March 17, 2015, Introduced by Senators COLBECK, SCHUITMAKER, BOOHER, SHIRKEY, BRANDENBURG, HORN, MARLEAU, KNOLLENBERG, ROBERTSON, KOWALL, PAVLOV and NOFS and referred to the Committee on Education.
A bill to amend 1976 PA 451, entitled
"The revised school code,"
by amending section 1278 (MCL 380.1278), as amended by 2004 PA 596,
and by adding sections 1167 and 1279h.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 1167. (1) The board of a school district or board of
directors of a public school academy is encouraged to provide
instruction that focuses on the following topics during the school
year in a grade- and age-level appropriate manner for all of its
pupils in grades K to 12:
(a) The core principles of the declaration of independence,
including, but not limited to, the following:
(i) We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are
created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness.
(ii) The purpose of government is to secure our unalienable
rights.
(iii) Government derives its just powers from the consent of the
governed.
(b) The core principles of our United States constitution,
including, but not limited to, the following:
(i) Our constitution has been established to ensure justice,
ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense,
promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty
for ourselves and our posterity.
(ii) All legislative powers are vested in a Congress of the
United States which consists of a senate and a house of
representatives.
(iii) The legislative powers delegated by the people to the
congress are limited and enumerated in article I, section 8 of the
United States constitution.
(iv) The executive power is vested in a president.
(v) The powers delegated by the people to the president are
limited and delineated in article II, section 2 of the United
States constitution.
(vi) The judicial powers shall be vested in 1 supreme court and
in such inferior courts as the congress may from time to time
ordain and establish.
(vii) The powers delegated by the people to the judicial branch
are limited and delineated in article III, section 2 of the United
States constitution.
(viii) Every state in the union shall have a republican form of
government.
(ix) Our constitution can be amended in accordance with the
stipulations of article V of the United States constitution.
(x) Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of
religion or prohibiting the free exercise of religion.
(xi) Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of
speech.
(xii) Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of the
press.
(xiii) Congress shall make no law abridging the right of the
people peaceably to assemble.
(xiv) Congress shall make no law abridging the right of the
people to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
(xv) A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security
of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms
shall not be infringed.
(xvi) The powers not delegated to the United States by the
constitution or prohibited by it to the states are reserved to the
states respectively, or to the people.
(c) The core principles of our state constitution, including,
but not limited to, the following:
(i) All political power is inherent in the people.
(ii) Government is instituted for equal benefit, security, and
protection of the people.
(iii) No person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws
because of religion, race, color, or national origin.
(iv) Every person shall be at liberty to worship God according
to the dictates of his or her own conscience. A person's civil and
political rights, privileges, and capacities shall not be
diminished or enlarged on account of his or her religious belief.
(v) No law impairing the obligation of contract shall be
enacted.
(vi) Religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to good
government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of
education shall forever be encouraged.
(vii) The legislature shall maintain and support a system of
free public elementary and secondary schools as defined by law.
(viii) Every person has a right to keep and bear arms for the
defense of himself or herself and this state.
(ix) The public health and general welfare of the people of the
state are declared to be matters of primary public concern. The
legislature shall pass suitable laws for the protection and
promotion of public health.
(2) A school district or public school academy, and its
professional school personnel, may develop curricula and materials
for the instruction described in this section that are aligned with
the state board recommended model core academic curriculum content
standards developed under section 1278 and are grade and age-level
appropriate.
Sec. 1278. (1) In addition to the requirements for
accreditation under section 1280 specified in that section, if the
board of a school district wants all of the schools of the school
district to be accredited under section 1280, the board shall
provide to all pupils attending public school in the district a
core academic curriculum in compliance with subsection (3) in each
of the curricular areas specified in the state board recommended
model core academic curriculum content standards developed under
subsection (2). The state board model core academic curriculum
content standards shall encompass academic and cognitive
instruction only. For purposes of this section, the state board
model core academic curriculum content standards shall not include
attitudes, beliefs, or value systems that are not essential in the
legal, economic, and social structure of our society and to the
personal and social responsibility of citizens of our society.
