By Green                                              H.B. No. 2070
         77R6883 BDH-D                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to the establishment of Teach Freedom Week in public
 1-3     schools.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1. Section 28.002, Education Code, is amended by
 1-6     adding Subsection (l) to read as follows:
 1-7           (l)  To educate students about the sacrifices made for
 1-8     freedom in the founding of this country and the values on which
 1-9     this country was founded, the last full week of classes in
1-10     September shall be recognized in public schools as Teach Freedom
1-11     Week.  Teach Freedom Week shall include at least four hours but not
1-12     more than seven hours of appropriate instruction, as determined by
1-13     the State Board of Education, in each social studies class.  The
1-14     instruction shall include an in-depth study of the intent, meaning,
1-15     and importance of the Declaration of Independence and the United
1-16     States Constitution, including the Bill of Rights, in their
1-17     historical context.  The study of the Declaration of Independence
1-18     shall include the relationship of the ideas expressed in that
1-19     document to subsequent American history, including the American
1-20     Revolution and the drafting of the United States Constitution.  The
1-21     State Board of Education shall select a textbook to assist in the
1-22     instruction.  During Teach Freedom Week, a school district shall
1-23     require students in grade levels 3 through 12 to recite the text
1-24     quoted below at the beginning of each school day:
 2-1           WE hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men
 2-2           are created equal, that they are endowed by their
 2-3           Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among
 2-4           these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of
 2-5           Happiness--That to secure these Rights, Governments are
 2-6           instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from
 2-7           the Consent of the Governed . . . .
 2-8           SECTION 2. (a)  This Act applies beginning with the 2001-2002
 2-9     school year.
2-10           (b)  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote
2-11     of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided
2-12     by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this Act does
2-13     not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes
2-14     effect September 1, 2001.