I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 849 

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to increase 

civics education programs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 29, 2019 

Mr. HASTINGS (for himself, Mr. WOODALL, Mr. NADLER, Mr. COHEN, Mr. 

GREEN of Texas, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. 

OMAR, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mr. SOTO, Mr. HARDER of California, 

Ms. NORTON, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. WILD, Mrs. HAYES, and Ms. CLARKE of 

New York) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

of 1965 to increase civics education programs, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Civics Learning Act 

5 of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) The dearth of civics lessons available to stu2 dents across the United States has helped to foster 

3 a political climate that is deeply partisan and di4 vided. 

5 (2) Polarized party politics in the United States 

6 has fractured public morale in our institutions and 

7 has created an environment in which people are less 

8 likely to be well-informed on the current state of af9 fairs and to participate in the political process. 

10 (3) According to the Annenberg Constitution 

11 Day Civics Survey conducted by the Annenberg Pub12 lic Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania— 

13 (A) in 2018, only 32 percent of people in 

14 the United States surveyed were capable of 

15 naming all 3 branches of Government, while 33 

16 percent of Americans were not able to name 

17 any of the branches of government; 

18 (B) in 2018, 30 percent of people in the 

19 United States surveyed knew that the Senate is 

20 in charge of Supreme Court nominee confirma21 tions; and 

22 (C) in 2017, 37 percent could not name 

23 any of the rights guaranteed under the First 

24 Amendment. 


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1 (4) In 2014, only 23 percent of eighth graders 

2 were found to have performed at or above the pro3 ficient level on the National Assessment of Edu4 cational Progress civics exam conducted by the Na5 tional Center of Education Studies. 

6 (5) A lack of knowledge on the basics of the 

7 structure of our democratic republic creates an in8 creasingly ill-prepared electorate which overtime has, 

9 and will continue to, contribute to a weakened de10 mocracy. 

11 SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE ELEMENTARY AND SEC12 ONDARY EDUCATION ACT OF 1965. 

13 Section 2233 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu14 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6663) is amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (a)— 

16 (A) by inserting ‘‘and prioritize innovative 

17 civics learning and teaching, including by en18 couraging’’ after ‘‘to encourage’’; and 

19 (B) by inserting ‘‘(including students and 

20 teachers at high-need schools (as defined in sec21 tion 2221))’’ before the period; 

22 (2) in subsection (b)— 

23 (A) by inserting ‘‘and appropriated under 

24 subsection (h) of this section’’ after 

25 ‘‘2231(b)(2)’’; and 


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1 (B) by striking paragraph (2) and insert2 ing the following: 

3 ‘‘(2) may include— 

4 ‘‘(A) hands-on civic engagement activities 

5 for teachers and students; 

6 ‘‘(B) activities about the history and prin7 ciples of the Constitution of the United States, 

8 including the Bill of Rights; 

9 ‘‘(C) before-school, during-school, after10 school, and extracurricular activities; 

11 ‘‘(D) activities that include service learning 

12 and community service projects that are linked 

13 to school curriculum; 

14 ‘‘(E) activities that encourage and support 

15 student participation in school governance; and 

16 ‘‘(F) online and video game based learn17 ing.’’; 

18 (3) in subsection (c), by striking paragraph (3) 

19 and inserting the following: 

20 ‘‘(3) DIVERSITY OF PROJECTS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) DIVERSITY OF GRANTS.—In awarding 

22 grants under this section, the Secretary shall 

23 ensure that, to the extent practicable, grants 

24 are distributed among eligible entities that will 

25 serve geographically diverse areas, including 


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1 urban, suburban, and rural areas, and public el2 ementary schools. 

3 ‘‘(B) ALLOCATION OF GRANT FUNDING.— 

4 To the extent practicable based on the applica5 tions received under subsection (d), the Sec6 retary shall ensure that— 

7 ‘‘(i) not less than 30 percent of the 

8 grant funds under this section are awarded 

9 to eligible entities that serve elementary 

10 school students and teachers; 

11 ‘‘(ii) not less than 30 percent of the 

12 grant funds under this section are awarded 

13 to eligible entities that serve middle school 

14 students and teachers; and 

15 ‘‘(iii) not more than 40 percent of the 

16 grant funds under this section are awarded 

17 to eligible entities that serve high school 

18 students and teachers.’’; 

19 (4) in subsection (d), by inserting ‘‘, and con20 taining such information,’’ after ‘‘manner’’; and 

21 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(f) GRANT AWARD PREFERENCE.—In awarding 

23 grants under this section, the Secretary shall give pref24 erence to applications for programs that carry out the acVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:19 Feb 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H849.IH H849

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1 tivities listed in subsection (b)(2) for the purpose of 

2 strengthening civics education and learning. 

3 ‘‘(g) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after 

4 the end of each fiscal year, the Secretary shall submit to 

5 the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of 

6 Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, 

7 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate a report containing— 

8 ‘‘(1) a description of each eligible entity award9 ed a grant under this section during the preceding 

10 fiscal year; 

11 ‘‘(2) a description of whether each such eligible 

12 entity was able to met each of the purposes under 

13 subsection (a), and if so, how such eligible entity 

14 was able to meet such purposes; and 

15 ‘‘(3) any recommendations for continuation of 

16 the grant program under this section. 

17 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In ad18 dition to the amounts reserved under section 2231(b)(2), 

19 there are authorized to be appropriated $30,000,000 to 

20 carry out this section for fiscal year 2020.’’. 

Æ 


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