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(Des Moines, IA) -- House File 12 is ready for debate after passing through the chamber's Education Committee Tuesday.
The bill would require high schools teach about political ideologies that conflict with the principles essential to the founding of the United States. The list of ideologies to discuss would be communism, totalitarianism, Marxism, and more.
"We have an increasing number of young people that don't necessarily understand that socialism is not compatible with the principles in our Constitution and our Bill of Rights," said Rep. Steven Holt, R-Crawford.
All Democratic representatives voted against the bill, as it passed through the committee along party lines, 15-8.
"These things are already taught in our curriculum, so it seems a little like clutter," said Rep. Molly Buck, D-Polk. "It seems like a lot of overreach, and maybe can be handled better at a local level."
The bill doesn't affect other social studies requirements, but adds one-half unit for comparative discussion on political ideologies.