Gov. Kristi Noem drafts bill limiting 'action civics' following similar bill weeks ago
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Gov. Kristi Noem announced Monday she drafted new legislation to block “action civics.”
This legislation prohibits public colleges, technical colleges or state-accredited school districts from directing, requiring or compelling students to protest or lobby as part of a grade, course or credit.
The draft states that it doesn’t prevent students from voluntarily and freely exercising their freedom of speech, and doesn’t include education activities or assignments that simulate protest or lobbying in a school setting.
Students shouldn’t be “forced to choose one political ideology over another or be forced to protest or lobby as part of their education,” according to a release from her office.
More: Gov. Kristi Noem drafts bill to limit critical race theory education in schools, universities
In South Dakota, Noem said students should be educated and instructed in the principles of freedom, should learn how to participate in government, and will focus on education over “indoctrination.”
Gov. Noem's spokesman, Ian Fury, didn't provide an example of if any student in South Dakota had ever been forced, in an educational setting, to lobby or protest for a grade, course or credit.
But Fury did say that has happened in other places, and has no place in South Dakota. "The bill helps us keep it that way," he said.
Noem’s latest bill follows suit with a similar bill she proposed three weeks ago blocking teachings of critical race theory, an academic concept that focuses on how racism is embedded in legal systems and policies in the U.S.
Top education officials in the state have said CRT largely doesn’t show up in South Dakota’s content standards or curriculum in either K-12 schools or colleges.
This is a developing story. Stay with the Argus Leader for updates.
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Gov. Kristi Noem drafts bill limiting what she calls 'action civics'
