H-1930.1

HOUSE BILL 1807

ByRepresentatives Walsh, Chase, Sutherland, Ybarra, Dufault, Graham, and Young

AN ACT Relating to the protection of quality civic education and academic discourse; adding new sections to chapter 28A.230 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 28A.415 RCW; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

(2) The legislature finds that a growing number of parents and families of Washington's kindergarten through high school students have become discouraged by the radical rhetoric of some state consultants who speak of their goals to "destabilize" and "tear down" the state's basic education system and curricula.

(3) The legislature concludes that, in order to provide this uniform, high quality education, it needs to reassure the parents and families of Washington's kindergarten through high school students that the state's basic education system and curricula have not been torn apart but are still vibrant and designed for full academic discourse and discovery without mandated politicization in the classroom.

(4) To that end, the legislature intends to clarify the state's goals in teaching its kindergarten through high school students about Washington's, and the United States', history, institutions, economy, population, and social structures. In short, these goals aim to provide all of Washington's children with a high quality civic education.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 28A.230 RCW to read as follows:

(1) Beginning with the 2022-23 school year, each public school shall annually provide to each kindergarten through eighth grade student a mandatory stand-alone, year-long course in civic education that meets the requirements of this section.

(2) The civics course, which must be age appropriate, must support public school students' functional understanding of:

(a) The fundamental moral, political, and intellectual foundations of the American experiment in self-government and Washington's role in that noble experiment;

(b) The history, qualities, traditions, and features of civic engagement in the United States and in Washington, consistent with the values and character traits described in RCW 28A.150.211;

(c) The history of indigenous peoples of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region, consistent with the provisions in RCW 28A.320.170;

(d) The structure, function, and processes of government institutions at the federal, state, and local levels;

(e) The following founding and historical documents of the United States, at a minimum:

(i) The Declaration of Independence;

(ii) The United States Constitution;

(iii) The Federalist Papers;

(iv) Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations;

(v) The second of John Locke's Two Treatises of Government;

(vi) The transcript of the first Lincoln-Douglas debate;

(vii) Writings from Frederick Douglass's newspaper, the North Star;

(viii) The Fugitive Slave Acts of 1793 and 1850;

(ix) The Indian Removal Act; and

(x) Thomas Jefferson's "Letter to the Danbury Baptists";

(f) The history of white supremacy, including the institution of slavery, the eugenics movement, and the origins of the Ku Klux Klan, and the ways in which these systems of belief sowed division, caused harm, and were combatted through peaceful protest, civic engagement, and the American courts;

(g) The history and importance of the American civil rights movement, including the following documents at a minimum:

(i) Frederick Douglass's Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave;

(ii) The Emancipation Proclamation;

(iii) The Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution;

(iv) Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" and "I Have a Dream" speech;

(v) The federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000a et seq.);

(vi) The United States Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954); and

(vii) The Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

(h) Historical documents related to the civic accomplishments of marginalized populations, including documents related to:

(i) The United States women's suffrage movement, for example: The life of Susan B. Anthony and the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution;

(ii) The Chicano movement, for example the lives of Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta and the origins of the League of United Latin American Citizens; and

(iii) The United States organized labor movement; and

(i) The federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.).

(3) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall develop, and annually update, a list of civic education curricula that meet the requirements of subsection (2) of this section. This list must be made publicly available on the website of the office of the superintendent of public instruction.

(4) A state agency, school district, or public school may not accept private funding for the purpose of developing, purchasing, or selecting civic education materials required under this section, or providing teacher training or professional development for a civics course that is required under this section.

(5) As used in this section, "public schools" has the same meaning as in RCW 28A.150.010.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 28A.230 RCW to read as follows:

(1) For any civics course provided under section 2 of this act or RCW 28A.230.094, a public school teacher, administrator, other employee, or contractor, or employee of a state educational agency:

(a) May not be compelled to discuss a particular current event or currently controversial topic in public policy or social affairs, including writings derived from or related to such resources as The 1619 Project, "Critical Race Theory" curricula, or "How to Be an AntiRacist";

(b) Who chooses to discuss a topic described in (a) of this subsection shall, to the best of their ability, explore the topic from diverse and contending perspectives without giving deference to any one perspective; and

(c) May not require, make part of a course, nor award a grade or course credit, including extra credit, for a student's political activism, lobbying, or efforts to persuade members of the legislative or executive branch at the federal, state, or local level to take specific actions by direct communication.

(2) A state agency, school district, or public school may not implement, interpret, or enforce any rules of student code of conduct in a manner that would result in the punishment of a student for discussing the topics or concepts described in a civics course that is provided under section 2 of this act or RCW 28A.230.094.

(3) As used in this section, "public schools" has the same meaning as in RCW 28A.150.010.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 28A.415 RCW to read as follows:

(1) No public school teacher, administrator, other employee, or contractor, nor employee of a state educational agency, may be required to participate in any form of training, certification, or continuing education that involves the following propositions or assertions:

(a) One race or sex is inherently superior to another race or sex;

(b) The United States is fundamentally or "structurally" racist or sexist;

(c) An individual, by virtue of their race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive;

(d) An individual should be discriminated against or receive adverse treatment solely or partly because of their race or sex;

(e) An individual's moral character is determined by their race or sex;

(f) An individual, by virtue of their race or sex, bears responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex;

(g) Any individual should feel guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress on account of their race or sex;

(h) Meritocracy or traits such as a hard work ethic are racist or sexist, or were created by a particular race to oppress another race; or

(i) Any other form of race or sex stereotyping or any other form of race or sex scapegoating.

(2) The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this section unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

(a) "Public schools" has the same meaning as in RCW 28A.150.010.

(b) "Race or sex stereotyping" means ascribing character traits, values, moral and ethical codes, privileges, status, or beliefs to a race or sex, or to an individual because of their race or sex, and "race or sex scapegoating" means assigning fault, blame, or bias to a race or sex, or to members of a race or sex because of their race or sex. It similarly encompasses any claim that, consciously or unconsciously, and by virtue of their race or sex, members of any race are inherently racist or are inherently inclined to oppress others, or that members of a sex are inherently sexist or inclined to oppress others.

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