By: Bonnen H.B. No. 4509

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to instruction in informed patriotism in public schools.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 4.001, Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 4.001. Public Education Mission and Objectives. (b) The objectives of public education are:

OBJECTIVE 1: Parents will be full partners with education 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 willmustpreparecultivate in students an informed patriotism, which consists primarily of leading students through close study of America's and Texas' founding documents. This objective's purpose is to:

(A) beincrease students' knowledge of their country's and state's deepest and noblest purposes,

(B) enhance students' intellectual independence, in order that they become thoughtful, activeeffective citizens who have an appreciation for the basic valuesfundamental moral principles of our state and national heritage, and

(C)guide students towardwho can understanding and productively functioning 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 and 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 28.002, Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 28.002. Required Curriculum. (h) The State Board of Education and each school district shall requirefoster the continuation of the tradition of teaching ofUnited Statesinformed American patriotism 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. A primary purpose of the public school curriculum is to prepare thoughtful, activeeffective citizens who understand the importance of patriotism and can function productively in a free enterprise society with appreciation for the basic democratic valuesmoral principles of our state and national heritage.

SECTION 3. Section 28.002, Education Code, is amended by adding Subsection (h-1) to read as follows:

(h-1) In adopting the essential knowledge and skills for the social studies curriculum, the State Board of Education shall 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, as well as the history, qualities, traditions, and features of civics in the United States;

(2) the structure, function, and processes of government institutions at the federal, state, and local levels; and

(3) the Founding documents of the United States, including the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, the Federalist Papers (including but not limited to Essays 10 and 51), excerpts from Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America, the first Lincoln-Douglas debate, and the writings of the Founding Fathers of the United States.

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.