An Act relative to civic test requirements for graduation
Generates a plain-language summary of the bill text and history.
| Date | Branch | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 2/9/2026 | House | Reporting date extended to Wednesday, March 18, 2026 |
| 10/29/2025 | Joint | Hearing scheduled for 11/12/2025 from 11:00 AM-05:00 PM in Gardner Auditorium |
| 2/27/2025 | Senate | Senate concurred |
| 2/27/2025 | House | Referred to the committee on Education |
No additional cosponsors.
of Chapter 71 of the General Laws, as appearing in chapter 296 of the Acts of 2018, is hereby amended by inserting at the end thereof the following:- “(e) All public high schools shall provide a civics test for all of their students prior to graduation. Beginning in the 2021-2022 school year, in order to graduate from high school or obtain a general equivalency diploma, a pupil must correctly answer at least 60 of the 100 questions listed on a civics test that is identical to the civics portion of the naturalization test used by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. A pupil who does not obtain a passing score on the test that is identical to the civics portion of the naturalization test may retake the test until the pupil obtains a passing score. Pupils who receive special education shall not be required to achieve passing scores on the civics test in order to graduate from high school. (f) The department of elementary and secondary education shall establish rules and regulations for monitoring adherence subsection (e).
Section 2 of Chapter 71 of the General Laws, as appearing in chapter 296 of the Acts of 2018, is hereby amended by inserting at the end thereof the following:- “(e) All public high schools shall provide a civics test for all of their students prior to graduation. Beginning in the 2021-2022 school year, in order to graduate from high school or obtain a general equivalency diploma, a pupil must correctly answer at least 60 of the 100 questions listed on a civics test that is identical to the civics portion of the naturalization test used by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. A pupil who does not obtain a passing score on the test that is identical to the civics portion of the naturalization test may retake the test until the pupil obtains a passing score. Pupils who receive special education shall not be required to achieve passing scores on the civics test in order to graduate from high school. (f) The department of elementary and secondary education shall establish rules and regulations for monitoring adherence subsection (e).