A BILL to amend and reenact section nine, article two, chapter eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to education; required courses of school instruction generally; expanding required study to include founding American historical documents; directing the sequence in which certain topics of instruction may be delivered; and increasing to fifty dollars the misdemeanor penalty for violating the provisions of the section .

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section nine, article two, chapter eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:

ARTICLE 2. STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION.

§18-2-9. Required courses of instruction; violation and penalty.
(a) All public, private, parochial and denominational schools located within this state shall provide:
(1) Prior to the completion of the eighth grade at least one year of instruction in the history of the state of West Virginia.
(2) Prior to the completion of the twelfth grade and as a requirement for graduation, at least one and one-half years of combined instruction in:
(A) The government of the state of West Virginia;
(B) The history of the United States;
(C) Civics; and
(D) The United States' founding documents, specifically, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, and the Bill of Rights.
(b) The instruction required in subsection (a) of this section shall be delivered for the purpose of teaching, fostering and perpetuating the ideals, principles and spirit of political and economic democracy in America, and for the purpose of increasing the knowledge of the organization and machinery of the government of the United States and of the state of West Virginia.
The state board of education shall, with the advice of the state superintendent of schools, prescribe the courses of study covering these subjects for the public schools. It is the duty of the officials or boards having authority over the respective private, parochial and denominational schools to prescribe courses of study for the schools under their control and supervision similar to those required for the public schools.
(c) To further the study required in subsection (a) of this section, every high school student eligible by age for voter registration shall be afforded the opportunity to register to vote pursuant to section twenty-two, article two, chapter three of this code.
(d) The study of the history of the United States and the United States? founding documents required by subsection (a) of this section includes the study of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States, with an emphasis on the Bill of Rights. The study shall encompass the historical, political and social environments surrounding each document at the time of its initial passage or ratification. It also shall comprise historical documents such as the Federalist Papers and the Anti-Federalist Papers to firmly establish the historical background leading to the establishment of the provisions of the Constitution of the United States and Bill of Rights by the founding fathers for the purposes of safeguarding our constitutional republic.

(e) Before a student may participate in secondary level courses involving the study of social problems, global economics, foreign affairs, the United Nations, world government, socialism or communism, he or she shall complete basic instruction in:
(1) Geography;
(2) United States history;
(3) United States, West Virginia and local government;
(4) The Declaration of Independence; and
(5) The Constitutions of the United States and West Virginia.
(f) The state board of education shall require all public schools in the state to teach the subject of health education. The state board shall adopt by rule, in consultation with the department of health, the course curriculum requirements and materials for the instruction. Health education shall include instruction, in any of the grades six through twelve as considered appropriate by the county board, on:
(1) The prevention, transmission and spread of acquired immune deficiency syndrome and other sexually transmitted diseases. An opportunity shall be afforded to the parent or guardian of a child subject to this instruction to examine the course curriculum requirements and materials to be used in such instruction. The parent or guardian may exempt their child from participation in the instruction by giving written notice to that effect to the school principal; and
(2) Substance abuse, including the nature of alcoholic drinks and narcotics, tobacco products, and other potentially harmful drugs, with special instruction as to their effect upon the human system and upon society in general.
(g) Any person who violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than fifty dollars for each offense. Each week during which a violation occurs constitutes a separate offense. If a person so convicted occupies a position connected with the public schools, he or she shall be removed automatically from the position and is ineligible for reappointment to that or a similar position for one year.

This section has been completely rewritten; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.