<p>INDIANAPOLIS — A bill incorporating civics education into Hoosier students’ middle school curriculum is headed to Gov. Eric Holcomb’s desk after House lawmakers voted Thursday to pass the measure.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2021/bills/house/1384">legislation</a> requires every student in the state to complete a one-semester course in civics education in either sixth, seventh or eighth grade.</p>
<p>All public, charter and state-accredited private schools across the state must require each student to successfully complete the course, beginning with students who begin sixth grade during the 2023-24 school year.</p>
<p>The bill tasks the Indiana Department of Education and State Board of Education with developing standards for the civics curriculum by July 1, 2022.</p>
<p>The bill also creates the Indiana Civic Education Commission, a task force that will oversee new civic learning responsibilities in middle schools.</p>
<p>Republican State Rep. Tony Cook, the bill’s author, said the legislation is a byproduct of the Civic Education Task Force, which was responsible for making recommendations to boost civic engagement.</p>
<p>Cook expressed concern that students in Indiana do not learn enough about democratic governance before they reach high school. That makes students ill-prepared for their their responsibilities as citizens, lawmakers argued, including voting in elections.</p>
