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| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 385 FILED ON: 1/8/2025 |
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| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 603 |
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| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
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| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
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| 7 | 7 | | Tara T. Hong |
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| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
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| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
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| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
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| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
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| 12 | 12 | | An Act relative to enhancing civic education in Massachusetts public schools. |
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| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
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| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Tara T. Hong18th Middlesex1/8/2025Colleen M. Garry36th Middlesex3/9/2025Samantha Montaño15th Suffolk3/5/2025 1 of 3 |
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| 16 | 16 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 385 FILED ON: 1/8/2025 |
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| 17 | 17 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 603 |
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| 18 | 18 | | By Representative Hong of Lowell, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 603) of Tara T. |
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| 19 | 19 | | Hong, Colleen M. Garry and Samantha Montaño relative to civic education in public schools. |
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| 20 | 20 | | Education. |
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| 21 | 21 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 22 | 22 | | _______________ |
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| 23 | 23 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court |
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| 24 | 24 | | (2025-2026) |
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| 25 | 25 | | _______________ |
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| 26 | 26 | | An Act relative to enhancing civic education in Massachusetts public schools. |
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| 27 | 27 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 28 | 28 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 29 | 29 | | 1 SECTION 1. The fifteenth paragraph of section 1I of chapter 69 of the General Laws, as |
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| 30 | 30 | | 2appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out clauses (l) and (m) and |
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| 31 | 31 | | 3inserting in place thereof the following 3 clauses:- |
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| 32 | 32 | | 4 (l) nutrition and wellness programs; |
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| 33 | 33 | | 5 (m) genocide education programs; and |
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| 34 | 34 | | 6 (n) civic education. |
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| 35 | 35 | | 7 SECTION 2. Section 2 of chapter 71 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby |
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| 36 | 36 | | 8amended by adding the following subsection:- |
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| 37 | 37 | | 9 (e)(1) Subject to appropriation, all public high schools shall require students to complete |
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| 38 | 38 | | 101 semester of the subject of civic education as a graduation requirement. The department shall |
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| 39 | 39 | | 11establish a process for setting curriculum standards for the subject of civic education that will 2 of 3 |
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| 40 | 40 | | 12incorporate: (i) the principles and structure of the federal government of the United States and |
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| 41 | 41 | | 13the government of the commonwealth; (ii) the rights and responsibilities of United States |
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| 42 | 42 | | 14citizens, including the importance of voting and civic participation; (iii) the history and role of |
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| 43 | 43 | | 15civic movements in the commonwealth and the United States; and (iv) opportunities for students |
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| 44 | 44 | | 16to engage in community-based projects or civic activities. |
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| 45 | 45 | | 17 (2) The curriculum standards for the subject of civic education established by the |
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| 46 | 46 | | 18department shall include: (i) a standardized civic education curriculum to be implemented across |
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| 47 | 47 | | 19public high schools that is developed and approved by the department; (ii) an inclusive |
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| 48 | 48 | | 20curriculum that reflects the diverse histories and contributions of all communities in the |
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| 49 | 49 | | 21commonwealth and in the United States; and (iii) guidance and resources provided by the |
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| 50 | 50 | | 22department to public high schools to effectively implement the curriculum. |
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| 51 | 51 | | 23 (3). The department shall work with public high schools and the high school voter |
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| 52 | 52 | | 24challenge program established in section 26A of chapter 51 to encourage and facilitate voter |
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| 53 | 53 | | 25registration for eligible students by: (i) providing information on voter registration and election |
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| 54 | 54 | | 26participation to students; (ii) hosting voter registration drives on public high school campuses in |
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| 55 | 55 | | 27collaboration with local election offices; and (iii) creating opportunities for students to |
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| 56 | 56 | | 28participate in local civic and community engagement activities. |
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| 57 | 57 | | 29 (4) The department shall publish the curriculum and implementation guidelines no later |
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| 58 | 58 | | 30than 5 months before the start of each school year. |
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| 59 | 59 | | 31 (5) The department shall prepare an annual report that includes, but is not limited to: |
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| 60 | 60 | | 32 (i) the progress and outcomes of the civic education requirement; (ii) student engagement |
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| 61 | 61 | | 33metrics; and (iii) the overall curriculum effectiveness. The department shall submit the annual 3 of 3 |
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| 62 | 62 | | 34report to the governor, the chairs of the joint committee on education and the offices of the house |
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| 63 | 63 | | 35and senate clerk. |
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| 64 | 64 | | 36 SECTION 3. Section 2 shall take effect for the school year beginning after July 1, 2026. |
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