HOUSE BILL NO. 4672

A bill to amend 1976 PA 451, entitled

"The revised school code,"

by amending section 1166 (MCL 380.1166), as amended by 2016 PA 391, and by adding section 1166c.

the people of the state of michigan enact:

Sec. 1166. (1) In all public and nonpublic schools in this state, regular courses of instruction shall must be given in the constitution Constitution of the United States, in the this state's constitution, of Michigan, and in the history and present form of government of the United States, Michigan, this state, and its political subdivisions. Instruction shall must begin not no later than the opening of the eighth grade 8, or its equivalent, except in schools maintaining a junior high school, in which case it may begin in the ninth grade 9.

(2) A high school in this state shall require a 1-semester course of study of 5 periods per week in civics. The Subject to section 1166c, this course shall must include the form and functions of the federal, state, and local governments and shall must stress the rights and responsibilities of citizens. A diploma shall must not be issued by a high school to a pupil who has not successfully completed this course. This course requirement is not a graduation requirement for a high school pupil who has enlisted or been inducted into military service.

(3) By not later than May 1, 2018 or the next update of the state curriculum content standards after the effective date of this subsection, March 29, 2017, whichever occurs first, the state board shall revise the state curriculum content standards for high school social studies to ensure that those content standards cover the same content as covered by the 100 questions on the civics portion of the naturalization test used by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services as of December 1, 2016.

(4) Beginning with the first state high school social studies assessment administered after the state academic curriculum content standards are revised as required under subsection (3), the superintendent of public instruction shall ensure that the high school social studies assessment includes questions related to the learning objectives in the state curriculum content standards for high school social studies as revised under subsection (3).

(5) As used in this section, "state curriculum content standards" means the state board recommended model core academic curriculum content standards developed and periodically updated under section 1278.

Sec. 1166c. The board of a school district or intermediate school district or board of directors of a public school academy shall ensure that, in each United States history and civics course offered to pupils enrolled in the school district, intermediate school district, or public school academy, the Christian foundations of the United States are taught. This teaching must include, but is not limited to, information concerning how the pilgrims emigrated because of persecution and how that influenced the ideals and fundamentals behind early communities, and how, as these communities were formed, the communities cultivated democratic forms of government and Christian ethics simultaneously for the prosperity and safety of the commonwealth.