Amends and adds to existing law to revise and establish provisions regarding civics education.

LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO Sixty-eighth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2026 IN THE SENATE SENATE BILL NO. 1336 BY STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE AN ACT1 RELATING TO EDUCATION; AMENDING SECTION 33-1602, IDAHO CODE, TO REVISE PRO-2 VISIONS REGARDING CIVICS INSTRUCTION; AMENDING CHAPTER 1, TITLE 33,3 IDAHO CODE, BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW SECTION 33-118C, IDAHO CODE, TO ES-4 TABLISH PROVISIONS REGARDING CURRICULAR MATERIALS FOR AMERICAN HISTORY5 AND CIVICS INSTRUCTION; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY AND PROVIDING AN6 EFFECTIVE DATE.7

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:8

SECTION 1. That Section 33-1602, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby9 amended to read as follows:10 33-1602. UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION -- NATIONAL FLAG AND COLORS -- NA-11 TIONAL ANTHEM -- "AMERICA" -- CITIZENSHIP -- CIVICS TEST. (1) The legisla-12 ture finds that a somber reflection on the history of mankind shows that no13 free government or the blessings of liberty can be preserved by any people14 except through an adherence to moral virtue and by frequent recurrence to15 fundamental principles. The legislature finds and declares that the pri-16 mary purpose of this state's system of public schools is to equip the youth17 of the state with the virtue and intelligence necessary for self-government18 through a liberal program of education that inspires a love of nation, fellow19 countrymen, and common history and culture.20 (2) Upon high school graduation, every student at an Idaho public21 school shall:22 (a) Exemplify the cardinal virtues necessary for self-government and23 human flourishing, including:24 (i) Prudence;25 (ii) Justice;26 (iii) Fortitude;27 (iv) Moderation; and28 (v) Patriotism;29 (b) Understand the fundamental principles of the nation's republican30 form of government, including:31 (i) The supremacy of the natural law over civil institutions;32 (ii) That virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular gov-33 ernment;34 (iii) The self-evident truth that all men are created equal and35 endowed by their creator with inalienable rights;36 (iv) That civil society is a social compact, by which the whole37 people covenants with each citizen and each citizen with the whole38 people, and that all shall be governed by certain laws for the com-39 mon good;40 (v) That as members of the body-politic, every citizen has a duty41 to promote the common good of the whole;42

2 (vi) That the people are the original fountain of all legitimate1 authority, denoting that just government is contingent upon the2 consent of the governed;3 (vii) That the first aim of every political constitution is to ob-4 tain for rulers men who possess the most wisdom to discern and most5 virtue to pursue the common good of the society, and that this is6 most effectually accomplished through a system of representation;7 (viii) The concept of the rule of law and not of men;8 (ix) Reverence for the constitutional order and the importance9 of the separation of powers as a bulwark against arbitrary and10 despotic government;11 (x) The security that exists in the liberties provided by the12 system of federalism and by the value of the union as the source of13 national prosperity and independence; and14 (xi) That the preservation of the republic depends, above all15 else, on the vigilant and manly spirit of the American people; and16 (c) Understand the content, history, meaning, significance, and effect17 of key historical documents, including:18 (i) The magna carta;19 (ii) The mayflower compact;20 (iii) The Massachusetts body of liberties;21 (iv) The English bill of rights and act of toleration;22 (v) The declaration of independence;23 (vi) The articles of confederation;24 (vii) The Virginia declaration of rights of 1776;25 (viii) The Massachusetts constitution of 1780;26 (ix) The Northwest ordinance;27 (x) The constitution of the United States and the bill of rights;28 (xi) The federalist papers;29 (xii) George Washington's farewell address;30 (xiii) Thomas Jefferson's first inaugural address;31 (xiv) The Monroe doctrine;32 (xv) The emancipation proclamation;33 (xvi) The Gettysburg address;34 (xvii) The constitution of the state of Idaho; and35 (xviii) Other similar documents that are important to the history36 and heritage of the United States and Idaho.37 (3) All secondary pupils in grades 9 through 12 shall be required to38 complete two (2) credits in American history and two (2) credits in Ameri-39 can government, encompassing a strong emphasis on civics. By the 2030-203140 school year, all secondary pupils in grade 8 shall be required to take a full41 year course in the history and cultural heritage of Western civilization.42 (4) Western civilization curricula adopted or developed by school dis-43 tricts and public charter schools shall emphasize instruction on ancient44 Athens and the Greek polis, the Roman republic, the rise and fall of the Roman45 empire, the history and influence of Christianity, the Carolingian empire,46 medieval western Europe, the reformation, the renaissance, the scientific47 revolution, the development of the English constitution and parliamentary48 system, and the enlightenment.49

