EDUCATION – Adds to existing law to provide for the Idaho State Seal of Excellence in Civics Program.

LEGISLATURE
OF
THE
STATE
OF
IDAHO
Sixty-eighth
Legislature
Second
Regular
Session
-
2026
IN
THE
HOUSE
OF
REPRESENTATIVES
HOUSE
BILL
NO.
712
BY
EDUCATION
COMMITTEE
AN
ACT
1
RELATING
TO
EDUCATION;
AMENDING
CHAPTER
5,
TITLE
33,
IDAHO
CODE,
BY
THE
ADDI
-
2
TION
OF
A
NEW
SECTION
33
-
528,
IDAHO
CODE,
TO
PROVIDE
FOR
THE
IDAHO
STATE
3
SEAL
OF
EXCELLENCE
IN
CIVICS
PROGRAM;
AND
DECLARING
AN
EMERGENCY
AND
4
PROVIDING
AN
EFFECTIVE
DATE.
5
Be
It
Enacted
by
the
Legislature
of
the
State
of
Idaho:
6
SECTION
1.
That
Chapter
5,
Title
33,
Idaho
Code,
be,
and
the
same
is
7
hereby
amended
by
the
addition
thereto
of
a
NEW
SECTION
,
to
be
known
and
des
-
8
ignated
as
Section
33
-
528,
Idaho
Code,
and
to
read
as
follows:
9
33
-
528.
IDAHO
STATE
SEAL
OF
EXCELLENCE
IN
CIVICS
PROGRAM.
(1)
The
10
legislature
finds
that
a
strong
constitutional
republic
relies
on
citizens
1
1
who
possess
civic
knowledge,
civic
skills,
civic
values,
and
a
commitment
to
12
constructive
civic
participation.
It
is
the
intent
of
the
legislature
to
es
-
13
tablish
a
voluntary
diploma
endorsement
program
recognizing
Idaho
students
14
who
have
achieved
excellence
in
civics
education
and
civic
engagement.
15
(2)
There
is
hereby
established
the
Idaho
state
seal
of
excellence
in
16
civics
to
recognize
graduating
high
school
students
who
have
attained
a
high
17
level
of
civics
proficiency
and
civic
engagement.
18
(3)
Participation
in
the
Idaho
state
seal
of
excellence
in
civics
pro
-
19
gram
is
voluntary
for
school
districts
and
public
charter
schools.
A
school
20
district
or
public
charter
school
shall
notify
the
superintendent
of
public
21
instruction
of
its
intent
to
participate.
Each
participating
school
dis
-
22
trict
or
public
charter
school
shall:
23
(a)
Maintain
records
of
students
who
meet
program
requirements;
24
(b)
Identify
each
eligible
student
prior
to
graduation;
25
(c)
Affix
the
state
seal
to
each
eligible
student's
diploma
and
note
the
26
award
on
the
student's
transcript;
and
27
(d)
Allow
eligible
students
to
wear
a
red,
white,
and
blue
honor
cord
28
during
graduation
ceremonies
to
recognize
the
achievement.
29
(4)
To
earn
the
Idaho
state
seal
of
excellence
in
civics,
a
student
30
shall
meet
the
following
requirements:
31
(a)
Demonstrate
civic
knowledge
by:
32
(i)
Successful
completion
of
all
state
-
required
social
studies
33
coursework
for
graduation
with
an
overall
GPA
of
3.25
or
higher
in
34
such
courses;
35
(ii)
Demonstrating
mastery,
which
shall
be
ninety
percent
(90%)
36
or
higher,
on
the
Idaho
civics
assessment
required
by
section
37
33
-
1602,
Idaho
Code;
and
38
(iii)
Completion
of
a
civics
inquiry
or
research
project,
which
39
may
include:
40
1.
A
civics
readiness
research
project;
41
2.
A
capstone
paper
or
presentation;
42

