Requiring high school students to pass US citizenship exam

SB 962 requires all West Virginia high school students (public, private, parochial, and denominational) to pass a civics examination, the U.S. Naturalization Exam, and tests on the West Virginia Constitution as a graduation prerequisite. The bill mandates that required courses include instruction on American government structure, historical ideologies (including critical analysis of communism and socialism), and primary source materials. Students must demonstrate factual knowledge of U.S. history, government, and the dangers of historical socialist/communist systems through cumulative assessments. The law also requires schools to provide voter registration opportunities for eligible students. This affects every high school student in West Virginia seeking graduation.