3 (5) United States history curricula adopted or developed by school dis-1 tricts and public charter schools shall include instruction on the American2 revolution and the American founding, with attention given to the following,3 at a minimum:4 (a) How the American founding was the culmination of the Western tra-5 dition, including the influence of Christianity, the enlightenment,6 Greek democracy, Roman republicanism, and the English legal tradition;7 (b) The fundamental principles of the American revolution as articu-8 lated in the declaration of independence, including liberty, equality,9 natural rights, national sovereignty, republican virtue, and self-gov-10 ernment;11 (c) The contribution of America's original Anglo-American heritage and12 colonial experience to the development of the nation's republican in-13 stitutions;14 (d) The political and military narrative of the causes and progress of15 the American revolution;16 (e) The deeds and civic virtues exemplified in the lives of America's17 founding fathers;18 (f) The United States' founding documents and their original intent;19 (g) Instruction on the symbols associated with America's national20 heritage originating from the American revolution, including the min-21 uteman, the liberty bell, the liberty tree, lady Columbia, "e pluribus22 unum," the pine tree flag, the Gadsden flag, "join or die," the Betsy23 Ross flag, and the bald eagle;24 (h) The historical development of the United States' republican form of25 government, including the proceedings of the Philadelphia convention26 and ratification debates that led to the adoption of the United States27 constitution and the bill of rights, and the significance of the histor-28 ical documents outlined in subsection (2)(c) of this section; and29 (i) The political narrative of the early republic under the founding30 presidents.31 (6) Corresponding with the term in which instruction in the American32 revolution and American founding occurs, all school districts and public33 charter schools shall develop complimentary English language arts and com-34 munications curricula that shall include:35 (a) Reading of core documents from the American revolution, includ-36 ing Patrick Henry's "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!," Samuel Adams'37 "Speech on American Independence," and Thomas Paine's "Common Sense"38 and "The Crisis, No. 1"; and39 (b) Reading of literature from or about the American founding, includ-40 ing Phillis Wheatley's "Liberty and Peace" and "His Excellency General41 Washington," Thomas Paine's "Liberty Tree," John Dickinson's "The Lib-42 erty Song," and Joseph Hopkinson's "Hail, Columbia."43 (7) United States history curricula adopted or developed by school dis-44 tricts and public charter schools shall include instruction on how totali-45 tarian ideologies, such as communism, are antithetical to the fundamental46 principles of America's republican form of government, with attention given47 to, at a minimum:48 (a) America's triumph over totalitarian regimes in the second world war49 and cold war; and50

