87S10388 ANG-D
 
  By: Hughes S.B. No. 3
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the social studies curriculum in public schools.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subchapter J, Chapter 21, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Section 21.4555 to read as follows:
         Sec. 21.4555.  CIVICS TRAINING PROGRAM. (a) To facilitate
  the teaching of curriculum consistent with Sections 28.002(h-2) and
  (h-3), the commissioner shall develop and make available civics
  training programs for teachers and administrators.
         (b)  A civics training program developed under this section
  must include training in:
               (1)  the essential knowledge and skills for the social
  studies curriculum related to civic knowledge adopted under Section
  28.002(h-2);
               (2)  guided classroom discussion of current events, as
  appropriate for the grade level and consistent with the
  restrictions under Section 28.002(h-3);
               (3)  classroom simulations and models of governmental
  and democratic processes consistent with the requirements and
  restrictions of Sections 28.002(h-2) and (h-3);
               (4)  media literacy, including instruction on
  verifying information and sources and identifying propaganda, as
  appropriate for the grade level and consistent with the
  restrictions under Section 28.002(h-3); and
               (5)  strategies for incorporating civics instruction
  into subject areas other than social studies.
         (c)  The commissioner by rule shall establish the grade
  levels at which a teacher provides instruction to be eligible to
  participate in a civics training program. In making the
  determination, the commissioner shall include grade levels for
  which the State Board of Education makes significant revisions to
  the essential knowledge and skills for the social studies
  curriculum under Section 28.002(h-2).
         (d)  Each civics training program developed under Subsection
  (a) must be reviewed and approved by the State Board of Education.
  The board shall annually review each program.
         (e)  Each school district and open-enrollment charter school
  shall ensure that each district or school campus that offers a grade
  level described by Subsection (c) has at least one teacher and one
  principal or campus instructional leader who has attended a civics
  training program. The agency shall provide assistance to school
  districts and open-enrollment charter schools in complying with the
  requirements of this subsection.
         (f)  From funds available for that purpose, a teacher who
  attends a civics training program may receive a stipend in an amount
  determined by the commissioner. A stipend received under this
  section is not included in determining whether a district is paying
  the teacher the minimum monthly salary under Section 21.402.
         (g)  The commissioner may delay implementation of Subsection
  (e) to a school year not later than the 2025-2026 school year if the
  revision of the essential knowledge and skills for the social
  studies curriculum under Section 28.002(h-2) or the availability of
  civics training programs does not occur in a manner that reasonably
  affords public schools the ability to comply with that subsection
  by an earlier school year. This subsection expires September 1,
  2026.
         SECTION 2.  Section 28.002(h-2), Education Code, as added by
  H.B. No. 3979, Acts of the 87th Legislature, Regular Session, 2021,
  and effective September 1, 2021, is amended to read as follows:
         (h-2)  In adopting the essential knowledge and skills for the
  social studies curriculum for each grade level from kindergarten
  through grade 12, the State Board of Education shall adopt
  essential knowledge and skills that develop each student's civic
  knowledge, including:
               (1)  an understanding of:
                     (A) [(1)]  the fundamental moral, political, and
  intellectual foundations of the American experiment in
  self-government;
                     (B) [(2)]  the history, qualities, traditions,
  and features of civic engagement in the United States;
                     (C) [(3)  the history of Native Americans;
               [(4)]  the structure, function, and processes of
  government institutions at the federal, state, and local levels;
                     (D) [(5)]  the founding documents of the United
  States, including:
                           (i) [(A)]  the Declaration of Independence;
                           (ii) [(B)]  the United States Constitution;
                           (iii) [(C)]  the Federalist Papers,
  including Essays 10 and 51;
                           (iv)  excerpts from Alexis de Tocqueville's
  Democracy in America;
                           (v) [(D)]  the transcript of the first
  Lincoln-Douglas debate; and
                           (vi) [(E)]  the writings of [and about] the
