HOUSE  .   .   .   .   .   .   .  No. 4545

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, May 30, 2018.                         

The committee on Ways and Means, to whom was referred the Senate Bill to promote and enhance civic engagement (Senate, No. 2375), reports recommending that the same ought to pass with an amendment striking all after the enacting clause and inserting in place thereof the text contained in House document numbered 4545.

For the committee,

JEFFREY SÁNCHEZ.

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 4545

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninetieth General Court
(2017-2018)

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By striking out all after the enacting clause and inserting in place thereof the following:–
 

SECTION 1. Chapter 29 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 2YYYY the following section:-

Section 2ZZZZ. (a) There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Civics Project Trust Fund. The fund shall be administered by the commissioner of elementary and secondary education. The fund shall be credited with: (i) revenue from appropriations or other money authorized by the general court and specifically designated to be credited to the fund; (ii) interest earned on such revenues; and (iii) funds from public and private sources such as gifts, grants and donations to further civics and history education and workforce development. Amounts credited to the fund shall not be subject to further appropriation and any money remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund.

(b) Amounts credited to the fund may be expended, without further appropriation, by the commissioner for the following purposes: (i) to assist with the implementation of section 2 of chapter 71, including professional development training, (ii) for the development of the history and social science curriculum framework, including civics education, (iii) for the collaboration with institutions of higher education and other stakeholder organizations, and (iv) to establish a competitive evaluation of a student-led civics project, available to all eighth grade students.

(c) Amounts received from private sources shall be approved by the commissioner of elementary and secondary education and subject to review before being deposited in the fund to ensure that pledged funds are not accompanied by conditions, explicit or implicit, on the implementation of civics education programming that could be deemed detrimental to the neutral teaching of civics or unduly influence the direction of civics education policy. The review shall be made publicly available.

(d) On or before October 1 of each year, the commissioner shall report to the clerks of the house of representatives and senate, the joint committee on education and the house and senate committees on ways and means on the fund's activity. The report shall include but not be limited to: (i) the source and amount of funds received; (ii) the amounts distributed and the purpose of expenditures from the fund, including but not limited to, funds expended to assist school districts in meeting the requirements in section 2 of chapter 71; (iii) any grants provided to institutions of higher education and other stakeholder organizations; and (4) an analysis of any anticipated revenue and expenditure projections for the next year.

SECTION 2. Chapter 71 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out section 2, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 2. (a) In all public schools, American history and social science, including civics, shall be taught as required subjects for the purpose of promoting civic service and a greater knowledge thereof, and preparing students, morally and intellectually, for the duties of citizenship. Instruction within the history and social science academic standards required in section 1D of chapter 69 shall include: American history; the constitution of the United States; the bill of rights; the declaration of independence; the constitution of the commonwealth; local history and government; the function and composition of the branches of local, state and federal government; the electoral process; the roles and responsibilities of a citizen in a democracy; the development of skills to access, analyze and evaluate written and digital media as it relates to history and civics; community diversity and historical trends in voter registration and civic participation relative to disenfranchised voter populations; and a program relating to the flag of  the United States of America including, but not limited to, proper etiquette and the correct use and display of the flag, the importance of participation in the electoral process and the provisions of 4 U.S.C. sections 7 to 9, inclusive, and 36 U.S.C. section 301.

(b) The department of elementary and secondary education may support school districts with coordinating professional development opportunities to provide training for educators on the history and social science curriculum. Additional support and outreach from the department may include, statewide and regional trainings, meetings or conferences, including opportunities for districts and stakeholders to assess and share evidence-based best practices in support of civics education and provide feedback and recommendations to the department.

(c) Every public middle and high school shall provide each student with the opportunity to participate in a civics project, which may be completed as part of required coursework. Civics projects may be individual, small group or class wide, and designed to promote a student’s ability to reason, make logical arguments and support claims using valid evidence. The board of elementary and secondary education shall adopt guidelines to support school districts with the implementation of civics projects, including the development of regional or statewide civics competitions for the purpose of promoting civic learning and engagement and achieving the objectives outlined in this section.

(d) Subject to appropriation, the department shall establish the Commonwealth Civics Challenge, which shall be available to all eighth grade public school students for the purpose of showcasing student-led civics projects that promote and demonstrate an understanding of civic engagement, citizenship and community service. The department shall partner with a college, university, museum, library or other similar non-profit entity for the establishment of the challenge, and establish guidelines accordingly.

SECTION 3. Section 38M of said chapter 71 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following paragraph:-

A school committee may designate a student outreach coordinator for the purpose of ensuring the establishment of a student advisory committee and regularly informing the advisory committee of the school committee's agenda.              

SECTION 4. Chapter 51 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after section 26 the following section:-

Section 26A. The state secretary in consultation with the commissioner of elementary and secondary education shall establish guidelines to promote an annual high school voter challenge to provide outreach and registration opportunities for eligible students to register or pre-register to vote on any participating high school campus. Enrolled high school students may be selected by a peer nomination process or apply to serve as voter outreach coordinators.