4 (b) The failures and atrocities of the Soviet Union and People's Repub-1 lic of China, including the red terror, dekulakization, Stalin's great2 purge, the five-year plan, the holodomor, the great leap forward, and3 the cultural revolution.4 (8) Civics curricula adopted or developed by school districts and pub-5 lic charter schools shall ensure that students understand the fundamental6 principles of America's republican form of government outlined in subsec-7 tion (2)(b) of this section, and shall include instruction on:8 (a) Primary documents articulating the importance of maintaining Amer-9 ica's constitutional republic, including George Washington's farewell10 address and Thomas Jefferson's first inaugural address;11 (b) The influence of the Western intellectual tradition on the United12 States constitution, including the political philosophy of John Locke13 and Montesquieu, Greek democracy, Roman republicanism, and British14 constitutionalism;15 (c) Primary documents articulating the fundamental principles of Amer-16 ica's constitutional system of government, including excerpts from the17 declaration of independence, "Brutus II," "Federalist 9," "Federalist18 10," "Federalist 39," "Federalist 51," "Federalist 63," "Federalist19 70," and "Federalist 78;" and20 (d) How the constitution of the state of Idaho embodies the principles21 of the American founding, including section 1, article I, regarding the22 inalienable rights of man; section 2, article I, regarding the polit-23 ical power inherent in the people; section 3, article I, regarding the24 state as an inseparable part of the union; section 1, article II, re-25 garding the departments of government; section 24, article III, regard-26 ing the promotion of temperance and morality; section 1, article IX, re-27 garding the legislature's duty to establish a system of free schools;28 and section 1, article XIV, regarding persons subject to military duty.29 (9) Corresponding with the term in which the civics course occurs, all30 school districts and public charter schools shall develop complimentary31 English language arts curricula that includes selections from Alexis de32 Tocqueville's "Democracy in America."33 (1) (10) Instruction in the United States constitution, the fundamental34 principles of America's republican form of government, and the virtues nec-35 essary for good citizenship shall be given in all elementary and secondary36 schools. The state board of education shall adopt any materials as may be37 deemed necessary for such purpose and shall also determine the grades in38 which such instruction shall be given.39 (2) (11) Instruction in the proper use, display, and history of and re-40 spect for the American flag and the national colors shall be given in all ele-41 mentary and secondary schools. Such instruction shall include the pledge of42 allegiance to the flag and the words and music of the national anthem and of43 "America."44 (3) (12) Every school board of trustees shall cause the United States45 flag to be displayed in every classroom during the school hours of each46 school day.47 (13) Every school board of trustees is encouraged to display histori-48 cal portraits of George Washington in a conspicuous place in each classroom49 that is used for history, civics, or social studies instruction and in each50

5 kindergarten through grade 5 classroom. The state superintendent of public1 instruction shall select the portraits.2 (4) (14) Every public school shall offer the pledge of allegiance or the3 national anthem in grades 1 through 12 at the beginning of each school day.4 (5) (15) No pupil shall be compelled, against the pupil's objections or5 those of the pupil's parent or guardian, to recite the pledge of allegiance6 or to sing the national anthem.7 (6) (16) Instruction in citizenship shall be given in all elementary8 and secondary schools. Citizenship instruction shall include lessons on9 the role of a citizen in a constitutional republic, how laws are made, how10 officials are elected, and the importance of voting and of participating in11 government. Such instruction shall also include the importance of respect-12 ing and obeying statutes that are validly and lawfully enacted by the Idaho13 legislature and the congress of the United States.14 (7) (17) Starting with the 2016-2017 school year, all secondary pupils15 shall show that they have met the state civics and government standards for16 such instruction through the successful completion of the civics test, par-17 ticipation in a course in United States government and politics, and par-18 ticipation in an associated college credit-bearing examination or alternate19 path established by the local school district or charter school that shows20 the student has met the standards. Assessment of standards shall be included21 as part of the course at the secondary level. Students graduating prior to22 January 1, 2029, who have satisfied the requirement outlined in this subsec-23 tion prior to the start of the 2026-2027 school year are exempt from complet-24 ing the requirement provided for in subsection (8) (18) of this section.25 (8) (18) Beginning with the 2026-2027 2027-2028 school year, all sec-26 ondary pupils shall show that they have met the state civics and government27 standards for such instruction through the successful completion of the28 civics test and participation in a course in United States government and29 history, or participation in an associated college credit-bearing course30 or examination. Assessment of standards shall be included as part of the31 course at the secondary level. A school district or public charter school32 shall document on the pupil's transcript that the pupil has passed the civics33 test pursuant to this subsection. The school district or governing body of34 the charter school may state superintendent of public instruction or the35 superintendent's designee shall determine the method and manner in which36 to administer the civics test. A pupil may take the civics test at any time37 after enrolling in grade 9 and may repeat the test as often as necessary to38 pass the test. The applicability of this subsection to a pupil who receives39 special education services shall be governed by such pupil's individualized40 education plan. For the purposes of this subsection, "civics test" means41 an assessment developed by the state department of education state super-42 intendent of public instruction or the superintendent's designee with the43 approval of the state board of education that includes but is not limited44 to the following components from the Idaho content standards in American45 government:46 (a) The influence of the history of Western civilization on the found-47 ing of the American republic, including Greek democracy, Roman republi-48 canism, and the English political and legal tradition;49 (b) The arguments presented in the declaration of independence;50

