Alaska students could have a new graduation requirement in the not-too-distant-future. The Alaska Senate unanimously passed a bill Monday that would mandate a new civics course or exam for students who start ninth grade in 2027.
The bill is a longtime priority for Senate President Gary Stevens, a Kodiak Republican.
“What it really is all about is creating citizens,” he told lawmakers. “It goes back to George Washington — when he left the presidency, he said, our job is to make sure that our young people become citizens,” a reference to Washington’s final address to Congress.
Stevens, a retired professor not seeking reelection this fall, has made civics education a priority for much of his quarter-century career in the Legislature. In 2016, Stevens led the Legislature to pass a resolution aiming to assess and improve the state’s civic education in public schools.
Senate Bill 23 directs the state Board of Education to come up with a curriculum covering various aspects of government and politics. It covers 14 primary areas, including the founding principles of the United States, federalism, government institutions, elections, political parties and systems of government around the world.
“For decades, we've had a focus in our schools — and it's important — on math and science, reading and writing, but that has been at the expense of social studies,” Stevens said. “Senate Bill 23 is an effort, among many that are needed, to help restore faith and understanding of our system of government by our younger generations.”
The bill initially aimed to prepare students to pass the test the U.S. gives to naturalized citizens. To reduce costs, the version that passed the Senate instead directs the state school board to come up with a curriculum and a civics test based on freely available materials.
Students would be able to retake the test if they did not pass, and districts would also be free to assign a project rather than a test.
The state education department estimates it’d cost roughly $840,000 in its first year as the department develops the program.
The bill faced no significant opposition from lawmakers or the public and included Democrats and Republicans as cosponsors.
“It's pretty hard to sit here and not support George Washington,” Sitka Republican Sen. Bert Stedman said.
Senators have passed similar bills twice over the past five years, but they’ve died in the House without a final vote.
Stevens said he’s optimistic the House will pass the bill in his final year in office — and if not, he said he’d find someone to carry the bill again in 2027.
