H 712 Idaho House · 68th Legislature, 2nd Regular Session (2026)

EDUCATION – Adds to existing law to provide for the Idaho State Seal of Excellence in Civics Program.

H 712 creates the Idaho State Seal of Excellence in Civics program, a voluntary initiative for high school students to earn a diploma endorsement by meeting specific civic education requirements. To qualify, students must complete required social studies courses (with a 3.25 GPA), score 90% on a civics assessment, complete a civics project, and participate in activities like 50 hours of community service or 15 hours of civic engagement. Participating school districts must track eligible students, affix the seal to diplomas, and report annual data, with the state providing the seal and implementation resources at no cost. Schools where 75% or more of seniors earn the seal will be designated as "Idaho Schools of Civics Excellence" and featured in annual state reports.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2026
Committee Review
Mar 2026
House Passage
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
Signed into Law
Mar 2026
Introduced Feb 16, 2026 Signed Mar 26, 2026
Floor votes · Senate Mar 23, 2026 · House Mar 2, 2026

How they voted

340
Passed · 2 other
Total votes 36
Mar 23, 2026
D Democratic6
6 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican30
28 Yea 2
93% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
18
Key actions
7
Committee
3
Mar 25, 2026
Upper · Passed
Signed by President; returned to House
upper
Mar 25, 2026
Upper · Passed
Received from the House enrolled/signed by Speaker
upper
Mar 24, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported Enrolled; Signed by Speaker; Transmitted to Senate
lower
Mar 23, 2026
Upper · Passed
Read third time in full – PASSED - 33-0-2AYES – Anthon, Bernt, Blaylock, Burtenshaw, Carlson, Cook, Den Hartog, Foreman, Galloway, Grow, Guthrie, Harris, Hart, Keyser, Kohl, Lakey, Lenney, Lent, Nichols, Okuniewicz, Rabe, Ricks, Ruchti, Semmelroth, Shippy, Taylor, Toews, VanOrden, Ward-Engelking, Wintrow, Woodward, Zito, ZuiderveldNAYS – NoneAbsent and excused – Adams, Bjerke(Bjerke)Floor Sponsor - GuthrieTitle apvd - to House
upper
Mar 17, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported out of Committee with Do Pass Recommendation; Filed for second reading
upper
Mar 3, 2026
Introduced
Introduced, read first time; referred to: Education
upper
Mar 2, 2026
Lower · Passed
Read Third Time in Full – PASSED - 67-0-3AYES – Alfieri, Barbieri, Beiswenger, Berch, Bingham, Boyle, Bruce, Burgoyne, Cannon, Cayler, Cheatum, Church, Cornilles, Crane(12), Crane(13), Dygert, Egbert, Ehardt, Ehlers, Erickson, Fuhriman, Galaviz, Gannon, Garner, Green, Hall(Stone), Handy, Harris, Hawkins, Haws(Woller), Healey, Hill(Brown), Holtzclaw, Hostetler, Leavitt, Manwaring, Marmon, Mathias, McCann, Mendive, Miller, Mitchell, Monks, Nelsen, Palmer, Petzke, Pickett, Pohanka, Price, Rasor
lower
Feb 25, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported out of Committee with Do Pass Recommendation, Filed for Second Reading
lower
Feb 17, 2026
Committee
Reported Printed and Referred to Education
lower
Feb 16, 2026
Introduced
Introduced, read first time, referred to JRA for Printing
lower
0 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

No sponsor information available.