Anders Hagstrom reports at Daily Caller:

South Carolina Democrats argued for more than an hour to prevent legislation that would require state universities to teach a "Constitution 101" course. . . .

The Republican-proposed bill would update an existing 1924 requirement to teach the course, which the University of South Carolina [USC] has hitherto ignored.

The legislation has already passed in the Senate, but Democrats in a Tuesday House subcommittee hearing argued the update would be too burdensome on students both financially and academically.

The bill would require students to take a 3-credit, semester-long class covering America's founding documents, including the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and the Federalist Papers.

"Democratic South Carolina State Reps. Ivory Thigpen and Wendy Brawley argued the cost of the course, which Thigpen referred to as "Constitution 101," may be transferred onto students," Hagstrom writes.

The two Democrats "also pointed to a representative from USC who argued against the bill's requirement that students pass a comprehensive exam covering the course material to graduate," Hagstrom reports.

Republican South Carolina State Rep. Garry Smith, however, "pointed to several classes not required by law that USC could stop offering if it wanted to cut costs, such as a class on "Global Citizenship," according to Hagstrom.

"I would argue that if you can't pass a comprehensive exam on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, then maybe you shouldn't graduate," Smith said, Hagstrom reports.

Read more here.