“A bill to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to expand the American history and civics education activities.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section provides a mandatory appropriation of $40 million for each fiscal year for the American history and civics education program to improve the quality of such education and teaching in elementary and secondary schools (previously funded from amounts reserved under ESEA §2201(3)). It revises the funding allotment—requiring at least 26% for activities under §2232 and up to 74% for activities under §2233—to apply to the appropriated amounts and strikes the prior reservation in §2201(3) with conforming amendments.
This section revises permissible activities under the American history and civics education grants program (20 U.S.C. 6663(b)(2))—which supports competitive grants to eligible entities for innovative, evidence-based instruction and professional development in those subjects, especially benefiting low-income students and underserved populations—by requiring that such activities occur during before-school, during-school, or after-school programs and expanding the illustrative list from two general items to 12 specific ones, including (1) mock elections, model congresses, or other simulated democratic processes; (2) discussions on how underrepresented Americans increased democratic participation; (3) service learning and community-service projects linked to curriculum; (4) travel to government seats or historical sites; (5) meetings with community organizations and elected officials; (6) student participation in school governance and journalism; (7) student reporting on local events; (8) media literacy programs addressing social media and sources; (9) training in respectful debate and problem-solving; (10) voter registration and civic participation support; and (11) online and video game-based learning.
This section expands the examples of government education activities under well-rounded education programs—available to local educational agencies receiving formula grants under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965—to expressly include 12 specified activities, such as (1) hands-on civic engagement like mock elections and model congresses; (2) instruction on the history and principles of the Constitution and Bill of Rights; (3) service learning and community-service projects linked to curriculum; (4) travel to the District of Columbia, state capitals, or historical sites; (5) media literacy programs to evaluate sources and social media; (6) training in respectful debate and shared problem-solving; and (7) support for voter registration, civic participation, and online or video game-based learning.