Legislation Document

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:

Section 1. Amend Subchapter I, Chapter 41, Title 14 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§ 4144. Comparative political ideology instruction.

(a) For purposes of this section :

(1) “Charter school” means a public school established under Chapter 5 of this title.

(2) “Department” means the Department of Education.

(3) “School district” means a clearly defined geographic subdivision of this State organized for the purpose of administering public education in that area and includes a district specifically created to administer a system of vocational or technical education.

(b) A school district or charter school serving high school students shall provide instruction in comparative political ideology in grade 10. The instruction must include a comparative discussion of political ideologies, including communism and totalitarianism, which conflict with the principles of freedom and democracy essential to the founding principles of the United States.

(1) An existing course that meets state standards.

(2) Curricula developed or identified by the school district or charter school.

(d) The instruction required under subsection (b) of this section must be designed to do all of the following:

(1) Explore various political ideologies, including communism and totalitarianism.

(2) Highlight the conflict other political ideologies have with the founding principles of the United States.

(3) Prepare students to be responsible citizens in a free democracy.

(4) Develop a recognition of and acceptance for the responsibility for preserving and defending the blessings of liberty inherited from prior generations and secured by the United States Constitution.

(5) Reaffirm the commitment to freedom and democracy essential to the founding principles of the United States.

(e) The Department shall do all of the following:

(1) Develop and make publicly available a list of resources to assist a school district or charter school in creating the instruction required under subsection (b) of this section.

(2) Curate and make publicly available oral history resources, to be used along with the instruction required under subsection (b) of this section, that provide the personal stories of diverse individuals who demonstrate civic-minded qualities, including first-person accounts of victims of other nations’ governing philosophies who can compare those philosophies with those of the United States.

(f)(1) Each school district and charter school shall designate an individual responsible for overseeing the implementation of the instruction required under subsection (b) of this section. Each school district and charter school shall provide the name and contact information for the individual designated under this subsection to the Department no later than September 15 of each year.

(2) Each individual designated under paragraph (f)(1) of this section shall report to the Department no later than November 15 of each year regarding how the required instruction has been implemented by that individual’s school district or charter school.

(3) The Department shall submit a written report to the Governor, members of the General Assembly, and Director of the Division of Research no later than January 15 or each year. The report must include the instruction provided under subsection (b) of this section and how the instruction has been implemented by each school district and charter school.

(g) The Department may, with the approval of the State Board of Education, adopt regulations to implement and enforce this section.

Section 2. This Act is effective immediately and is to be implemented beginning with the 2023 through 2024 school year.

SYNOPSIS

This Act requires a school district or charter school serving high school students to provide instruction in comparative political ideology in grade 10. The instruction must include a comparative discussion of political ideologies, including communism and totalitarianism, which conflict with the principles of freedom and democracy essential to the founding principles of the United States.

The purpose of this instruction is to do all of the following:

(1) Explore various political ideologies, including communism and totalitarianism.

(2) Highlight the conflict other political ideologies have with the founding principles of the United States.

(3) Prepare students to be responsible citizens in a free democracy.

(5) Reaffirm the commitment to freedom and democracy essential to the founding principles of the United States.

This Act requires the Department of Education (“Department”) to make resources available to school districts and charter schools to assist them in providing the required instruction. Additionally, the Department is required to curate and make publicly available oral history resources, to be used along with the required instruction, that provide the personal stories of diverse individuals who demonstrate civic-minded qualities, including first-person accounts of victims of other nations’ governing philosophies who can compare those philosophies with those of the United States.

This Act requires each school district or charter school to designate an individual responsible for overseeing the implementation of the instruction required under this Act. The designated individual is to report to the Department each year regarding how the required instruction has been implemented by that individual’s school district or charter school. The Department is to report each year to the Governor and General Assembly.

The implementation of this Act is delayed until the 2023 through 2024 school year to give school districts and charter schools time to develop the instruction required under this Act and the Department time to curate and provide the required oral history resources.

Author: Senator Richardson

SPONSOR:	Sen. Richardson & Rep. Collins
Sens. Hocker, Lawson, Pettyjohn