HB 1857

During the 2026-2027 school year , and in each school year thereafter , this bill requires e ach director of schools for an LEA and each director of a public charter school to annually designate for the LEA or public charter school one instructional day each school year to observe the Fourth of July by providing students enrolled in any of the grades K-12 with age- and grade-appropriate instruction on the founding of the United States, the separation of the original 13 colonies from Great Britain, the Declara tion of Independence, the United States Constitution, and the fundamental rights and freedoms enjoyed by American citizens. INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAM – GRADE-SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES This bill requires e ach LEA and public charter school to determine the instructional program and methods used to provide such instruction, including designing and implementing interactive classroom lessons, readings, writing assignments, and discussions, or conducting school assemblies. The instruction provided by an LEA or public charter school on the day of observance of the Fourth of July must acc omplish the following grade-specific objectives :  Introduce the foundational concepts of American independence to students in grades K-5 to ensure students can e xplain the meaning of the Fourth of July; identify the United States as an independent nation; describe the basic ideas of freedom and individual rights; and recognize the national symbols of the United States and their connection to American freedom and independence .  Emphasize the historical context of the Fourth of July and establish a civic understanding for students in grades 6-8, which may be accomplished through the social studies curriculum, to ensure students can describe the events that led to America gaining its independence from Great Britain; explain the reasons for why the 13 original American colonies sought self-governance; summarize the purpose and significance of the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution; and identify the foundational civic principles of liberty, individual rights, limited government, and consent of the governed .  Focus on analysis of foundational texts and civic themes for students in grades 9-12, which may be accomplished through the English language arts curriculum, to ensure that students can analyze the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution as foundational American texts; identify key themes of the American Revolution; evaluate the historical and philosophical significance of American independence; and understand the connection our founding American principles have to modern civic responsibilities and American citizenship. This bill requires the instruction provided to students to be nonpartisan and solely educational in nature. The focus of the required instruction must, at all times, be on historical facts, the content of the founding documents, and the civic principles underlying the creation of the founding documents and of t he United States. DIRECTOR DUTIES This bill requires each director of schools for an LEA and each director of a public charter school to (i) a nnually designate the day of observance; ( ii ) e nsure consistent implementation of this bill at each school in the LEA or at the public charter school; ( iii ) v erify that the instruction provided to students at each public school in the LEA or at the public charter school for purposes of this bill complies with the requirements of this bill and is aligned to the relevant state academic standards adopted by the state board of education if the instruction is being provided as part of a social studies or English languag e arts class; and ( iv ) p rovide guidance as needed to support the implementation of this bill at each public school in the LEA or at the public charter school. PERIODIC REVIEW OF CONTENT, MATERIALS, AND INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS This bill requires each LEA and public charter school to periodically review the content, materials, and instructional methods used to provide the instruction and update the same as the LEA or public charter school determines appropriate to ensure best practices in civic education are implemented and to ensure that any instruction provided as part of a social studies or English language arts class is aligned to the relevant state academic standards adopted by the state board of education.