(AP) – The Arkansas House of Representatives, by a vote of 81 to four, has passed House Bill 1539 requiring the state’s high school students to pass the U.S. naturalization test in order to receive their diploma. All local State Representatives, with the exception of Representative Michelle Gray who did not vote, were in favor of the measure.
The bill passed by the House on Wednesday and sent to the state Senate Committee on Education requires students to correctly answer 60 out of 100 questions on a civics test identical to the one used by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that’s taken by immigrants seeking U.S. citizenship.
The test is free and students would be allowed to take it as many times as necessary between the 9th and 12th grades until they pass.
Republican Rep. Bruce Cozart says 15 states currently have the requirement. Cozart says people need to know the information in the test to be productive citizens.
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