Assembly Bill 4 mandates that starting in the 2027-28 school year, all school boards, independent charter schools, and private schools participating in a parental choice program must incorporate civics education into their curricula. This instruction will cover essential topics such as the rights and responsibilities of citizens, civic engagement, advocacy processes, and comparisons of different governing philosophies. Additionally, these educational institutions will be required to report annually to the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) on how they are fulfilling this civics instruction requirement, which DPI will compile and submit to the legislature.

The bill also modifies existing graduation requirements by specifying that students must earn at least 0.5 credits in civics as part of their social studies credits, which will first apply to students graduating in the 2030-31 school year. The bill includes amendments to various sections of the statutes, such as adding new requirements for charter and private schools to include civics education and report on their compliance. The effective date for the act is set for July 1, 2026.

Statutes affected:
Bill Text: 118.165(1)(d), 118.165, 118.33(1)(a)1.b, 118.33