Civics Learning Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 849 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 29, 2019 Mr. HASTINGS (for himself, Mr. WOODALL, Mr. NADLER, Mr. COHEN, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. OMAR, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mr. SOTO, Mr. HARDER of California, Ms. NORTON, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. WILD, Mrs. HAYES, and Ms. CLARKE of New York) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Education 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 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Civics Learning Act 4 of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:19 Feb 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H849.IH H849 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 849 IH (1) The dearth of civics lessons available to stu- 1 dents across the United States has helped to foster 2 a political climate that is deeply partisan and di- 3 vided. 4 (2) Polarized party politics in the United States 5 has fractured public morale in our institutions and 6 has created an environment in which people are less 7 likely to be well-informed on the current state of af- 8 fairs and to participate in the political process. 9 (3) According to the Annenberg Constitution 10 Day Civics Survey conducted by the Annenberg Pub- 11 lic Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania— 12 (A) in 2018, only 32 percent of people in 13 the United States surveyed were capable of 14 naming all 3 branches of Government, while 33 15 percent of Americans were not able to name 16 any of the branches of government; 17 (B) in 2018, 30 percent of people in the 18 United States surveyed knew that the Senate is 19 in charge of Supreme Court nominee confirma- 20 tions; and 21 (C) in 2017, 37 percent could not name 22 any of the rights guaranteed under the First 23 Amendment. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:19 Feb 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H849.IH H849 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 849 IH (4) In 2014, only 23 percent of eighth graders 1 were found to have performed at or above the pro- 2 ficient level on the National Assessment of Edu- 3 cational Progress civics exam conducted by the Na- 4 tional Center of Education Studies. 5 (5) A lack of knowledge on the basics of the 6 structure of our democratic republic creates an in- 7 creasingly ill-prepared electorate which overtime has, 8 and will continue to, contribute to a weakened de- 9 mocracy. 10 SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE ELEMENTARY AND SEC- 11 ONDARY EDUCATION ACT OF 1965. 12 Section 2233 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu- 13 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6663) is amended— 14 (1) in subsection (a)— 15 (A) by inserting ‘‘and prioritize innovative 16 civics learning and teaching, including by en- 17 couraging’’ after ‘‘to encourage’’; and 18 (B) by inserting ‘‘(including students and 19 teachers at high-need schools (as defined in sec- 20 tion 2221))’’ before the period; 21 (2) in subsection (b)— 22 (A) by inserting ‘‘and appropriated under 23 subsection (h) of this section’’ after 24 ‘‘2231(b)(2)’’; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:19 Feb 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H849.IH H849 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 849 IH (B) by striking paragraph (2) and insert- 1 ing the following: 2 ‘‘(2) may include— 3 ‘‘(A) hands-on civic engagement activities 4 for teachers and students; 5 ‘‘(B) activities about the history and prin- 6 ciples of the Constitution of the United States, 7 including the Bill of Rights; 8 ‘‘(C) before-school, during-school, after- 9 school, and extracurricular activities; 10 ‘‘(D) activities that include service learning 11 and community service projects that are linked 12 to school curriculum; 13 ‘‘(E) activities that encourage and support 14 student participation in school governance; and 15 ‘‘(F) online and video game based learn- 16 ing.’’; 17 (3) in subsection (c), by striking paragraph (3) 18 and inserting the following: 19 ‘‘(3) DIVERSITY OF PROJECTS.— 20 ‘‘(A) DIVERSITY OF GRANTS.—In awarding 21 grants under this section, the Secretary shall 22 ensure that, to the extent practicable, grants 23 are distributed among eligible entities that will 24 serve geographically diverse areas, including 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:19 Feb 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H849.IH H849 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 849 IH urban, suburban, and rural areas, and public el- 1 ementary schools. 2 ‘‘(B) ALLOCATION OF GRANT FUNDING.— 3 To the extent practicable based on the applica- 4 tions received under subsection (d), the Sec- 5 retary shall ensure that— 6 ‘‘(i) not less than 30 percent of the 7 grant funds under this section are awarded 8 to eligible entities that serve elementary 9 school students and teachers; 10 ‘‘(ii) not less than 30 percent of the 11 grant funds under this section are awarded 12 to eligible entities that serve middle school 13 students and teachers; and 14 ‘‘(iii) not more than 40 percent of the 15 grant funds under this section are awarded 16 to eligible entities that serve high school 17 students and teachers.’’; 18 (4) in subsection (d), by inserting ‘‘, and con- 19 taining such information,’’ after ‘‘manner’’; and 20 (5) by adding at the end the following: 21 ‘‘(f) GRANT AWARD PREFERENCE.—In awarding 22 grants under this section, the Secretary shall give pref- 23 erence to applications for programs that carry out the ac- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:19 Feb 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H849.IH H849 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 849 IH tivities listed in subsection (b)(2) for the purpose of 1 strengthening civics education and learning. 2 ‘‘(g) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after 3 the end of each fiscal year, the Secretary shall submit to 4 the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of 5 Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, 6 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate a report containing— 7 ‘‘(1) a description of each eligible entity award- 8 ed a grant under this section during the preceding 9 fiscal year; 10 ‘‘(2) a description of whether each such eligible 11 entity was able to met each of the purposes under 12 subsection (a), and if so, how such eligible entity 13 was able to meet such purposes; and 14 ‘‘(3) any recommendations for continuation of 15 the grant program under this section. 16 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In ad- 17 dition to the amounts reserved under section 2231(b)(2), 18 there are authorized to be appropriated $30,000,000 to 19 carry out this section for fiscal year 2020.’’. 20 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:08 Feb 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H849.IH H849 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS