By:  Hughes                                                       H.B. No. 1776



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the establishment of Celebrate Freedom Week in public 
schools.  
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Subchapter Z, Section 29.903 Education Code, is 
amended to read as follows:
	Sec. 29.903.  To educate students about the sacrifices made 
for freedom in the founding of this country and the values on which 
this country was founded, [the last full week of classes in 
September] the week including November 11 is designated as 
Celebrate Freedom Week in public schools.  Celebrate Freedom Week 
[may] must include appropriate instruction, as determined by each 
school district, in each social studies class.  Instruction should 
include study of the intent, meaning, and importance of the 
Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution, 
including the Bill of Rights, in their historical context.  The 
study of the Declaration of Independence should include the 
relationship of the idea expressed in that document to subsequent 
American history, including but not limited to the relationship of 
its ideas to the rich diversity of our people as a nation of 
immigrants, the American Revolution, the formulation of the United 
States Constitution, and the abolitionist movement, which led to 
the Emancipation Proclamation and the women's suffrage movement.  
During Celebrate Freedom Week, a school district [may] shall  
require students in grade levels 3 through 12 to recite [study] the 
text quoted below at the beginning of each school day:
	WE hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are 
created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain 
unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the 
Pursuit of Happiness--That to secure these Rights, Governments are 
instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent 
of the Governed . . . .
	On written request from a student's parent or guardian, a 
school district shall excuse the student from the recitation 
required by this subsection.  The provision of this subsection 
requiring the recitation does not apply to a student who:
		(1)  has a conscientious objection to the recitation; 
or             
		(2)  is the child of a representative of a foreign 
government to whom the United States government extends diplomatic 
immunity.
	SECTION 2.  This Act applies beginning with the 2001-2002 
school year.       
	(b)  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote 
of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided 
by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this Act does 
not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes 
effect September 1, 2003.