By: Bonnen, et al. H.B. No. 4509
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to instruction on informed American patriotism in public
  schools.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 4.001(b), Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (b)  The objectives of public education are:
         OBJECTIVE 1: Parents will be full partners with educators in
  the education of their children.
         OBJECTIVE 2: Students will be encouraged and challenged to
  meet their full educational potential.
         OBJECTIVE 3: Through enhanced dropout prevention efforts,
  all students will remain in school until they obtain a high school
  diploma.
         OBJECTIVE 4: A well-balanced and appropriate curriculum will
  be provided to all students. Through that curriculum, students will
  be prepared to succeed in a variety of postsecondary activities,
  including employment and enrollment in institutions of higher
  education.
         OBJECTIVE 5: Educators shall cultivate in [will prepare]
  students an informed American patriotism and lead students in a
  close study of the founding documents of the United States and
  Texas. The purpose of this objective is to:
               (1)  increase students' knowledge of the deepest and
  noblest purposes of the United States and Texas;
               (2)  enhance students' intellectual independence so
  that students may become [be] thoughtful, informed, active citizens
  who have an appreciation for the fundamental democratic principles
  and basic values of our state and national heritage; and
               (3)  guide students toward understanding [who can
  understand] and productively functioning [function] in a free
  enterprise society.
         OBJECTIVE 6: Qualified and highly effective personnel will be
  recruited, developed, and retained.
         OBJECTIVE 7: The state's students will demonstrate exemplary
  performance in comparison to national and international standards.
         OBJECTIVE 8: School campuses will maintain a safe and
  disciplined environment conducive to student learning.
         OBJECTIVE 9: Educators will keep abreast of the development
  of creative and innovative techniques in instruction and
  administration using those techniques as appropriate to improve
  student learning.
         OBJECTIVE 10: Technology will be implemented and used to
  increase the effectiveness of student learning, instructional
  management, staff development, and administration.
         OBJECTIVE 11: The State Board of Education, the agency, and
  the commissioner shall assist school districts and charter schools
  in providing career and technology education to students.
         SECTION 2.  Section 5.001, Education Code, is amended by
  adding Subdivision (10) to read as follows:
               (10)  "Informed American patriotism" means a reasoned
  appreciation, gained through the study of historical primary
  sources, of why America has been, is now, and continues to be the
  destination of choice for those around the world who yearn to live
  in freedom. Informed American patriotism is only a conditional
  pledge of devotion that will be maintained only so long as America
  adheres to a republican form of government. If we abandon a
  representative democracy, our pledge of allegiance will be
  withdrawn as is stated in the Pledge of Allegiance, which swears
  devotion to a "republic."
         SECTION 3.  Section 28.002, Education Code, is amended by
  amending Subsection (h) and adding Subsections (h-1) and (h-2) to
  read as follows:
         (h)  The State Board of Education and each school district
  shall require [foster] the [continuation of the tradition of]
  teaching of informed American patriotism, [United States and] Texas
  history, and the free enterprise system [in regular subject matter
  and in reading courses and] in the adoption of instructional
  materials for kindergarten through grade 12, including the founding
  documents of the United States. A primary purpose of the public
  school curriculum is to prepare thoughtful, informed [active]
  citizens who understand the importance of patriotism and can
  function productively in a free enterprise society with
  appreciation for the fundamental [basic] democratic principles
  [values] of our state and national heritage.
         (h-1)  In adopting the essential knowledge and skills for the
  foundation curriculum under Subsection (a)(1), the State Board of
  Education shall, as appropriate, adopt essential knowledge and
  skills that develop each student's civic knowledge, including an
  understanding of:
               (1)  the fundamental moral, political, and
  intellectual foundations of the American experiment in
  self-government;
               (2)  the history, qualities, traditions, and features
  of civic engagement in the United States;
               (3)  the structure, function, and processes of
  government institutions at the federal, state, and local levels;
  and
               (4)  the founding documents of the United States,
  including:
                     (A)  the entirety of the Declaration of
  Independence;
                     (B)  the entirety of the United States
  Constitution;
                     (C)  the Federalist Papers, including the
  entirety of Essays 10 and 51;
                     (D)  excerpts from Alexis de Tocqueville's
  Democracy in America;
                     (E)  the transcript of the first Lincoln-Douglas
  debate;
                     (F)  the writings of the founding fathers of the
  United States;
                     (G)  the entirety of Frederick Douglass's
  speeches "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro" and "What the
  Black Man Wants"; and
                     (H)  the entirety of Martin Luther King Jr.'s
  speech "I Have a Dream."
         (h-2)  In providing instruction regarding the founding
  documents of the United States as described by Subsection (h-1)(4),
  a school district or open-enrollment charter school shall use those
  documents as part of the instructional materials for the
  instruction.
         SECTION 4.  This Act applies beginning with the 2021-2022
  school year.
         SECTION 5.  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, 2021.