88R11349 PRL-D

By: Schatzline H.B. No. 4530

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to instruction in human trafficking awareness in public schools.

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

SECTION 1. Section 28.002, Education Code, is amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (u) and (u-1) to read as follows:

(a) Each school district that offers kindergarten through grade 12 shall offer, as a required curriculum:

(1) a foundation curriculum that includes:

(A) English language arts;

(B) mathematics;

(C) science; and

(D) social studies, consisting of Texas, United States, and world history, government, economics, with emphasis on the free enterprise system and its benefits, and geography; and

(2) an enrichment curriculum that includes:

(A) to the extent possible, languages other than English;

(B) health, with emphasis on:

(i) physical health, including the importance of proper nutrition and exercise;

(ii) mental health, including instruction about mental health conditions, substance abuse, skills to manage emotions, establishing and maintaining positive relationships, and responsible decision-making; and

(iii) suicide prevention, including recognizing suicide-related risk factors and warning signs;

(C) physical education;

(D) fine arts;

(E) career and technology education;

(F) technology applications;

(G) religious literature, including the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) and New Testament, and its impact on history and literature; [and]

(H) personal financial literacy; and

(I) human trafficking awareness.

(u) In adopting the essential knowledge and skills for the human trafficking awareness curriculum required under Subsection (a)(2)(I), the State Board of Education shall ensure that the curriculum includes grade-level appropriate instruction relating to:

(1) for students in grades six through eight:

(A) the underlying causes of human trafficking;

(B) identification of and prevention of human trafficking for labor and sexual exploitation, with an emphasis on:

(i) understanding the signs or indicators of human trafficking;

(ii) practicing online safety; and

(iii) understanding the methods used by human traffickers to recruit children;

(C) methods for reporting suspected human trafficking; and

(D) interventions and treatment provided to survivors of human trafficking; and

(2) for students in grades 9 through 12, the topics provided by Subdivision (1) and:

(A) the commercial sexual exploitation of and vulnerability to human trafficking of minors;

(B) the role of gender in the selection of targets for human trafficking;

(C) distinguishing human trafficking from other types of offenses involving the transport or movement of individuals by others, such as kidnapping and human smuggling; and

(D) domestic and foreign policy responses to human trafficking.

(u-1) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules requiring students enrolled in grades six through eight to complete a one-semester human trafficking awareness course covering the essential knowledge and skills described by Subsection (u)(1). The course may be required only once for the middle school grade levels.

SECTION 2. Section 28.025(b-1), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(b-1) The State Board of Education by rule shall require that the curriculum requirements for the foundation high school program under Subsection (a) include a requirement that students successfully complete:

(1) four credits in English language arts under Section 28.002(a)(1)(A), including one credit in English I, one credit in English II, one credit in English III, and one credit in an advanced English course authorized under Subsection (b-2);

(2) three credits in mathematics under Section 28.002(a)(1)(B), including one credit in Algebra I, one credit in geometry, and one credit in any advanced mathematics course authorized under Subsection (b-2);

(3) three credits in science under Section 28.002(a)(1)(C), including one credit in biology, one credit in any advanced science course authorized under Subsection (b-2), and one credit in integrated physics and chemistry or in an additional advanced science course authorized under Subsection (b-2);

(4) three credits in social studies under Section 28.002(a)(1)(D), including one credit in United States history, at least one-half credit in government and at least one-half credit in economics or personal financial literacy & economics, and one credit in world geography or world history;

(5) except as provided under Subsections (b-12), (b-13), and (b-14), two credits in the same language in a language other than English under Section 28.002(a)(2)(A);

(6) four and one-half [five] elective credits;

(7) one credit in fine arts under Section 28.002(a)(2)(D); [and]

(8) except as provided by Subsection (b-11), one credit in physical education under Section 28.002(a)(2)(C); and

(9) one-half credit in human trafficking awareness under Section 28.002(a)(2)(I).

SECTION 3. As soon as practicable after the effective date of this Act, the State Board of Education shall develop the curriculum required under Section 28.002(u), Education Code, as added by this Act.

SECTION 4. (a) Sections 28.002(u)(1) and (u-1), Education Code, as added by this Act, apply only to the middle school curriculum required for students entering the sixth grade during the 2023-2024 school year or a later school year.

(b) Section 28.025(b-1), Education Code, as amended by this Act, applies only to students entering the ninth grade during the 2023-2024 school year or a later school year. For students entering a grade above ninth grade during the 2023-2024 school year, Section 28.025(b-1), Education Code, as that section existed before amendment by this Act, applies, and that section is continued in effect for that purpose.

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, 2023.