STATE OF OKLAHOMA

1st Session of the 53rd Legislature (2011)

SENATE BILL 358	By:	Paddack

AS INTRODUCED

An Act relating to school curriculum; directing the development of curricular standards; requiring civics education in certain grades; allowing for development of appropriate assessments; providing definition; providing for codification; providing an effective date; and declaring an emergency.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1.     NEW LAW     A new section of law to be codified in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 11-102.1 of Title 70, unless there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A.  The State Board of Education shall adopt a curricular standard for instruction of students in public school necessary to ensure attainment of a desired level of competency in civics.
B.  Beginning with the 2012-2013 school year, students in the sixth and eighth grades shall be required to successfully complete at least a one-semester civics education course.  In order to successfully complete a course, students shall be required to score at least a seventy percent (70%) or equivalent on the end of instruction assessment, as developed by the student’s school district.
C.  A course in civics education shall include instruction on:
1.  The roles and responsibilities of federal, state, and local governments;
2.  The structures and functions of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government; and
3.  The meaning and significance of historic documents, including but not limited to the Articles of Confederation, the Declaration of Independence, and the United States Constitution.
SECTION 2.  This act shall become effective July 1, 2011.
SECTION 3.  It being immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety, an emergency is hereby declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and be in full force from and after its passage and approval.

53-1-399	AM	1/18/2011 9:31:17 AM