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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9058 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9058
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to improve the American
History for Freedom grant program.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 18, 2024
Mr. Blumenauer (for himself and Ms. DeLauro) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the
Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to improve the American
History for Freedom grant program.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Understanding and Studying American
Civics Act of 2024'' or the ``USA Civics Act of 2024''.
SEC. 2. AMERICAN CIVICS EDUCATION PROGRAM.
Section 805 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1161e)
is amended--
(1) in the section heading, by striking ``history for
freedom'' and inserting ``civics education program'';
(2) in subsection (a)--
(A) by striking ``subsection (f)'' and inserting
``subsection (g)'';
(B) by striking ``the Secretary is authorized to
award three-year grants, on a competitive basis,'' and
inserting ``the Secretary is authorized to award
grants, once every 3 years and on a competitive
basis,'';
(C) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the
following:
``(1) American political thought and history;'';
(D) in paragraph (2) by striking ``or'' after the
semicolon;
(E) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the
following:
``(3) the history, achievements, and impact of American
representative democracy and constitutional democracies
globally; or''; and
(F) by adding at the end the following:
``(4) the means of participation in political and civic
life.'';
(3) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``as defined in
section 101.'' and inserting ``, or a partnership that
includes an institution of higher education and one or
more nonprofit organizations, whose missions and
demonstrated expertise are consistent with the purpose
of this section.'';
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``that emerged''
and all that follows through the period at the end and
inserting ``founded on the principles of representative
democracy, constitutional government, individual
rights, market economics, religious freedom and
religious tolerance, and freedom of thought and
inquiry.''; and
(C) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the
following:
``(3) American political thought and history.--The term
`American political thought and history' means--
``(A) the significant constitutional, political,
intellectual, economic, social, and foreign policy
trends and issues that have shaped the course of
American history; and
``(B) the key episodes, turning points, texts, and
figures involved in the constitutional, political,
intellectual, diplomatic, social, and economic history
of the United States.'';
(4) in subsection (c)(2)--
(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking
``traditional'' and all that follows through the
semicolon and inserting ``American political thought
and history, free institutions, the impact of American
representative democracy and constitutional democracies
globally, or the means of participation in political
and civic life;''; and
(B) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ``, which may
include the creation or use of open educational
resources'' after ``subsection (e)(1)(B)'';
(5) in subsection (d)--
(A) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the
following:
``(1) increase access to quality programming that expands
knowledge of American political thought and history, free
institutions, the impact of American representative democracy
and constitutional democracies globally, or the means of
participation in political and civic life;''; and
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``traditional
American history, free institutions, or Western
civilization'' and inserting ``American political
thought and history, free institutions, the impact of
American representative democracy and constitutional
democracies globally, or the means of participation in
political and civic life.'';
(6) by striking subsection (e) and inserting the following:
``(e) Use of Funds.--
``(1) Required use of funds.--Funds provided under this
section shall be used--
``(A) for collaboration with local educational
agencies for the purpose of providing elementary school
and secondary school teachers an opportunity to enhance
their knowledge of American political thought and
history, free institutions, the impact of American
representative democracy and constitutional democracies
globally, or the means of participation in political
and civic life; and
``(B) to carry out one or more of the following:
``(i) Establishing or strengthening
academic programs or centers focused on
American political thought and history, free
institutions, the impact of American
representative democracy and constitutional
democracies globally, or the means of
participation in political and civic life,
which may include--
``(I) design and implementation of
programs of study, courses, lecture
series, seminars, and symposia;
``(II) development, publication,
and dissemination of instructional
materials;
``(III) research;
``(IV) support for faculty teaching
in undergraduate and, if applicable,
graduate programs; or
``(V) support for graduate and
postgraduate fellowships, if
applicable.
``(ii) For teacher preparation initiatives
that stress content mastery regarding American
political thought and history, free
institutions, the impact of American
representative democracy and constitutional
democracies globally, or the means of
participation in political and civic life.
``(iii) To conduct outreach activities to
ensure that information about the activities
funded under this section is widely
disseminated--
``(I) to undergraduate students
(including students enrolled in teacher
education programs, if applicable);
``(II) to graduate students
(including students enrolled in teacher
education programs, if applicable);
``(III) to faculty;
``(IV) to local educational
agencies; and
``(V) within the local community.
``(2) Allowable uses of funds.--Funds provided under this
section may be used to support--
``(A) collaboration with entities such as--
``(i) nonprofit organizations whose
missions and demonstrated expertise are
consistent with the purpose of this section,
for assistance in carrying out activities
described under subsection (a); and
``(ii) Federal or State humanities
programs, which may include those funded by the
National Endowment for the Humanities;
``(B) the creation and use of open educational
resources on American political thought and history,
free institutions, or the impact of American
representative democracy and constitutional democracies
globally, or the means of participation in political
and civic life; and
``(C) other activities that meet the purposes of
this section.'';
(7) by redesignating subsection (f) as subsection (g);
(8) in subsection (g), as redesignated by paragraph (7), by
striking ``2009'' and inserting ``2024''; and
(9) by inserting after subsection (e) the following:
``(f) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed to authorize the Secretary to prescribe an American political
thought and history curriculum.''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
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