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79R4774 PAM-D
By: Madden H.B. No. 973
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to instruction and testing in social studies in public
schools.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 28, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 28.0021 to read as follows:
Sec. 28.0021. SOCIAL STUDIES CURRICULUM. (a) Not later
than January 1, 2006, the State Board of Education, with the direct
participation of the persons described by Subsection (b), shall by
rule identify the essential knowledge and skills of the social
studies required curriculum that all students should be able to
demonstrate and that will be used in evaluating textbooks under
Chapter 31 and addressed on the assessment instruments required
under Subchapter B, Chapter 39. As a condition of accreditation,
the board shall require each district to provide instruction in the
essential knowledge and skills at appropriate grade levels.
(b) As prescribed by Subsection (a), the State Board of
Education shall request the participation and consider
recommendations from:
(1) interested state residents, including parents of
school-age children;
(2) teachers certified to teach and providing
instruction in social studies in this state;
(3) secondary school principals serving public school
campuses in this state;
(4) members of school district boards of trustees
serving in this state;
(5) representatives of institutions of higher
education in this state;
(6) persons with nationally recognized expertise in
developing rigorous core academic standards with statewide
application;
(7) business and industry representatives in this
state; and
(8) other persons the board considers appropriate.
(c) The social studies curriculum adopted under Subsection
(a):
(1) must:
(A) be presented in a consistent, standardized
format that prescribes what teachers must teach and what students
should learn;
(B) be grade-level appropriate and increase in
complexity from one grade level to the next;
(C) be strictly academic and based on objective,
verifiable knowledge in all social studies subjects;
(D) be consistent with fundamental American
principles, including:
(i) patriotism, democratic values, and free
enterprise; and
(ii) the principles stated in the
Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution,
including equality, national sovereignty, natural law,
self-evident truths, and unalienable rights;
(E) be consistent with the American system of
government as stated in the Declaration of Independence and the
United States Constitution;
(F) emphasize America's achievements; and
(G) include all significant historical events;
and
(2) may not:
(A) be ideological or partisan or promote a
particular set of personal or religious values, attitudes, or
beliefs or a political bias;
(B) focus in an unreasonably negative manner on
American values, culture, or history;
(C) present an unreasonably superficial view of a
racial or ethnic group; or
(D) be based primarily on national social studies
curriculum content standards, including the National Standards for
Civics and Government, Curriculum Standards for Social Studies, or
National Standards for History.
(d) The State Board of Education shall identify the college
board advanced placement and international baccalaureate courses
that are consistent with the requirements in the social studies
curriculum adopted under this section.
(e) This section expires September 1, 2013.
SECTION 2. Section 39.023, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (e) and (h) and adding Subsection (h-1) to
read as follows:
(e) Under rules adopted by the State Board of Education,
every other year, the agency shall release the questions and answer
keys to each assessment instrument administered under Subsection
(a)(1), (2), (3), (4), (6), or (7) [(a)], (b), (c), (d), or (l)
after the last time the instrument is administered for that school
year. Under rules adopted by the State Board of Education, every
year the agency shall release the questions and answer keys to each
assessment instrument administered under Subsection (a)(5) after
the last time the instrument is administered for that school year.
To ensure a valid bank of questions for use each year, the agency is
not required to release a question that is being field-tested and
was not used to compute the student's score on the instrument. The
agency shall also release, under board rule, each question that is
no longer being field-tested and that was not used to compute a
student's score.
(h) The agency shall notify school districts and campuses of
the results of assessment instruments administered under this
section at the earliest possible date determined by the State Board
of Education but:
(1) for a social studies assessment instrument, not
later than the end of the school year in which the assessment
instrument was administered; and
(2) for all other assessment instruments, not later
than the beginning of the subsequent school year.
(h-1) At the same time school districts and campuses are
notified under Subsection (h)(1), the agency shall notify the
public of the results of the social studies assessment instruments
in a manner that protects the privacy of the individual student
tested but that allows comparisons between campuses and school
districts.
SECTION 3. Subchapter B, Chapter 39, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 39.0232 to read as follows:
Sec. 39.0232. ADOPTION AND ADMINISTRATION OF SOCIAL STUDIES
ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENTS. (a) In addition to any requirements
imposed by Section 39.023, a social studies assessment instrument
adopted by the agency:
(1) must contain only questions that are:
(A) grade-level appropriate and increase in
complexity from one grade level to the next;
(B) strictly academic and based on objective,
verifiable knowledge in all social studies subjects;
(C) consistent with fundamental American
principles, including:
(i) patriotism, democratic values, and free
enterprise; and
(ii) the principles stated in the
Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution,
including equality, national sovereignty, natural law,
self-evident truths, and unalienable rights; and
(D) consistent with the American system of
government as stated in the Declaration of Independence and the
United States Constitution; and
(2) may not contain questions that:
(A) are ideological or partisan or request an
assessment of personal or religious values, attitudes, or beliefs,
or a political bias, including:
(i) political affiliations or beliefs of
the student or the student's parents;
(ii) religious practices, affiliations, or
beliefs of the student or the student's parents;
(iii) mental or psychological problems
experienced by the student or in the student's family;
(iv) critical appraisals of other
individuals with whom the student has close family relationships;
(v) sexual behavior or attitudes; or
(vi) illegal, antisocial,
self-incriminating, or demeaning behavior; or
(B) are based primarily on national social
studies curriculum content standards, including the National
Standards for Civics and Government, Curriculum Standards for
Social Studies, or National Standards for History.
(b) Except as provided by this subsection, a social studies
assessment instrument may provide only one correct answer to each
question in order that the instrument may be scored by machine.
Essay questions may be used on the assessment instrument to test
academic concepts, but may not be used to assess personal or
religious values, attitudes, or beliefs.
(c) This section expires September 1, 2013.
SECTION 4. Section 39.024, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:
(f) In the assessment of essential knowledge and skills in
social studies, the State Board of Education shall use the
percentage of students who perform satisfactorily on the assessment
instruments each year to determine the adequate yearly progress
made by students at each campus and in each school district. The
goal of the State Board of Education is to have all students
assessed perform satisfactorily on the assessment instruments by
the 2012-2013 school year.
SECTION 5. The essential knowledge and skills of the social
studies required curriculum adopted by the State Board of Education
under Section 28.0021, Education Code, as added by this Act, and the
requirements for the administration of the social studies
assessment instruments as prescribed by Section 39.0232, Education
Code, as added by this Act, apply beginning the 2007-2008 school
year.
SECTION 6. 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, 2005.