6 (c) The governing principles at the foundation of the United States1 constitution, including popular sovereignty, rule of law, federalism,2 separation of powers, checks and balances, judicial review, and major-3 ity rule and protection of minority rights;4 (d) The role of the bill of rights in limiting the powers of government5 and protecting individual rights;6 (e) The enumerated powers of the United States congress, including ap-7 propriations, declarations of war, commerce, confirmations, necessary8 and proper clauses, and oversight and impeachment;9 (f) The legislative process of how a bill becomes law;10 (g) Article II of the United States constitution as it relates to the11 executive branch and the powers of the president, along with the devel-12 opment and growth of administrative agencies;13 (h) The function and development of the electoral college;14 (i) The power of the judiciary as conferred by article III of the United15 States constitution and legal precedents that developed these powers;16 (j) The functions, powers, interactions, and dynamic relationships17 among federal, state, local, and tribal governments, including the18 tenth amendment to the United States constitution and legal precedent;19 and20 (k) The organization and powers of state and local government as de-21 scribed in the constitution of the state of Idaho, including the leg-22 islative, executive, and judicial branches.23 (9) (19) Components of the assessment developed pursuant to subsection24 (8) (18) of this section shall be reviewed concurrently with the review of25 the Idaho content standards in American government. The state board of edu-26 cation may promulgate rules, subject to legislative approval, implementing27 the provisions of subsection (8) (18) of this section.28 (10) (20) Subject to state-appropriated funds, the state department29 of education shall make available funding for high quality professional30 development focused on advanced high school civics or government courses,31 including those with college credit-bearing civics or government examina-32 tions Western civilization, or United States history courses. Allowable33 expenses include summer institutes offered at different sites throughout34 the state and workshops to help high school teachers prepare students for35 success in college-level courses.36

SECTION 2. That Chapter 1, Title 33, Idaho Code, be, and the same is37 hereby amended by the addition thereto of a NEW SECTION, to be known and des-38 ignated as Section 33-118C, Idaho Code, and to read as follows:39 33-118C. CURRICULAR MATERIALS -- HISTORY AND CIVICS. (1) Notwith-40 standing the provisions of section 33-118, Idaho Code, the legislature finds41 that to promote the stability of America's republican form of government and42 to establish and maintain a general, uniform, and thorough system of public,43 free common schools, as provided in section 1, article IX of the constitution44 of the state of Idaho, all curricular materials adopted by school districts45 or public charter schools in the subjects of history, American government46 and civics, and social studies shall:47 (a) Align with the provisions of section 33-1602, Idaho Code;48

7 (b) Align with state content standards established by the state board1 of education;2 (c) Be academically rigorous;3 (d) Be historically and factually accurate;4 (e) Directly utilize or otherwise promote engagement with primary5 sources and documents;6 (f) Encourage pupils to believe what is true, love what is good, and ad-7 mire what is beautiful;8 (g) Inspire patriotism;9 (h) Contribute to the cultivation of good moral character and the10 virtues necessary for self-government and human flourishing;11 (i) Cultivate knowledge and appreciation for the nation's history and12 cultural heritage as derived from the tradition of Western civiliza-13 tion; and14 (j) Foster an appreciation for and attachment to America's republican15 form of government, along with a proper understanding of the pupils'16 rights and duties as citizens of the state of Idaho and the United17 States.18 (2) School districts and public charter schools shall have the discre-19 tion to utilize other supplementary instructional materials, such as pri-20 mary sources, documents, maps, or other resources, provided that such ma-21 terials align with the requirements provided in subsection (1) of this sec-22 tion.23

SECTION 3. An emergency existing therefor, which emergency is hereby24 declared to exist, this act shall be in full force and effect on and after25 July 1, 2026.26