By: Hughes, et al. S.B. No. 3
 
  (Huberty, Toth, Metcalf, White, et al.)
 
   
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to civics training programs for certain public school
  social studies teachers and principals, parental access to certain
  learning management systems, and certain curriculum in public
  schools, including certain instructional requirements and
  prohibitions.
         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
  28.0022, 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 28.0022;
               (3)  classroom simulations and models of governmental
  and democratic processes consistent with the requirements and
  restrictions of Sections 28.002(h-2) and 28.0022;
               (4)  media literacy, including instruction on
  verifying information and sources, identifying and responding to
  logical fallacies, and identifying propaganda, as appropriate for
  the grade level and consistent with the restrictions under Section
  28.0022; 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.
         (h)  Nothing in this section may be construed as limiting the
  teaching of or instruction in the essential knowledge and skills
  adopted under Subchapter A, Chapter 28.
         SECTION 2.  Section 26.006, Education Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
         (e)  Each school district and open-enrollment charter school
  that uses a learning management system or any online learning
  portal to assign, distribute, present, or make available
  instructional materials as defined by Section 31.002 to students
  shall provide login credentials to the system or portal to each
  student's parent.
         SECTION 3.  Section 28.002, Education Code, as effective
  September 1, 2021, is amended by adding Subsections (h-2), (h-7),
  and (h-8) 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)  the fundamental moral, political,
  entrepreneurial, and intellectual foundations of the American
  experiment in self-government;
                     (B)  the history, qualities, traditions, and
  features of civic engagement in the United States;
                     (C)  the structure, function, and processes of
  government institutions at the federal, state, and local levels;
  and
                     (D)  the founding documents of the United States;
               (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; and
                     (E)  participate as a citizen in a constitutional
  democracy by voting; 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.
         (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).
         (h-8)  Nothing in Subsection (h-2) or (h-7) may be construed
  as limiting the teaching of or instruction in the essential
  knowledge and skills adopted under this subchapter.
         SECTION 4.  Section 28.002(h-2), Education Code, as added by
  H.B. 4509, Acts of the 87th Legislature, Regular Session, 2021, is
  redesignated as Section 28.002(h-6), Education Code, to read as
  follows:
         (h-6) [(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.  Subchapter A, Chapter 28, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Section 28.0022 to read as follows:
         Sec. 28.0022.  CERTAIN INSTRUCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS AND
  PROHIBITIONS. (a) For any course or subject, including an
  innovative course, for a grade level from kindergarten through
  grade 12:
               (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 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)  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 inculcation
  in 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)  an individual's moral character,
  standing, or worth is necessarily determined by the individual's
  race or sex;
                           (v)  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)  an individual should feel discomfort,
  guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress on
  account of the individual's race or sex;
                           (vii)  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)  the advent of slavery in the
  territory that is now the United States constituted the true
  founding of the United States; or
                           (ix)  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;
                     (B)  teach, instruct, or train any administrator,
  teacher, or staff member of a state agency, school district, or
  open-enrollment charter school to adopt a concept listed under
  Paragraph (A); or
                     (C)  require an understanding of the 1619 Project.
         (b)  Subsection (a)(3) does not apply to a student's
  participation in:
               (1)  community charitable projects, such as building
  community gardens, volunteering at local food banks, or other
  service projects; or
               (2)  an internship or practicum:
                     (A)  for which the student receives course credit
  under the P-TECH program established under Section 29.553; and
                     (B)  that does not involve the student directly
  engaging in lobbying, social policy advocacy, or public policy
  advocacy.
         (c)  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 related to a concept listed in Subsection (a)(4)(A).
         (d)  A school district or open-enrollment charter school may
  not implement, interpret, or enforce any rule in a manner that would
  result in the punishment of a student for discussing the concepts
  described by Subsection (a)(4) or have a chilling effect on student
  discussions involving those concepts.
         (e)  Nothing in this section may be construed as limiting the
  teaching of or instruction in the essential knowledge and skills
  adopted under this subchapter.
         SECTION 6.  Sections 28.002(h-2), (h-3), (h-4), and (h-5),
  as added by H.B. 3979, Acts of the 87th Legislature, Regular
  Session, 2021, and effective September 1, 2021, are repealed.
         SECTION 7.  Section 28.002(h-2), Education Code, as added by
  this Act, applies beginning with the 2022-2023 school year.
         SECTION 8.  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 this Act.
         SECTION 9.  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 10.  If this Act receives a vote of two-thirds of all
  the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39,
  Article III, Texas Constitution, this Act takes effect on the first
  day that occurs after August 31, 2021, and is on or after the
  earliest date on which this Act may take effect. If this Act does
  not receive the vote necessary for effect on that date, this Act
  takes effect on the 91st day after the last day of the legislative
  session.