  founding fathers [and mothers and other founding persons] of the
  United States; and
                     (E)  the history and importance of:
                           (i)  the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42
  U.S.C. Section 2000a et seq.);
                           (ii)  the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and
  Nineteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution;
                           (iii)  the complexity of the historic
  relationship between Texas and Mexico; and
                           (iv)  the diversity of the Hispanic
  population in Texas;
               (2)  the ability to:
                     (A)  analyze and determine the reliability of
  information sources;
                     (B)  formulate and articulate reasoned positions;
                     (C)  understand the manner in which local, state,
  and federal government works and operates through the use of
  simulations and models of governmental and democratic processes;
                     (D)  actively listen and engage in civil
  discourse, including discourse with those with different
  viewpoints;
                     (E)  responsibly participate as a citizen in a
  constitutional democracy; and
                     (F)  effectively engage with governmental
  institutions at the local, state, and federal levels; and
               (3)  an appreciation of:
                     (A)  the importance and responsibility of
  participating in civic life;
                     (B)  a commitment to the United States and its
  form of government; and
                     (C)  a commitment to free speech and civil
  discourse[, including the writings of:
                           [(i)  George Washington;
                           [(ii)  Ona Judge;
                           [(iii)  Thomas Jefferson;
                           [(iv)  Sally Hemings; and
                           [(v)  any other founding persons of the
  United States;
                     [(F)  writings from Frederick Douglass's
  newspaper, the North Star;
                     [(G)  the Book of Negroes;
                     [(H)  the Fugitive Slave Acts of 1793 and 1850;
                     [(I)  the Indian Removal Act;
                     [(J)  Thomas Jefferson's letter to the Danbury
  Baptists; and
                     [(K)  William Still's Underground Railroad
  Records;
               [(6)  historical documents related to the civic
  accomplishments of marginalized populations, including documents
  related to:
                     [(A)  the Chicano movement;
                     [(B)  women's suffrage and equal rights;
                     [(C)  the civil rights movement;
                     [(D)  the Snyder Act of 1924; and
                     [(E)  the American labor movement;
               [(7)  the history of white supremacy, including but not
  limited to the institution of slavery, the eugenics movement, and
  the Ku Klux Klan, and the ways in which it is morally wrong;
               [(8)  the history and importance of the civil rights
  movement, including the following documents:
                     [(A)  Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from a
  Birmingham Jail" and "I Have a Dream" speech;
                     [(B)  the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42
  U.S.C. Section 2000a et seq.);
                     [(C)  the United States Supreme Court's decision
  in Brown v. Board of Education;
                     [(D)  the Emancipation Proclamation;
                     [(E)  the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
                     [(F)  the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth
  Amendments to the United States Constitution;
                     [(G)  the United States Court of Appeals for the
  Ninth Circuit decision in Mendez v. Westminster;
                     [(H)  Frederick Douglass's Narrative of the Life
  of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave;;
                     [(I)  the life and work of Cesar Chavez; and
                     [(J)  the life and work of Dolores Huerta;
               [(9)  the history and importance of the women's
  suffrage movement, including the following documents:
                     [(A)  the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52
  U.S.C. Section 10101 et seq.);
                     [(B)  the Fifteenth, Nineteenth, and Twenty-Sixth
  Amendments to the United States Constitution;
                     [(C)  Abigail Adams's letter "Remember the
  Ladies";
                     [(D)  the works of Susan B. Anthony; and
                     [(E)  the Declaration of Sentiments;
               [(10)  the life and works of Dr. Hector P. Garcia;
               [(11)  the American GI Forum;
               [(12)  the League of United Latin American Citizens;
  and
               [(13)  Hernandez v. Texas (1954)].
