Make People More Informed Voters

 

Civics is a required class for juniors and seniors, but it shouldn’t be restricted to just one class at the high school

level. This bill aims to make civics a mandatory unit in Elementary and middle school. For Elementary, it will take

place in 4th grade, and in middle school, it will take place in 7th grade.

 

Often, many voters don’t do proper research or only do biased research. Voters are 30% less likely to know stories

unfavorable to their own political party. Instead, they consume news that confirms their views. In the 2020 election,

45% of Trump voters and 22% of Biden voters received information that was made up and was intended to mislead the

public. The Minnesota Department of Education fails to educate the public on how the government even works. 22% of

eighth-graders are proficient in civics. If a mandatory class is put into place for high school students, they will grow

up to be better voters. In fact, the more educated people are, the more likely they are to vote. 77% of people who had

attended or graduated from college, and 90% with post-graduate studies, voted. Compared to 54% of voters with only a

high-school diploma and 36% of dropouts.

 

This bill affects public and charter schools. It doesn’t affect Universities, community ed, private schools, or

homeschools. This bill aims to make civics a mandatory unit in Elementary and middle school. The civics class for high

school will remain unchanged.

Word definitions

Civics - The study of the rights and duties of citizenship

Voter - A person who votes or has the right to vote at an election.

The Minnesota Department of Education - The state government agency responsible for implementing and overseeing the

state's education system

 

The Minnesota Department of Education will reallocate 5% of the social studies budget to the rewriting of the

curriculum.

 

If a school doesn’t implement the change in curriculum or incorrectly uses the curriculum, the school's funding will be

cut by 5% until the problem is resolved. If a teacher doesn’t teach the class correctly, they will receive a formal

warning. If it becomes a repeated offence, it may be cause for dismissal.

 

This will be one year after the passing of this bill.