Bill Text: IA HF2204 | 2017-2018 | 87th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: A bill for an act making completion of cultural competency coursework mandatory for students enrolled in the ninth grade.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-02-02 - Introduced, referred to Education. H.J. 197. [HF2204 Detail]
Download: Iowa-2017-HF2204-Introduced.html
House File 2204 - Introduced HOUSE FILE BY GAINES A BILL FOR 1 An Act making completion of cultural competency coursework 2 mandatory for students enrolled in the ninth grade. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: TLSB 5960YH (2) 87 kh/jh PAG LIN 1 1 Section 1. Section 256.11, subsection 5, paragraph b, Code 1 2 2018, is amended to read as follows: 1 3 b. Five units of the social studies including instruction 1 4 in voting statutes and procedures, voter registration 1 5 requirements, the use of paper ballots and voting systems in 1 6 the election process, and the method of acquiring and casting 1 7 an absentee ballot. 1 8 (1) All students shall complete a minimum of one=half unit 1 9 of United States government and one unit of United States 1 10 history. The one=half unit of United States government shall 1 11 include the voting procedure as described in this lettered 1 12 paragraph and section 280.9A. The government instruction shall 1 13 also include a study of the Constitution of the United States 1 14 and the Bill of Rights contained in the Constitution and an 1 15 assessment of a student's knowledge of the Constitution and the 1 16 Bill of Rights. 1 17 (2) All students enrolled in grade nine shall complete the 1 18 equivalent of one=half unit of coursework relating to cultural 1 19 competency. For purposes of this subparagraph, "cultural 1 20 competency" means awareness and understanding of the values, 1 21 lifestyles, history, and contributions of various identifiable 1 22 cultural groups in society; and recognizing and dealing with 1 23 dehumanizing biases such as sexism, racism, prejudice, and 1 24 discrimination and raising awareness of the impact that such 1 25 biases have on interpersonal relations. 1 26 Sec. 2. STATE MANDATE FUNDING SPECIFIED. In accordance 1 27 with section 25B.2, subsection 3, the state cost of requiring 1 28 compliance with any state mandate included in this Act shall 1 29 be paid by a school district from state school foundation aid 1 30 received by the school district under section 257.16. This 1 31 specification of the payment of the state cost shall be deemed 1 32 to meet all of the state funding=related requirements of 1 33 section 25B.2, subsection 3, and no additional state funding 1 34 shall be necessary for the full implementation of this Act 1 35 by and enforcement of this Act against all affected school 2 1 districts. 2 2 EXPLANATION 2 3 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 2 4 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly. 2 5 This bill modifies the educational program requirements 2 6 for each school district and accredited nonpublic school by 2 7 requiring, under the five units of social studies that each 2 8 school district and school must offer and teach, that all 2 9 students in ninth grade complete the equivalent of one=half 2 10 unit of coursework relating to cultural competency, which is 2 11 defined in the bill. 2 12 The bill may include a state mandate as defined in Code 2 13 section 25B.3. The bill requires that the state cost of 2 14 any state mandate included in the bill be paid by a school 2 15 district from state school foundation aid received by the 2 16 school district under Code section 257.16. The specification 2 17 is deemed to constitute state compliance with any state mandate 2 18 funding=related requirements of Code section 25B.2. The 2 19 inclusion of this specification is intended to reinstate the 2 20 requirement of political subdivisions to comply with any state 2 21 mandates included in the bill. LSB 5960YH (2) 87 kh/jh
