SB 1133 Arizona Senate · 57th Legislature - First Regular Session

history of communism; instruction requirement

SB 1133 requires Arizona high schools to include a comparative discussion of political ideologies - such as communism and totalitarianism - in social studies curriculum, emphasizing how these systems conflict with U.S. democratic principles. It also mandates that students pass a civics test based on the U.S. naturalization exam to graduate, starting with a 60% score for the 2025 class and increasing to 70% for 2026 and later graduates. Students may take the test in middle school to avoid retaking it in high school, with schools documenting only pass/fail results. This bill directly affects all Arizona public high school students and schools, requiring adjustments to curriculum standards and graduation testing procedures.

Issues: ✗ Education

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Jan 2025

Senate Passage

Mar 2025

House Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 22, 2025 Last action Mar 17, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Version → Senate Engrossed Version · 6 edits · Mar 3, 2025

MODERATE

The bill was reformatted from an introduced version to an engrossed version, adding new substantive requirements for high school graduation and social studies instruction. The engrossed version adds detailed provisions for accepting community college credits toward graduation, establishes new reporting requirements for civics test results, and creates a new section requiring specific instruction on the history of communism and totalitarianism in Arizona schools.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include additional requirements for community college credit acceptance, new data reporting obligations for civics test results, and mandatory instruction on communist history and ideology in social studies curricula.

REQUIREMENT

Added new subsection F requiring school districts to accept community college or university courses toward high school graduation, with specific rules for credit conversion and dispute resolution.

Added new subsection L requiring school districts to report aggregate data on civics test results to the department of education, including median scores and pass/fail percentages.

Added new section 15-701.05 requiring instruction on the history of communism in the United States, atrocities committed by communist regimes, and comparative politics of ideologies that conflict with freedom and democracy.

Added new subsection I establishing procedures for accepting transfer credits from charter schools, school districts, and Arizona online instruction, including examination options for denied credits.

Added new subsection K creating a Grand Canyon diploma option with specific rights and privileges, including exemption from standard graduation requirements and provisions for readmission to high school.

TECHNICAL

Changed formatting from introduced bill layout to Senate engrossed version format, including updated headers, page numbering, and statutory text structure.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 3, 2025

Upper · Passed

PASSED

upper

Feb 27, 2025

Upper · Passed

upper

Jan 29, 2025

Upper · Passed

upper

1 primary · 1 co-sponsor