Hoosier students soon must pass a civics test in order to graduate high school.

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb has signed a bill authored by State Sen. Dennis Kruse (R-Auburn) that requires each Indiana public high school to administer an exam to students in their U.S. government class that consists of material identical to the U.S. Civics Test given to those seeking U.S. citizenship.

“Studies show that people in our country do not know basic civics, which is why we need measures in place to guarantee our students are retaining this information,” said Kruse. “If we’re requiring those seeking citizenship in the U.S. to know this material, we need to ensure our students know the same information, and I believe this exam will help resolve this issue.” 

The law will take effect July 1.