Bill Text: NJ A550 | 2012-2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires boards of education to provide civics instruction in elementary and middle school grades and requires DOE to provide funding to enhance civics instruction.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-01-10 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Education Committee [A550 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2012-A550-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
215th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2012 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman CONNIE WAGNER
District 38 (Bergen and Passaic)
Assemblyman PATRICK J. DIEGNAN, JR.
District 18 (Middlesex)
Assemblyman REED GUSCIORA
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman DeAngelo
SYNOPSIS
Requires boards of education to provide civics instruction in elementary and middle school grades and requires DOE to provide funding to enhance civics instruction.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act concerning civics education in public school districts, amending N.J.S.18A:35-3, and supplementing chapter 35 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. (New section) The Legislature finds and declares that:
a. The most recent National Assessment of Education Progress indicates that one-third of high school seniors lack a basic grasp of the structure and operations of American government;
b. Civic knowledge and engagement are essential to maintaining a representative democracy;
c. The civic mission of the schools, which is to provide citizens with the knowledge, skills and inclination to participate in a democratic society, was the primary purpose for which public schools were originally established;
d. A 2004 public opinion survey by the Alliance for Representative Democracy showed that a majority of the public believes that preparing students to be competent and responsible citizens is as important as preparing students for college and work;
e. A 2003 study by the National Conference of State Legislators noted that only 64% of young people had taken a high school course in civics or American government, yet those who did participate in such a course were more likely to engage in civic activities;
f. Independent studies concluded that well-designed civic education programs improve students' civic knowledge, skills and engagement;
g. According to a 2004 Inventory of Civic Education in New Jersey, only 39% of New Jersey schools require all students to take a course in civics or American government, and less than 35% of school districts have offered professional development programs in civics or government over the past five years;
h. The inventory also revealed that more than 90% of the school districts indicated that up-to-date, inexpensive classroom materials and professional development would be the most effective way to improve civics education;
i. Teacher education and professional development are important to ensure effective classroom instruction in civics education; and
j. Well-designed school programs that foster an understanding and appreciation of democracy and fundamental constitutional principles are essential to civics education.
2. N.J.S.18A:35-3 is amended to read as follows:
18A:35-3. Each board of education shall adopt a course of study [in community civics,] about the geography, history and [civics] government of New Jersey, which shall be taken by all pupils in an appropriate upper elementary grade. The board shall ensure that the basic concepts of authority, responsibility, and justice, and the role of the citizen in a democratic society are infused into the elementary school curriculum. Each board shall also adopt a course of study about [and] the privileges and responsibilities of citizenship as they relate to the common good of the local community, the State, and [national welfare] the nation, including the values and principles underlying the American system of constitutional democracy, the function and limitations of government, and the role of a citizen in a democratic society, which [course] shall be taken by all pupils in [the public elementary schools in the grade or grades in which it is given, with the object of producing the highest type of patriotic citizenship] an appropriate middle school grade.
(cf: N.J.S.18A:35-3)
3. (New section) The Department of Education shall annually provide funds to the New Jersey Center for Civic and Law-Related Education at Rutgers, the State University. The purpose of the funding shall be to enable the center to provide a clearinghouse of materials, an on-line research center, technical assistance, professional development and any other activities deemed appropriate by the department to enhance the teaching of civics, law, justice, citizenship, history, and government in the public schools.
4. This act shall take effect immediately and shall first apply to the 2006-2007 school year.
STATEMENT
This bill revises the statute on civics instruction in public schools. Under current law, each board of education must adopt a course of study regarding the civics, geography and history of New Jersey to be taken by all pupils in public elementary schools. This bill requires each board to provide instruction about the geography, history and government of New Jersey in an appropriate upper elementary grade to ensure that the concepts of authority, responsibility, and justice, and the role of the citizen in a democratic society are efficiently infused into the elementary school curriculum. The bill also requires that each board adopt a course of study about the privileges and responsibilities of citizenship as they relate to the common good of the local community, the State, and the nation, including the values and principles underlying the American system of constitutional democracy, the function and limitations of government, and the role of a citizen in a democratic society. The course will be required to be taken by all pupils in an appropriate middle school grade.
The bill also requires the Department of Education to annually provide funds to the New Jersey Center for Civic and Law-Related Education at Rutgers, the State University. The purpose of the funding will be to enable the center to provide a clearinghouse of materials, an on-line research center, technical assistance, professional development and any other activities deemed appropriate by the department to enhance the teaching of civics, law, justice, citizenship, history, and government in the public schools.
The most recent National Assessment of Education Progress indicates that one-third of high school seniors lack a basic grasp of the structure and operations of American government. Civic knowledge and engagement are essential to maintaining a representative democracy, and well-designed civics education programs that foster an understanding and appreciation of democracy and fundamental constitutional principles are essential to providing citizens with the knowledge and skills to fully participate in representative democracy.
