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Civics Education Gets its Day in a Washington House Committee

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A Washington House committee put civics education on its agenda on Tuesday. It held hearings on three bills that would give education about citizenship and government a greater role in the state’s schools.

Washington high school students are already required to take a civics class as part of the battery of social studies courses they must pass to graduate. But Rep. Bruce Chandler (R-Yakima) has a bill that would also require students to pass a civics test based on the history test people from other countries must take to become American citizens. His bill was conceived by students at Sunnyside High School, including Jessica Linde. She said she got the idea one summer day while working in a fruit processing plant with a woman who was studying for her citizenship test.

“We got to talking about the rights that you get when you become a citizen, such as voting. And I went home that night and I just thought why don’t all the students have to take this test," Linde said. "When a student turns 18 and graduates, they have the same rights and responsibilities as the people who are doing this test to gain their citizenship.”

While no one questioned that concept, some wondered whether another required test is the right answer.

Another bill would establish a state civics education teacher training program and allocate a half million dollars for that. The third bill would create a 19-member Civic Learning Public-Private Partnership. Ideally, say supporters, it would come with some money from the state to help spark a private fundraising effort to raise money to support six demonstration projects around the state.

There’s a great need for better civics education, says the sponsor, Sen. Hans Zeiger (R-Pierce County).

“I worry that our civil discourse is breaking down. I know a number of people in both parties, all parts of the political spectrum, that share that worry," Zeiger said.

"We’re more connected than ever before, in some ways, and yet we’re more divided in some other ways. The future of our country depends on our ability to resolve our differences in a civil way and a constructive way and civics helps us to do that,” he said.

Zeiger’s bill passed the Senate in a unanimous vote. The other two bills are still in the beginning phases of the process.

Our thanks to TVW for the sound in this story.