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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to digital citizenship instruction in public schools. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 28.002(z), Education Code, is amended to |
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read as follows: |
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(z) The State Board of Education by rule shall require each |
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school district to incorporate instruction in digital citizenship |
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into the district's curriculum, including information regarding |
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the potential criminal consequences of cyberbullying, and require |
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students enrolled in grade level six to complete instruction in |
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digital citizenship as part of the district's social studies |
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curriculum. In this subsection: |
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(1) "Cyberbullying" has the meaning assigned by |
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Section 37.0832. |
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(2) "Digital citizenship" means the standards of |
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appropriate, responsible, and healthy online behavior, including: |
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(A) the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, |
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create, and act on all forms of digital communication; |
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(B) digital ethics, etiquette, respectful |
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discourse with people who have differing opinions, safety, |
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security, digital footprint, and the identification of rhetoric |
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that incites violence based on a person's race, religion, or |
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political affiliation; |
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(C) cyberbullying prevention and response; and |
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(D) the importance of the right to freedom of |
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speech contained in the Bill of Rights of the Constitution of the |
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United States, including: |
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(i) the central role that the right to |
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freedom of speech has in the history of the United States; and |
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(ii) the applicability of protections for |
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freedom of speech for online interaction. |
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SECTION 2. This Act applies beginning with the 2021-2022 |
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school year. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |