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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to including an understanding of certain political |
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ideologies in the foundation curriculum 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, Education Code, is amended by |
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amending Subsections (h-1) and (h-6) and adding Subsection (h-3) to |
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read as follows: |
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(h-1) In adopting the essential knowledge and skills for the |
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foundation curriculum under Subsection (a)(1), the State Board of |
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Education shall, as appropriate, adopt essential knowledge and |
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skills that develop each student's civic knowledge, including an |
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understanding of: |
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(1) the fundamental moral, political, and |
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intellectual foundations of the American experiment in |
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self-government; |
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(2) political ideologies, such as communism, |
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socialism, fascism, and totalitarianism, that conflict with the |
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principles of freedom and democracy essential to the founding |
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principles of the United States; |
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(3) the history, qualities, traditions, and features |
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of civic engagement in the United States; |
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(4) [(3)] the structure, function, and processes of |
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government institutions at the federal, state, and local levels; |
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and |
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(5) [(4)] the founding documents of the United States, |
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including: |
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(A) the entirety of the Declaration of |
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Independence; |
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(B) the entirety of the United States |
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Constitution; |
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(C) the Federalist Papers, including the |
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entirety of Essays 10 and 51; |
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(D) excerpts from Alexis de Tocqueville's |
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Democracy in America; |
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(E) the transcript of the first Lincoln-Douglas |
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debate; |
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(F) the writings of the founding fathers of the |
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United States; |
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(G) the entirety of Frederick Douglass's |
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speeches "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro" and "What the |
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Black Man Wants"; and |
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(H) the entirety of Martin Luther King Jr.'s |
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speech "I Have a Dream." |
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(h-3) In providing instruction regarding the political |
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ideologies described by Subsection (h-1)(2), a school district or |
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open-enrollment charter school shall use first-person accounts as |
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part of the instructional materials for the instruction. |
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(h-6) In providing instruction regarding the founding |
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documents of the United States as described by Subsection (h-1)(5) |
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[(h-1)(4)], a school district or open-enrollment charter school |
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shall use those documents as part of the instructional materials |
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for the instruction. |
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SECTION 2. This Act applies beginning with the 2023-2024 |
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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, 2023. |