Iowa high schoolers would have to take two semesters of U.S. government rather than just one to qualify for graduation under a bill that’s cleared a House subcommittee.
Representative Bob Henderson, a Republican from Sioux City who’s a retired educator, said public education was established in the U.S. to produce engaged and well-educated citizens. “Because we are a citizen-led government, as opposed to being a government-led citizenry and so our citizens really do need to have a firm understanding of not only in terms of how the government runs, but also in terms of all kinds of things,” Henderson said.
Representative Steven Bradley, a Republican from Cascade, said he hopes the extra semester of government will make a big difference. “When I go and talk to high school kids, I end up explaining everything about our government, about civics,” Bradley said, “and they don’t know anything. They don’t know a lot.”
University of Iowa law professor Josephine Gittler, founder of the Alliance for Civic Education of Iowa, said recent national assessments show 88% of eighth graders didn’t know enough about civics to be considered proficient. “We feel that everything that can be done should be done to ensure that our young American citizens in K-12 public and private schools have the instruction they need to be informed and responsible citizens,” Gittler said.
If the bill becomes law, the requirement would go into effect, starting in the fall of 2028. Margaret Buckton, a lobbyist for the Urban Education Network and Rural School Advocates of Iowa, said most students take government in their junior or senior year, however other students take it earlier because they’re aiming for internships or taking commuity college classes in their last two years of high school.
“I’m wondering if we could have just a transition phase in there that says if a student has already completed the first unit before the implementation deadline, that it wouldn’t apply to them to graduate,” Buckton said, “because otherwise they’re going to have to rethink their plans and maybe not take advantage of a course that if they’re studying computer science, they may not be able to take what they thought their vocation and their future held for them.” Buckton told lawmakers the extra semester of American government would help prepare high schoolers to pass the new civics test that’s required for graduation.
