Iowa high schoolers would have to take two semesters of U-S government rather than just one to qualify for graduation under a bill that’s cleared a House subcommittee.
Representative Steven Bradley, a Republican from Cascade, says he hopes the extra semester of government will make a big difference. “When I go and talk to high school kids, I end up explaining everything about our government, about civics,” Bradley said, “and they don’t know anything. They don’t know a lot.”
University of Iowa law professor Josephine Gittler — founder of the “Alliance for Civic Education of Iowa” — says recent national assessments show 88 percent of eighth graders didn’t know enough about civics to be considered proficient.
If the bill becomes law, the requirement would go into effect, starting in the fall of 2028.
