(Editor’s note: Thank you, Mr. Jacobs, for your comment. When our article was published, AZ HB 2064 had been submitted with implementation to begin 2015-2016. You are correct that the final bill was amended during its legislative process to begin 2016-2017 (for full text of bill, including amendments and vote count, visit https://legiscan.com/AZ/text/HB2064/2015). We appreciate the opportunity you provide to update the story.)

Governor Doug Ducey today proudly signed his first bill into law – the American Civics Bill, which will help ensure all Arizona students understand basic American civics.

Quoting what Justice Sandra Day O’Connor has called “the quiet crisis in education,” the governor emphasized the need for children to be properly educated about the history and founding principles of our nation.

“I am proud to sign the American Civics Bill into law, and I thank legislators in the House and Senate for swiftly sending this bipartisan legislation to my desk,” said Governor Ducey. “This unifying solution has brought together leaders from all sides of the political spectrum. Not long from now, our children will be entrusted with protecting the principles on which this country was founded, and it is up to us to prepare them for that responsibility today. As John Adams said, every child in this country should be ‘instructed in the principles of freedom,’ and with this bipartisan effort, we are closer as a state to reaching that goal.”