, an eligible entity shall submit to the Sec- 17 retary of Education an application at such time, in such 18 manner, and containing such information as the Secretary 19 may require. 20 (c) GRANT DURATION.—Each grant under this Act 21 shall be awarded for a period of not less than 3 years. 22 (d) PRIORITY.—Except as otherwise provided in this 23 Act, the Secretary shall prioritize the award of grants to 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:21 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1814.IH H1814 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1814 IH eligible entities that demonstrate the greatest potential 1 to— 2 (1) improve knowledge and engagement among 3 students traditionally underserved by comprehensive 4 civic education and American history programs, in- 5 cluding rural and inner-city urban students, English 6 learners, students who have not completed high 7 school, and other such students; 8 (2) close gaps in civic knowledge and achieve- 9 ment among students of different income levels, ra- 10 cial and ethnic groups, and native languages; 11 (3) improve performance on the National As- 12 sessment of Educational Progress assessments in 13 civics and history among students in grades 4, 8, 14 and 12; 15 (4) integrate evidence-based practices for pro- 16 moting student proficiency and engagement in civics; 17 and 18 (5) provide cost-effective, scalable delivery of 19 programs and services. 20 SEC. 103. GRANTS TO STATES. 21 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of Edu- 22 cation is authorized to make grants to States, on a com- 23 petitive basis, to support educational programs in civics 24 and history in accordance with this section. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:21 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1814.IH H1814 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1814 IH (b) GRANT AMOUNT.—The amount of each grant to 1 a State under this section shall be proportional to the 2 amount received by all local educational agencies in the 3 State under part A of title I of the Elementary and Sec- 4 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) 5 for the previous fiscal year relative to the total such 6 amount received by all local educational agencies in every 7 State that receives a grant under this section. 8 (c) STATE RESERVATION.—A State that receives a 9 grant under this section may reserve not more than 5 per- 10 cent of the amount of the grant for— 11 (1) administrative costs of carrying out the 12 State’s responsibilities under this section; and 13 (2) monitoring and evaluating programs and 14 activities supported with the grant. 15 (d) SUBGRANTS TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN- 16 CIES.—A State that receives a grant under this section 17 shall use not less than 95 percent of the amount of the 18 grant to make subgrants, on a competitive or formula 19 basis, to local educational agencies within the State to as- 20 sist such agencies in carrying out programs to improve 21 the achievement of elementary and secondary school stu- 22 dents in the fields of civics and history. 23 (e) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—A State shall use 24 a grant under this section only to supplement the level 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:21 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1814.IH H1814 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1814 IH of Federal, State, and local public funds that would, in 1 absence of such grant, be made available for the activities 2 supported by the grant, and not to supplant such funds. 3 (f) CONTENTS OF APPLICATION.—As part of the ap- 4 plication required under section 102(b), a State shall in- 5 clude a plan describing how the State intends to use the 6 grant under this section. Each State plan shall include, 7 at a minimum, the following: 8 (1) An explanation of how the State will use the 9 grant to supplement, and not supplant, other public 10 funds provided for educational programs in civics 11 and history. 12 (2) Plans to address civics and history achieve- 13 ment gaps among students of different income lev- 14 els, racial and ethnic backgrounds, and native lan- 15 guages. 16 (3) Plans to improve civics and history achieve- 17 ment among traditionally underserved students, in- 18 cluding rural and urban students and English learn- 19 ers. 20 (4) Plans for making subgrants to local edu- 21 cational agencies as required under subsection (d), 22 including— 23 (A) details of how the State intends to dis- 24 tribute funding to local educational agencies, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:21 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1814.IH H1814 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 1814 IH whether by competition or through a formula- 1 based system; 2 (B) how the State’s approach to distrib- 3 uting funds to local educational agencies will 4 take into account requirements of paragraphs 5 (1) through (3); 6 (C) criteria by which local educational 7 agencies’ applications for funding will be evalu- 8 ated, including how such applications will take 9 into account the requirements of paragraphs 10 (1) through (3); 11 (D) how the State will ensure that local 12 educational agencies will use grant funds to 13 supplement, and not supplant, other public 14 funding for educational programs in civics and 15 history; and 16 (E) how the State will evaluate and hold 17 local educational agencies accountable for im- 18 proved student knowledge and achievement in 19 civics and history. 20 (5) An assurance that the State will participate 21 in the National Assessment of Educational Progress 22 assessments in civics and history in grades 4, 8, and 23 12. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:21 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1814.IH H1814 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 1814 IH (6) In the case of a State applying to renew a 1 grant previously received under this section, an eval- 2 uation of the effectiveness of the activities carried 3 out using the previous grant, which shall be based 4 on the results of the most recent National Assess- 5 ment of Educational Progress assessment in civics 6 and history, to the extent the results of such assess- 7 ment are available at the time of the State’s applica- 8 tion. 9 SEC. 104. GRANTS TO NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS. 10 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of Edu- 11 cation is authorized to make grants to qualified nonprofit 12 organizations, on a competitive basis, to assist such orga- 13 nizations in developing or expanding access to evidence- 14 based curricula, instructional models, and other edu- 15 cational programs to enhance student [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]