The Commission on Civics Education (the Commission) is established in the legislative branch of state government. The purposes of the Commission are to (i) educate students on the importance of citizen involvement in a constitutional republic, (ii) promote the study of state and local government among the Commonwealth’s citizenry, and (iii) enhance communication and collaboration among organizations in the Commonwealth that conduct civics education.The Commission shall have a total membership of 15 members that shall consist of eight legislative members, six nonlegislative citizen members, and one ex officio member. Members shall be appointed as follows: five members of the House of Delegates, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates in accordance with the principles of proportional representation contained in the Rules of the House of Delegates; three members of the Senate, to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules; three nonlegislative citizen members, one of whom shall have a background in curriculum development, interactive learning, and multimedia technology, one of whom shall be a current or retired school civics teacher, and one of whom shall be a representative of an organization that promotes civic learning, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates; and three nonlegislative citizen members, one of whom shall be a retired school civics teacher, one of whom shall be a representative of a public policy center of a public institution of higher education in the Commonwealth, and one of whom shall be a representative of the Virginia Press Association, to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules. The Superintendent of Public Instruction or his designee shall serve ex officio with voting privileges. Nonlegislative citizen members of the Commission shall be citizens of the Commonwealth. Unless otherwise approved in writing by the chairman of the Commission, the Clerk of the House of Delegates, and the Clerk of the Senate, nonlegislative citizen members shall only be reimbursed for travel originating and ending within the Commonwealth for the purpose of attending meetings.Legislative members and the ex officio member of the Commission shall serve terms coincident with their terms of office. Nonlegislative citizen members shall be appointed for a term of two years. Appointments to fill vacancies, other than by expiration of a term, shall be for the unexpired terms. Legislative members and nonlegislative citizen members may be reappointed. However, no nonlegislative citizen member shall serve more than four consecutive two-year terms. The remainder of any term to which a member is appointed to fill a vacancy shall not constitute a term in determining the member’s eligibility for reappointment. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments.The Commission shall elect a chairman and vice-chairman from among its membership, who shall be members of the General Assembly.

History

2014, c. 562.