SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1811        FILED ON: 1/16/2015

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 249

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Harriette L. Chandler

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act to involve youth in civic engagement.

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PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1811        FILED ON: 1/16/2015

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 249

[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE SENATE, NO. 203 OF 2013-2014.]

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Eighty-Ninth General Court
(2015-2016)

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An Act to involve youth in civic engagement.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. The department of elementary and secondary education, in collaboration with a youth advisory committee, as set forth in section 2 of this act, shall develop one or more model curriculum units which shall align with the history/social science curriculum framework and address the following topics: the function and composition of the branches of local, state, and federal government, the history of social movements, current events, and community-based action and service-learning projects. The model curriculum units for the Teaching and Learning System shall be developed no later than the 2015-2016 school year. The department shall create an evaluation assessing the curriculum, pedagogy and teaching materials before piloting this course, unit, or program.

SECTION 2. There shall be a youth advisory committee consisting of 2 members of the Governor’s Youth Council, 2 members of the State Student Advisory Council, 1 member of the Special Commission on Civic Engagement and Learning, and 2 members of Teens Leading The Way. The department shall consult with the youth advisory committee in the development, review, enhancement, and evaluation of the model curriculum units.  The involvement of the youth advisory committee by the department shall coincide with the department’s timeline for developing model curriculum units in the history and social science framework.

SECTION 3. Each public school district shall offer a unit of civic education, which can include a course, a weekend program, a model United Nations, or other such program promoting civic engagement. Regardless of the format, the unit must conclude with a voter registration drive that affords all students the opportunity to register to vote.