JUNEAU -- Alaska lawmakers are considering a bill that would require school districts to teach American constitutionalism, the latest of several state government measures across the U.S. aimed at civics education.
The Republican-led bill would require Alaska high school students to study the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, the U.S. Constitution, the Articles of Confederation, the Federalist Papers and the first state constitutions.
The House Education Committee is scheduled to discuss the bill Friday, joining other state legislatures in considering whether to add civics education requirements.
Arizona and North Dakota legislators last month adopted GOP-sponsored laws requiring high school students to pass the civics portion of the U.S. citizenship test to receive a diploma. Lawmakers in Utah, South Dakota and Tennessee and other states are now considering similar bills at the suggestion of Republican sponsors.
No opposition has emerged in Alaska, but elsewhere critics have questioned whether exams are an appropriate way to engage students. Alaska's requirement would not specify that students pass a certain test.
State Rep. Wes Keller, one of three House sponsors, has called the bill a "soft mandate." His intent is to allow each school district to decide how to implement the requirement. Districts can add the material to an existing history or civics course, or another class, he said, but such a unit must be required for graduation.
The Wasilla Republican just wants to share his reverence for the nation's Constitution with students, he said.
"The more I look at it, the more awed I get with the incredible values on which our country is founded," he said.
Keller said America's constitutional values have served as an example for other countries, and it's important for students to know what those values are.
"Most recently, I'm thinking about Egypt, the struggles they've gone through," he said.
This is the third time Keller has introduced such a bill. He did so in 2011 and 2013; neither of those bills made it to the House floor for a vote.
An aide to Keller said that while the issue wasn't a priority before, this time around, it appears that there's more momentum within the Legislature, and in the state as a whole, for the bill.