FIRST REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL NO. 262
91ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR STOLL.
Read 1st time January 10, 2001, and 1,000 copies ordered printed.
TERRY L. SPIELER, Secretary.
0581S.01I
AN ACT
To repeal section 170.011, RSMo 2000, relating to required instruction in government, history and institutions, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to the same subject.
Section A. Section 170.011, RSMo 2000, is repealed and one new section enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 170.011, to read as follows:
170.011. 1. Regular courses of instruction in the Constitution of the United States and of the state of Missouri and in American history and institutions shall be given in all public and private schools in the state of Missouri, except privately operated trade schools, and shall begin not later than the seventh grade and continue in high school to an extent determined by the state commissioner of education, by rule, and shall continue in college and university courses to an extent determined by the state commissioner of higher education, by rule. In the 1990-91 school year and each year thereafter, local school districts maintaining high schools shall comply with the provisions of this section by offering in grade nine, ten, eleven, or twelve a course of instruction in the institutions, branches and functions of the government of the state of Missouri, including local governments, and of the government of the United States, and in the electoral process. A local school district maintaining such a high school shall require that prior to the completion of the twelfth grade each pupil, who receives a high school diploma or certificate of graduation on or after January 1, 1994, shall satisfactorily complete such a course of study. Such course shall be of at least one semester in length and may be two semesters in length. The department of elementary and secondary education may provide assistance in developing such a course if the district requests assistance.
2. American history courses at the elementary and secondary levels shall include in their proper time-line sequence specific referrals to the details and events of the racial equality movement that have caused major changes in United States and Missouri laws and attitudes.
3. No pupil shall receive a certificate of graduation from any public or private school other than private trade schools unless he has satisfactorily passed an examination on the provisions and principles of the Constitution of the United States and of the state of Missouri, and in American history and American institutions. A student of a college or university, who, after having completed a course of instruction prescribed in this section and successfully passed an examination on the United States Constitution, and in American history and American institutions required hereby, or who, after having completed a substantially equivalent course of instruction in another state and successfully passed a substantially equivalent examination on the United States Constitution, and in American history and American institutions transfers to another college or university, is not required to complete another such course or pass another such examination as a condition precedent to his graduation from the college or university. The commissioner of higher education shall establish, by rule, a process whereby an institution may determine if a course of instruction or examination from an institution in another state is substantially equivalent to the course or examination required pursuant to this section.
4. In the 1990-91 school year and each year thereafter, each school district maintaining a high school may annually nominate to the state board of education a student who has demonstrated knowledge of the principles of government and citizenship through academic achievement, participation in extracurricular activities, and service to the community. Annually, the state board of education shall select fifteen students from those nominated by the local school districts and shall recognize and award them for their academic achievement, participation and service.
5. The state commissioner of education and the state commissioner of higher education shall make arrangements for carrying out the provisions of this section and prescribe a list of suitable texts adapted to the needs of the school grades and college courses, respectively.
6. The willful neglect of any superintendent, principal or teacher to observe and carry out the requirements of this section is sufficient cause for termination of his contract.
7. The provisions of this section shall not apply to students from foreign countries who are enrolled in public or private high schools in Missouri, if such students are foreign exchange students sponsored by a national organization recognized by the department of elementary and secondary education.