DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds on Monday introduced a bill that would require high school students to pass a citizenship test in order to graduate.

The bill requires students to score a 60% or higher on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Naturalization test in order to graduate. According to the governor’s office, the bill would provide accommodations for students with disabilities and English language learners. Students would be allowed to retake the test until they pass.

According to the governor, the test would help improve civics education for students.

Last Tuesday, January 28, the Iowa House Education Committee advanced a bill that also requires students grades nine through 12 to pass a citizenship test in order to graduate. The bill is scheduled to be debated on the Iowa House floor on Wednesday, February 5.

The governor said her bill also aims to improve math proficiency for Iowa’s students. It would require early screening and intervention for those struggling with math. According to the governor, the Iowa Department of Education would help schools identify struggling students and develop personalized mathematics plans.

Along with helping students, the bill would have teachers utilize “evidence-based strategies and tools to effectively provide math instruction.”

“Our state’s math scores show there is plenty of room for improvement,” Gov. Reynolds said in a press release. “Next to early childhood literacy, nothing is a more proven indicator of future success than math proficiency. More than a quarter of Iowa fourth graders are not proficient in math — that is unacceptable. We must provide math instruction in the way we know it works to keep our students competitive and set them up to excel in life after school.”

The governor’s office said the bill has been introduced to the Iowa House and Senate.

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