Idaho House Votes for Civics Test

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — House lawmakers have endorsed a plan to require Idaho high school students pass a 100-question test on U.S. government in order to graduate.

The House voted 59-10 on Tuesday to begin implementing the test starting in the 2016-2017 school year. According to the legislation, students must correctly answer 60 of the 100 questions, which come from the federal government's citizenship tests for immigrants.

Democratic Rep. Mat Erpelding from Boise opposed the bill, arguing that tacking one more test on students won't improve overall civic engagement and knowledge. However, Republican Rep. Terry Gestrin from Donnelly countered that the test will encourage students to learn more about their government and current events.