Senate File 369 - Introduced SENATE FILE 369 BY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION (SUCCESSOR TO SSB 1030) A BILL FOR An Act requiring students to pass the United States citizenship 1 and immigration services naturalization civics test as 2 a condition of high school graduation and high school 3 equivalency diplomas. 4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 5 TLSB 1623SV (2) 91 jda/jh
S.F. 369 Section 1. Section 256.9, Code 2025, is amended by adding 1 the following new subsection: 2 NEW SUBSECTION . 69. a. Develop and distribute to school 3 districts, accredited nonpublic schools, charter schools, 4 and innovation zone schools a test that consists of the 5 multiple-choice questions contained in the most recent version 6 of the civics test developed by the United States citizenship 7 and immigration services. 8 b. Update the test described in paragraph a every five 9 years and distribute the updated test to school districts, 10 accredited nonpublic schools, charter schools, and innovation 11 zone schools. 12 Sec. 2. Section 256E.7, subsection 2, Code 2025, is amended 13 by adding the following new paragraph: 14 NEW PARAGRAPH . 0r. Be subject to and comply with the 15 requirements of section 280.9A, subsection lA, related to the 16 administration of a civics test. 17 Sec. 3. Section 256F.4, subsection 2, Code 2025, is amended 18 by adding the following new paragraph: 19 NEW PARAGRAPH . r. Be subject to and comply with the 20 requirements of section 280.9A, subsection lA, related to the 21 administration of a civics test. 22 Sec. 4. Section 259A.1, Code 2025, is amended to read as 23 follows: 24 259A.1 Assessment of competency. 25 The department of education shall cause to be made available 26 for qualified individuals a high school equivalency diploma. 27 The diploma shall be issued on the basis of demonstrated to 28 qualified individuals who successfully pass the civics test as 29 set forth in section 280.9A, and demonstrate competence in all 30 of the following core areas: reading, language arts, literacy, 31 mathematics, science, and social studies. 32 Sec. 5. Section 280.9A, Code 2025, is amended by adding the 33 following new subsection: 34 NEW SUBSECTION . 1A. a. The board of directors of each 35 -1- LSB 1623SV (2) 91 jda/jh 1/ 4
S.F. 369 local public school district and the authorities in charge of 1 each accredited nonpublic school shall administer to students 2 enrolled in grades nine through twelve the most recent version 3 of the test distributed to the school district or accredited 4 nonpublic school by the director of the department of education 5 pursuant to section 256.9, subsection 69, in written or 6 electronic format, and shall ensure that each student receives 7 one passing score on the test as a condition of graduation. 8 The board of directors of a local public school district and 9 the authorities in charge of an accredited nonpublic school 10 shall not be required to administer the test to a student who 11 has received a passing score on the test. 12 b. A student must answer at least sixty percent of the 13 questions on the test described in paragraph a correctly 14 to attain a passing score. A student who fails to answer at 15 least sixty percent of the questions on such test correctly may 16 retake the test as many times as is necessary. 17 c. The board of directors of a local public school district 18 or the authorities in charge of an accredited nonpublic school 19 shall not impose or collect any fee in connection with the 20 administration of the test described in paragraph a . 21 d. The board of directors of a local public school district 22 and the authorities in charge of an accredited nonpublic school 23 may do all of the following: 24 (1) Modify the test described in paragraph a for a student 25 who has an individualized education program or a plan under 26 section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. 794. 27 (2) Develop and administer an alternate test to a student 28 who has a significant intellectual disability. 29 (3) Modify the test described in paragraph a for a student 30 who is an English learner as defined in section 280.4. 31 e. On or before June 30 of each year, the board of directors 32 of each local public school district and the authorities in 33 charge of each accredited nonpublic school shall submit the 34 results of the test described in paragraph a to the department 35 -2- LSB 1623SV (2) 91 jda/jh 2/ 4
S.F. 369 of education. 1 f. The state board of education shall adopt rules pursuant 2 to chapter 17A to administer this subsection. 3 EXPLANATION 4 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 5 the explanations substance by the members of the general assembly. 6 This bill requires the director of the department of 7 education to develop and distribute to school districts, 8 accredited nonpublic schools, charter schools, and innovation 9 zone schools a test that consists of the multiple-choice 10 questions contained in the most recent version of the civics 11 test developed by the United States citizenship and immigration 12 services. The bill also requires the director to update the 13 test every five years and distribute the updated test to 14 schools. 15 The bill requires the board of directors of each public 16 school district, the authorities in charge of each nonpublic 17 school, and the governing board of each charter school and 18 innovation zone school to administer to students enrolled 19 in grades 9 through 12 the most recent version of the test 20 distributed by the director of the department of education. A 21 student must receive a passing score on the test as a condition 22 of graduation. A student must answer at least 60 percent 23 of the questions on the test correctly to attain a passing 24 score. A student who fails to answer at least 60 percent 25 of the questions on the test correctly may retake the test 26 as many times as is necessary. The bill prohibits schools 27 from imposing or collecting any fee in connection with the 28 administration of the test. A school may modify the test 29 for a student who has an individualized education program or 30 a section 504 plan, develop and administer an alternate test 31 to a student who has a significant intellectual disability, 32 and modify the test for a student who is an English learner. 33 The bill requires schools to submit the test results to the 34 department of education annually. The bill also requires the 35 -3- LSB 1623SV (2) 91 jda/jh 3/ 4
S.F. 369 state board of education to adopt rules to administer these 1 provisions. The bill provides that individuals seeking a high 2 school equivalency diploma must also pass such a test. 3 -4- LSB 1623SV (2) 91 jda/jh 4/ 4