House File 880 - Introduced
HOUSE FILE 880
BY GAINES
A BILL FOR
1 An Act requiring school districts and accredited nonpublic
2 schools to offer and teach one unit of African American
3 history in grades nine through twelve.
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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1 Section 1. Section 256.11, subsection 5, paragraph b, Code
2 2021, is amended to read as follows:
3 b. Five units of the social studies including instruction
4 in voting statutes and procedures, voter registration
5 requirements, the use of paper ballots and voting systems in
6 the election process, and the method of acquiring and casting
7 an absentee ballot. One unit of African American history
8 shall also be included. All students shall complete a minimum
9 of one-half unit of United States government and one unit of
10 United States history. The one-half unit of United States
11 government shall include the voting procedure as described in
12 this lettered paragraph and section 280.9A. The government
13 instruction shall also include a study of the Constitution
14 of the United States and the Bill of Rights contained in the
15 Constitution and an assessment of a student’s knowledge of the
16 Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
17 Sec. 2. STATE MANDATE FUNDING SPECIFIED. In accordance
18 with section 25B.2, subsection 3, the state cost of requiring
19 compliance with any state mandate included in this Act shall
20 be paid by a school district from state school foundation aid
21 received by the school district under section 257.16. This
22 specification of the payment of the state cost shall be deemed
23 to meet all of the state funding-related requirements of
24 section 25B.2, subsection 3, and no additional state funding
25 shall be necessary for the full implementation of this Act
26 by and enforcement of this Act against all affected school
27 districts.
28 EXPLANATION
29 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
30 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
31 This bill requires, within the five units of social studies
32 required under Iowa’s educational standards, school districts
33 and accredited nonpublic schools to offer and teach one unit of
34 African American history in grades 9 through 12. Currently,
35 high school students are required to take three years of social
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 H.F. 880
1 studies, including one-half unit of United States government
2 and a unit of United States history.
3 The bill may include a state mandate as defined in Code
4 section 25B.3. The bill requires that the state cost of
5 any state mandate included in the bill be paid by a school
6 district from state school foundation aid received by the
7 school district under Code section 257.16. The specification
8 is deemed to constitute state compliance with any state mandate
9 funding-related requirements of Code section 25B.2. The
10 inclusion of this specification is intended to reinstate the
11 requirement of political subdivisions to comply with any state
12 mandates included in the bill.
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Statutes affected:
Introduced: 256.11