Representative Wes Keller of Wasilla has introduced a bill which would require school districts to implement curriculum about “American constitutionalism”.
House Bill 30 would require the development of materials to teach the history of the constitution along with the values of the framers. Students would learn about the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, the U.S. Constitution, Federalist Papers, and early state constitutions.
Rep. Keller(R-Wasilla): “The curriculum segment has to teach the values that the founding fathers had in mind when the declaration of independence was written, the articles of confederation and the early documents that happened in approximately a 15 year period.”
Rep. Keller has previously introduced similar legislation over the past two sessions.
Homer Rep. Paul Seaton (R) spoke up during the House Education Committee’s meeting, which Keller chairs, saying he was uncomfortable looking beyond the constitution itself because each framer had different values.
Rep. Keller(R-Wasilla): “Because we can pick one value or another, the federalist or the anti federalist favors, we can pick many of those things.”
The bill states that high school graduates will not get their diploma unless they pass the constitutionalism course.
Committee member Jim Colver arrived late to the discussion and missed the discussion about whether or not the bill would require new, separate classes therefore HB 30 was held until next week.
