Background:

Civics Education and Basic Education.

Civics education provisions are included within requirements governing the state's program of basic education. Goal number two of the four statutorily established basic education goals of school districts obligate districts to provide opportunities for every student to develop the knowledge and skills essential to know and apply the core concepts and principles of civics and history, including different cultures and participation in representative government.

The Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) is responsible for developing the essential academic learning requirements (EALRs) that identify the knowledge and skills all public school students need to know and be able to do based on the four basic education learning goals. For social studies topics, the requirements are adopted by the SPI as the K-12 Social Studies Learning Standards, standards that include specific EALRs and grade level expectations that describe what students should know and be able to do in civics, economics, geography, history and social study skills. School districts do not ratify or formally adopt the standards, as curriculum choices are, with limited exceptions, determined locally.

Civics Education - Graduation Prerequisites and Required Assessments.

Graduation credit requirements established by the State Board of Education (SBE) for the graduating class of 2016 onward require students to complete three credits of social studies. The three social studies credits must include one credit of United States History, one credit of Contemporary World History, a Geography and Problems class (or an equivalent course), one-half credit of civics, and one-half credit for a social studies elective course.

Legislation adopted in 2009 (HB 2132, enacted as ch. 223, Laws of 2009), specifies that the coursework for the one-half credit of civics must include:

federal, state, and local government organization and procedures;
rights and responsibilities of citizens addressed in the Washington state and United States Constitutions;
current issues addressed at each level of government; and
electoral issues, including elections, ballot measures, initiatives, and referenda.

In addition to the social studies and civics requirements, the study of the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the state of Washington are a graduation prerequisite for public and private high schools in the state.

Civics assessments are also required of students and must be completed at least once in each of three academic groupings. More specifically, school districts are obligated to assess students in civics through classroom-based assessments in:

grade 4 or 5;
grade 7 or 8; and
grade 11 or 12.

Summary of Bill:

Establishment, Membership, Authority to Hire Staff.

The Civic Learning Public-Private Partnership (Partnership) is established for the stated goal of ensuring that students in kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) schools and in expanded learning opportunities are equipped with the knowledge and skills to engage effectively in government as citizens.

The Partnership is to consist of the following 19 members:

four members of the Legislature, with one member from each major caucus of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and one member from each major caucus of the Senate appointed by the majority and minority leaders of the Senate;
the Governor or the Governor's designee;
the Secretary of State or the Secretary's designee;
three teachers to be appointed by the SPI, with one each representing the elementary, middle, and secondary education sectors;
one representative of a statewide organization of social studies teachers;
two representatives from an organization with a history of promoting civics education and public legal education;
one member from a statewide expanded learning provider to be appointed by a statewide expanded learning provider;
one expanded learning provider to be appointed by the appointed statewide expanded learning provider;
a representative from the Administrative Office of the Courts to be appointed by the Administrator for the Courts;
two representatives from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), with one involved in curriculum development and one involved in teacher professional development, to be appointed by the SPI;
a representative appointed by the state principals' association; and
a representative appointed by the chair of the SBE.

All Partnership members must be appointed by August 1, 2017, and the terms of the appointment, with limited exceptions for initial terms, must be for two years. The chair of the Partnership must be selected by Partnership members from among the legislative members.

To the extent funds are appropriated or are available, the Partnership may hire a staff person who must reside in the office of an agency or organization represented on the Partnership. Additional technical and logistical support may be provided by the agencies and organizations on the Partnership.

Duties of the Partnership and Demonstration Partnerships.

Numerous duties for the Partnership are specified, including establishing six demonstration partnerships with diverse school districts and local communities to assess and implement in-depth civics learning in K-12.

The demonstration partnerships must comply with numerous requirements, including having on-site professional development, providing small grants for teachers, having contracted assistance for planning and implementation, and being monitored by a local core team. In exchange for their participation, the Partnership must provide the participating school districts with curriculum, professional development, and monitoring of in-depth implementation of high quality civics learning.

Other required duties of the Partnership include:

contracting or facilitating with high quality civics learning providers to offer regional and statewide professional development to K-12 teachers and providers of expanded learning opportunities;
ensuring that underserved students are prioritized in the implementation of the demonstration partnerships;
working with the OSPI to develop evaluation standards and a procedure for endorsing civic learning education curriculum that the Partnership determines should be recommended for use in school districts and in expanded learning opportunities curriculum and programming;
assisting in developing academic guidelines and standards-based protocols for use by teachers and classroom volunteers who participate in delivering civic education to students in the public schools; and
providing an annual report by December 1 each year to the Governor, the SPI, and the committees of the Legislature with oversight over K-12 education and after-school programs.

Establishment of Account.

The Washington Civic Learning Public-Private Partnership Account is created as a nonappropriated account in the custody of the State Treasurer. The purpose of the account is to support the Partnership and its work. Revenues to the account may include gifts or grants from the private sector or foundations, federal funds, legislative appropriations, or funds from other sources. Only the SPI or the SPI's designee may authorize expenditures from the account, but only at the direction of the Partnership.

The bill is null and void if specific funding for the bill is not provided by June 30, 2017, in the omnibus appropriations act.