2
3.
An
advanced
placement,
international
baccalaureate,
or
1
dual
credit
civics
or
government
project;
or
2
4.
A
standards
-
aligned
civics
inquiry
investigation;
3
(b)
Demonstrate
civic
participation
by
completing
at
least
three
(3)
of
4
the
following:
5
(i)
Service
learning
or
community
service,
requiring
completion
6
of
at
least
fifty
(50)
hours
of
voluntary
service
with
a
public
7
agency,
school,
nonprofit
organization,
or
charitable
organiza
-
8
tion
that
contributes
to
the
public
good.
Students
who
enlist
in
9
the
armed
forces
of
the
United
States
prior
to
graduation
shall
be
10
deemed
to
have
met
this
requirement;
1
1
(ii)
Civic
engagement
activities,
requiring
participation
in
at
12
least
fifteen
(15)
hours
of
civic
engagement
activities,
such
as
13
public
meetings,
mock
trial,
model
united
nations,
American
le
-
14
gion
boys
state
or
American
legion
auxiliary
girls
state,
youth
15
legislature,
local
government
internship,
or
student
government;
16
(iii)
Completion
of
at
least
two
(2)
approved
civic
learning
pro
-
17
grams,
including:
18
1.
Junior
reserve
officers'
training
corps,
with
a
minimum
19
two
(2)
year
participation;
20
2.
Summer
civics
institutes;
21
3.
School
-
sponsored
extracurricular
civics
programs;
or
22
4.
Projects
aligned
to
Idaho
and
United
States
government
23
standards;
or
24
(iv)
Civics
-
related
work
experience,
including
internships,
25
volunteering,
and
other
work
-
based
learning
opportunities;
and
26
(c)
Demonstrate
good
attendance
and
not
incur
any
major
disciplinary
27
infractions,
as
defined
by
local
school
board
policy.
28
(5)
The
state
seal
shall
be
affixed
to
the
diploma
of
a
student
who
sat
-
29
isfies
the
requirements
of
this
section
and
shall
be
noted
on
the
student's
30
official
transcript.
The
state
superintendent
of
public
instruction
shall
31
design
and
produce
the
insignia
and
deliver
appropriate
quantities
to
par
-
32
ticipating
school
districts
and
public
charter
schools
at
no
cost
to
stu
-
33
dents.
34
(6)
The
state
department
of
education
shall
provide
participating
35
school
districts
and
public
charter
schools
with
implementation
guidance
36
surrounding
participation
in
the
state
seal
of
excellence
in
civics
program,
37
including:
38
(a)
Rubrics,
examples
of
eligible
activities,
and
reporting
templates;
39
(b)
Professional
development
to
support
instruction
aligned
to
civics
40
proficiency;
and
41
(c)
Annually,
a
list
of
approved
civic
learning
programs.
Schools
may
42
design
local
projects,
assessments,
or
activities
that
align
with
state
43
civics
standards.
44
(7)
Participating
school
districts
and
public
charter
schools
shall
45
report
to
the
state
department
of
education
by
August
1
each
year:
46
(a)
The
number
of
students
awarded
the
Idaho
state
seal
of
excellence
in
47
civics;
and
48
(b)
Aggregate
data
on
student
participation
in
civic
learning
path
-
49
ways.
50

3
(8)
Any
school
that
demonstrates
that
seventy
-
five
percent
(75%)
or
1
more
of
its
graduating
senior
students
have
earned
the
Idaho
state
seal
of
2
excellence
in
civics
shall
be
identified
by
the
state
department
of
educa
-
3
tion
as
an
Idaho
school
of
civics
excellence.
4
(9)
The
state
department
of
education
shall
publish
an
annual
statewide
5
summary
for
the
Idaho
legislature,
governor,
and
communities
regarding
ex
-
6
cellence
in
civics
throughout
the
state.
7
SECTION
2.
An
emergency
existing
therefor,
which
emergency
is
hereby
8
declared
to
exist,
this
act
shall
be
in
full
force
and
effect
on
and
after
9
July
1,
2026.
10