Bill > S215

This bill aims to promote and enhance civic engagement in Massachusetts. It does this in several ways: 1. It requires all public elementary and high schools to teach American history, civics, the U.S. Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and Bill of Rights, as well as the Massachusetts Constitution and local government. This is intended to promote civic knowledge and the duties of citizenship. 2. It establishes the Civics Project Fund, which will be used by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to develop standards, models, professional development, and progress monitoring for student-led civics projects. These projects, required for graduation, are intended to engage students in investigating policy issues, researching them, and taking action to influence those issues. 3. It creates regional civics councils to monitor civics education implementation, with student representation, and an annual statewide civics symposium for top-scoring students on a citizenship test. 4. It establishes the High School Voter Challenge, where schools will designate student voter outreach coordinators to register and pre-register eligible students during two-week periods in the spring and fall. The bill aims to strengthen civic education and engagement among youth in Massachusetts.

Education

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/190/S215