(2) Recommended model core academic curriculum content
standards shall be developed and periodically updated by the state
board, shall be in the form of knowledge and skill content
standards that are recommended as state standards for adoption by
public schools in local curriculum formulation and adoption, and
shall be distributed to each school district in the state. The
recommended model core academic curriculum content standards shall
set forth desired learning objectives in math, science, reading,
history, geography, economics, American government, and writing for
all children at each stage of schooling and be based upon the
"Michigan K-12 program standards of quality" to ensure that high
academic standards, academic skills, and academic subject matters
are built into the instructional goals of all school districts for
all children. Not later than May 1, 2016, for each grade level for
which there is a state assessment for social studies, the state
board shall update the state board recommended model core academic
curriculum content standards developed under this subsection to
ensure that they cover the instruction described in section 1167.
The state board also shall ensure that the Michigan educational
assessment program and the Michigan merit examination are based on
the state recommended model core curriculum content standards, are
testing only for proficiency in basic and advanced academic skills
and academic subject matter, and are not used to measure pupils'
values or attitudes.
(3) The board of each school district, considering academic
curricular objectives defined and recommended pursuant to
subsection (2), shall do both of the following:
(a) Establish a core academic curriculum for its pupils at the
elementary, middle, and secondary school levels. The core academic
curriculum shall define academic objectives to be achieved by all
pupils and shall be based upon the school district's educational
mission, long-range pupil goals, and pupil performance objectives.
The core academic curriculum may vary from the model core academic
curriculum content standards recommended by the state board
pursuant to subsection (2).
(b) After consulting with teachers and school building
administrators, determine the aligned instructional program for
delivering the core academic curriculum and identify the courses
and programs in which the core academic curriculum will be taught.
(4) The board may supplement the core academic curriculum by
providing instruction through additional classes and programs.
(5) For all pupils, the subjects or courses, and the delivery
of those including special assistance, that constitute the
curriculum the pupils engage in shall assure the pupils have a
realistic opportunity to learn all subjects and courses required by
the district's core academic curriculum. A subject or course
required by the core academic curriculum pursuant to subsection (3)
shall be provided to all pupils in the school district by a school
district, a consortium of school districts, or a consortium of 1 or
more school districts and 1 or more intermediate school districts.
(6) To the extent practicable, the state board may adopt or
develop academic objective-oriented high standards for knowledge
and life skills, and a recommended core academic curriculum, for
special education pupils for whom it may not be realistic or
desirable to expect achievement of initial mastery of the state
board recommended model core academic content standards objectives
or of a high school diploma.
(7) The state board shall make available to all nonpublic
schools in this state, as a resource for their consideration, the
model core academic curriculum content standards developed for
public schools pursuant to subsection (2) for the purpose of
assisting the governing body of a nonpublic school in developing
its core academic curriculum.
(8) Excluding special education pupils, pupils having a
learning disability, and pupils with extenuating circumstances as
determined by school officials, a pupil who does not score
satisfactorily on the 4th or 7th grade Michigan educational
assessment program reading test shall be provided special
assistance reasonably expected to enable the pupil to bring his or
her reading skills to grade level within 12 months.
(9) Any course that would have been considered a nonessential
elective course under Snyder v Charlotte School Dist, 421 Mich 517
(1984), on April 13, 1990 shall continue to be offered to resident
pupils of nonpublic schools on a shared time basis.
Sec. 1279h. Beginning with state assessments conducted during
the 2015-2016 school year, for each grade level for which there is
a state assessment for social studies, the superintendent of public
instruction shall ensure that state assessments include questions
related to the instruction described in and documents enumerated in
section 1167, including at least the declaration of independence
and the constitution of the United States.
Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect 90 days
after the date it is enacted into law.