Bill Promoting Civics Education Passes

The General Assembly passed House Bill 944 recognizing Tennessee’s public schools and school districts that implement high-quality civic education because it is essential to preserving our constitutional democracy.

In partnership with the Secretary of State’s office, this initiative seeks to promote efforts to increase access to quality civics education, while also recognizing our schools for their excellence in civics education.

Standards established by this legislation include instructional criteria, professional development for teachers, project-based assessment implementation, real-world learning activities, and high-performance on Tennessee’s mandated exam for our high school seniors.

This legislation will have an incredible impact on our current and future leaders, and House Republicans will continue to support legislation that strengthens the academic foundations of our students.

This initiative – which is part of the Governor’s legislative agenda this year – establishes a 9-member independent charter commission to ensure that all Tennessee charter schools can best serve the state’s student population that relies on these institutions to achieve their academic goals and dreams. Additionally, the measure clarifies that a majority of commission members must reside in counties where at least one public charter school is operating.