Following the nightmare of Common Core, legislative efforts were made to ensure Idaho students learned about the history of their country and how the government was formed. Beginning in the 2016-2017 school year, high school students were required to take, and pass, a civics test in order to graduate. Idaho Code § 33-1602 defined exactly what the student should learn.
With Senate Bill 1336, passed during the 2026 legislative session, high school students will now take a new civics test that has been reduced from 100 pages to just 50 that are considered “more rigorous”. The 100-page test was a “variation of the 100-question civics test used for citizen naturalization.”
The new bill also made changes in education requirements for American history classes (Article III) beginning in 8th grade. As an example, education “shall” now “include instruction on totalitarian ideologies, such as communism and fascism”; requirements for understanding “the content, history, meaning, significance, and effect of key historical documents”; and instruction on “the fundamental principles of America’s republican form of government, and the virtues necessary for good citizenship”.
Other changes include questions on defining the concept of democracy and liberty and explaining the benefits of a bicameral legislature.
It is curious where this bill actually originated from, within Idaho or through influence from an outside organization. As an emendation, a world history elective course is being suggested by the same group. To older folks, it seems like these civic and world history topics were taught back in the day. Maybe a return to education from prior years is beginning.
Just for fun, a sample of the new test questions can be found here.
