Bell: students need to be tested on civics

• The test would be the same administered to people who apply to be naturalized citizens.
• Bell and other local lawmakers touched on a number of issues during a legislative breakfast.

STAUNTON – One state legislator from the region referred Wednesday to the image of “low information voters” who come to polls with the shallowest grasp of the issues they’re expected to help their governments decide.

Del. Richard P. “Dickie” Bell believes Virginia schools can address what he considers to be a trend of growing citizen ignorance with a new requirement for high school graduation.

The same basic knowledge of the country’s institutions and history on which naturalized residents are tested before they’re allowed to take the oath of citizenship should also be given to high school students to pass as a condition for getting their diplomas, Bell said at an annual breakfast for local legislators.

“We have seen a de-emphasis on civic education over the past decade or more, and it’s reflecting on what our students know and what they don’t know,” Bell, R-Staunton, said at the legislative breakfast held by the Greater Augusta Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Inside Brightview Baldwin Park, Bell joined Dels. Steve Landes and Ben Cline along with state Sen. Emmett Hanger to talk with chamber members about budgeting, Medicaid reform and other issues before lawmakers a month before the start of the General Assembly session.

Bell said during his talk that response to his civics education bill that he filed for consideration for the upcoming session has been positive so far. It would come from a bank of 100 questions naturalizing citizens must study for the test such as, “name the three branches of government,” or “what are the first 10 constitutional amendments called?”

Like those seeking U.S. citizenship, students would get 10 of the questions and would need to answer six correctly to pass it.

Most adults know the answers to the questions without the need for any study, yet a recent survey in Arizona found that the pass rate for a group of high school students was in the single digits, Bell said.

“I think it’s important that our students graduating from high school in Virginia know these things,” he said.

The upcoming assembly session is a shortened version in which lawmakers primarily make amendments to the two-year state budget, which has required steep cuts due to funding reductions from the federal government. Automatic sequestration cuts have affected Virginia worse than other states because of the dependence here on military and contractor work.

“Most other states are seeing economic growth and activity,” said Landes, R-Weyers Cave. “Virginia is still way below where we generally are when you look at the dollars coming in from economic activity.”

Hanger, R-Mount Solon, is chair of a commission tasked with looking for reforms and efficiencies in the state Medicaid program toward a possible compromise to expand the benefit for the low income and disabled Virginians as part of federal health care reform. The commission is deadlocked on the matter overall, but reform and lower-than-expected costs mean the program will realize $200 million in savings, he said.

“I’m looking at about $200 million as the chair of the (Senate) Health and Human Services Subcommittee that I’d like to figure out how to spend in the health care area,” Hanger said.

Cline, R-Rockbridge, said most of the challenges the state government faces are blowing southward from Washington in the form of limits on offshore drilling, onerous mandates from health care reform and other things.

One positive has been that Republicans and the new Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe have been able to find common ground on making sure the state remains attractive for development, Cline said.

“One of those areas in where I think we share priorities is with economic development and making the most of Virginia’s great reputation for being the top spot in the East Coast to locate a business,” he said.