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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to requiring Spanish language instruction in public |
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elementary 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 Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (o) to read as |
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follows: |
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(a) Each school district that offers kindergarten through |
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grade 12 shall offer, as a required curriculum: |
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(1) a foundation curriculum that includes: |
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(A) English language arts; |
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(B) mathematics; |
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(C) science; [and] |
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(D) social studies, consisting of Texas, United |
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States, and world history, government, and geography; and |
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(E) Spanish language; and |
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(2) an enrichment curriculum that includes: |
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(A) to the extent possible, languages other than |
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English and Spanish; |
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(B) health, with emphasis on the importance of |
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proper nutrition and exercise; |
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(C) physical education; |
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(D) fine arts; |
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(E) economics, with emphasis on the free |
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enterprise system and its benefits; |
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(F) career and technology education; |
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(G) technology applications; and |
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(H) religious literature, including the Hebrew |
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Scriptures (Old Testament) and New Testament, and its impact on |
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history and literature. |
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(o) A student enrolled in kindergarten through grade three |
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must participate in a Spanish language course as part of the school |
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district's Spanish language curriculum. The State Board of |
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Education shall develop a Spanish language program that a school |
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district may use in the Spanish language curriculum under |
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Subsection (a)(1)(E). |
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SECTION 2. Section 39.023(a), Education Code, is amended to |
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read as follows: |
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(a) The agency shall adopt or develop appropriate |
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criterion-referenced assessment instruments designed to assess |
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essential knowledge and skills in reading, writing, mathematics, |
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social studies, [and] science, and Spanish. All students, except |
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students assessed under Subsection (b) or (l) or exempted under |
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Section 39.027, shall be assessed in: |
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(1) mathematics, annually in grades three through |
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seven without the aid of technology and in grade eight with the aid |
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of technology on any assessment instrument that includes algebra; |
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(2) reading, annually in grades three through eight; |
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(3) writing, including spelling and grammar, in grades |
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four and seven; |
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(4) social studies, in grade eight; |
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(5) science, in grades five and eight; [and] |
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(6) Spanish language, in grade five; and |
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(7) any other subject and grade required by federal |
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law. |
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SECTION 3. Not later than January 1, 2010, the State Board |
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of Education shall develop a Spanish language program as required |
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by Section 28.002(o), Education Code, as added by this Act. |
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SECTION 4. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this |
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section, this Act applies beginning with the 2010-2011 school year. |
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(b) Section 39.023(a), Education Code, as amended by this |
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Act, applies beginning with the 2012-2013 school year. |
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SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |