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(Des Moines, IA) -- A proposal that would require Iowa high school students to pass a portion of the US naturalization test in order to graduate is moving forward in the Iowa Legislature. Senate File 369 passed the Iowa Senate on Monday with bipartisan support. State Sen. Jesse Green (R-Harcourt) managed the bill.
"Civics is going to be one of the things that can help bring us back together and not be so divided within our country," Green says. "A greater appreciation for what we have and what makes us unique and special is the key to bridging these divides."
The bill requires a student answer 60% of the provided questions correctly in order to pass the test. It also provides that a student who can't meet that requirement may retake the test as many times as necessary. Six Democrats joined the Republican majority in voting in favor, including State Sen. Tony Bisignano (D-Des Moines).
"As young people come up, it's almost an elective of whether you want to even understand what kind of government we have," Bisignano says.
Some spoke against the bill and argued it doesn't do enough. That includes State Sen. Molly Donahue (D-Cedar Rapids).
"We keep looking for quick fixes like this citizenship test to measure civic knowledge," Donahue says. "But those won't solve the real problem. If we want better civic learners, we need to invest in social studies from the ground up. That means...training qualified teachers and giving it equal importance alongside math, science and language arts."
According to the Hoover Institution, 16 states had similar requirements as of December 2024. Iowa's proposal still needs approval from the House before heading to Governor Kim Reynolds' desk.