         SECTION 3.  Section 28.002, Education Code, as effective
  September 1, 2021, is amended by amending Subsections (h-3) and
  (h-4) and adding Subsections (h-6) and (h-7) to read as follows:
         (h-3)  For any social studies course or subject, including an
  innovative course, for a grade level from kindergarten through
  grade 12 [in the required curriculum]:
               (1)  a teacher may not be compelled to discuss a
  particular current event or widely debated and currently
  controversial issue of public policy or social affairs;
               (2)  a teacher who chooses to discuss a topic described
  by Subdivision (1) shall, to the best of the teacher's ability,
  strive to explore that [the] topic from diverse and contending
  perspectives without giving deference to any one perspective;
               (3)  a school district, open-enrollment charter
  school, or teacher may not require, make part of a course, or award
  a grade or course credit, including extra credit, for a student's:
                     (A)  work for, affiliation with, or service
  learning in association with any organization engaged in:
                           (i)  lobbying for legislation at the
  federal, state, or local level; or
                           (ii)  social policy advocacy or public
  policy advocacy;
                     (B)  political activism, lobbying, or efforts to
  persuade members of the legislative or executive branch at the
  federal, state, or local level to take specific actions by direct
  communication; or
                     (C) [(B)]  participation in any internship,
  practicum, or similar activity involving social policy advocacy or
  public policy advocacy; and
               (4)  a teacher, administrator, or other employee of a
  state agency, school district, or open-enrollment charter school
  may not:
                     (A)  require, or make part of a course, concepts
  that serve to inculcate [be required to engage in training,
  orientation, or therapy that presents any form of race or sex
  stereotyping or blame on the basis of race or sex];
                     (B)  teach, instruct, or train any administrator,
  teacher, or staff member of a state agency, school district, or
  open-enrollment charter school to adopt [require or make part of a
  course] the concept that:
                           (i)  one race or sex is inherently superior
  to another race or sex;
                           (ii)  an individual, by virtue of the
  individual's race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist, or
  oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously;
                           (iii)  an individual should be discriminated
  against or receive adverse treatment solely or partly because of
  the individual's race or sex;
                           (iv)  [members of one race or sex cannot and
  should not attempt to treat others without respect to race or sex;
                           [(v)]  an individual's moral character,
  standing, or worth is necessarily determined by the individual's
  race or sex;
                           (v) [(vi)]  an individual, by virtue of the
  individual's race or sex, bears responsibility for actions
  committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex;
                           (vi) [(vii)]  an individual should feel
  discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological
  distress on account of the individual's race or sex;
                           (vii) [(viii)]  meritocracy or traits such
  as a hard work ethic are racist or sexist or were created by members
  of a particular race to oppress members of another race;
                           (viii) [(ix)]  the advent of slavery in the
  territory that is now the United States constituted the true
  founding of the United States; or
                           (ix) [(x)]  with respect to their
  relationship to American values, slavery and racism are anything
  other than deviations from, betrayals of, or failures to live up to,
  the authentic founding principles of the United States, which
  include liberty and equality; and
                     (C)  require an understanding of The 1619 Project.
         (h-4)  A state agency, school district, or open-enrollment
  charter school may not accept private funding for the purpose of
  developing a curriculum, purchasing or selecting curriculum
  materials, or providing teacher training or professional
  development for a course described by Subsections [Subsection]
  (h-3)(3) and (4).
         (h-6)  Subsection (h-3)(3) may not be construed to apply to a
  student's participation in community charitable projects, such as
  building community gardens, volunteering at local food banks, or
  other service projects.
         (h-7)  The agency shall ensure that each school district or
  open-enrollment charter school teaches civics education as part of
  the district's social studies curriculum in a manner consistent
  with the essential knowledge and skills adopted under Subsection
  (h-2).
         SECTION 4.  Section 28.002(h-2), Education Code, as added by
  H.B. No. 4509, Acts of the 87th Legislature, 2021, is redesignated
  as Section 28.002(h-8), Education Code, to read as follows:
         (h-8) [(h-2)]  In providing instruction regarding the
  founding documents of the United States as described by Subsection
  (h-1)(4), a school district or open-enrollment charter school shall
  use those documents as part of the instructional materials for the
  instruction.
         SECTION 5.  (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this
  section, this Act applies beginning with the 2021-2022 school year.
         (b)  Section 28.002(h-2), Education Code, as added by H.B.
  No. 3979, Acts of the 87th Legislature, Regular Session, 2021,
  effective September 1, 2021, and as amended by this Act, applies
  beginning with the 2022-2023 school year.
         SECTION 6.  Not later than December 31, 2022, the State Board
  of Education shall review and revise, as needed, the essential
  knowledge and skills of the social studies curriculum as required
  by Section 28.002(h-2), Education Code, as added by H.B. No. 3979,
  Acts of the 87th Legislature, Regular Session, 2021, effective
  September 1, 2021, and as amended by this Act.
         SECTION 7.  If any provision of this Act or its application
  to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does
  not affect other provisions or applications of this Act that can be
  given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to
  this end the provisions of this Act are declared to be severable.
         SECTION 8.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2021, if it
  receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
  house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
  If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for effect on that
  day, this Act takes effect on the 91st day after the last day of the
  legislative session.