By: Moncrief S.B. No. 20
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1-1 relating to education for self-development and life skills in
1-2 public schools.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 21, Education Code, is
1-5 amended by adding Section 21.104 to read as follows:
1-6 Sec. 21.104. SELF-DEVELOPMENT AND LIFE SKILLS EDUCATION.
1-7 (a) Each school district shall offer an objective program of
1-8 education for self-development and life skills in kindergarten
1-9 through grade 12. A district may use a program developed by the
1-10 Central Education Agency or another program approved by the
1-11 district's board of trustees. The program shall incorporate
1-12 appropriate essential elements designated under Section 21.101(c)
1-13 of this code for science, health, social studies, or any other
1-14 appropriate subject. The program may consist of special classes in
1-15 self-development and life skills or may be incorporated into other
1-16 appropriate classes, or both.
1-17 (b) The program shall:
1-18 (1) include instruction in pregnancy prevention, AIDS
1-19 prevention, and substance abuse prevention;
1-20 (2) provide sequential instruction at each grade level
1-21 that is appropriate considering the age and development of students
1-22 at that grade level;
1-23 (3) assist each student to develop:
2-1 (A) critical thinking and problem-solving
2-2 skills;
2-3 (B) self-esteem;
2-4 (C) responsible behavior;
2-5 (D) respect for others;
2-6 (E) communication skills;
2-7 (F) resistance to peer pressure;
2-8 (G) self-sufficiency; and
2-9 (H) stress management skills;
2-10 (4) emphasize the importance of self-discipline,
2-11 responsibility, and ethics in making decisions relating to personal
2-12 choices and behaviors; and
2-13 (5) provide information relating to:
2-14 (A) the possible emotional, psychological, and
2-15 health consequences of adolescent sexual intercourse, including
2-16 consequences related to pregnancy and to AIDS and other sexually
2-17 transmitted diseases, and the benefits of abstaining from or
2-18 delaying sexual activity; and
2-19 (B) laws relating to child support and
2-20 paternity.
2-21 (c) A school district may establish a local advisory
2-22 committee to advise the board of trustees in the selection,
2-23 development, and implementation of the district's program.
2-24 (d) The Central Education Agency shall coordinate teacher
2-25 training for the programs of education for self-development and
3-1 life skills. The training may be provided through regional
3-2 education service centers and in-service training, using the
3-3 available resources and assistance of the Central Education Agency,
3-4 the Texas Department of Health, the Texas Department of Human
3-5 Services, public institutions of higher education, and local
3-6 services.
3-7 (e) The Central Education Agency shall collect and maintain
3-8 data relating to the programs of education for self-development and
3-9 life skills used in districts, including the content at each grade
3-10 level, and to the teacher training provided.
3-11 (f) In this section, "AIDS" means acquired immune deficiency
3-12 syndrome as defined by the Centers for Disease Control of the
3-13 United States Public Health Service.
3-14 SECTION 2. (a) Each school district shall implement a
3-15 program of education for self-development and life skills under
3-16 Section 21.104, Education Code, as added by this Act, in each
3-17 required grade level according to a schedule adopted by the State
3-18 Board of Education.
3-19 (b) The State Board of Education shall report the schedule
3-20 adopted and the status of self-development and life skills
3-21 education in public schools, including the provision of teacher
3-22 training, to the 74th Legislature not later than February 1, 1995.
3-23 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
3-24 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-25 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-1 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-2 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
4-3 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
4-4 passage, and it is so enacted.