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AN ACT relating to social studies curriculum. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
ď˘Section 1. KRS 158.196 is amended to read as follows: 3
(1) A public school or public charter school shall provide instruction and instructional 4
materials that are aligned with the social studies academic standards adopted in 5
accordance with KRS 158.6453 and consistent with the following concepts: 6
(a) All individuals are created equal; 7
(b) Americans are entitled to equal protection under the law; 8
(c) An individual deserves to be treated on the basis of the individual's character; 9
(d) An individual, by virtue of the individual's race or sex, does not bear 10
responsibility for actions committed by other members of the same race or 11
sex; 12
(e) The understanding that the institution of slavery and post-Civil War laws 13
enforcing racial segregation and discrimination were contrary to the 14
fundamental American promise of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, 15
as expressed in the Declaration of Independence, but that defining racial 16
disparities solely on the legacy of this institution is destructive to the 17
unification of our nation; 18
(f) The roles and contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender 19
people in the history of this country and the Commonwealth; 20
(g) The future of America's success is dependent upon cooperation among all its 21
citizens; 22
(h)[(g)] Personal agency and the understanding that, regardless of one's 23
circumstances, an American has the ability to succeed when he or she is given 24
sufficient opportunity and is committed to seizing that opportunity through 25
hard work, pursuit of education, and good citizenship; and 26
(i)[(h)] The significant value of the American principles of equality, freedom, 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 1801
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inalienable rights, respect for individual rights, liberty, and the consent of the 1
governed. 2
(2) Nothing in subsection (1) of this section shall be construed to restrict a public 3
school or public charter school from providing instruction or using instructional 4
materials that include: 5
(a) The history of an ethnic group, as described in textbooks and instructional 6
materials adopted by a school district; 7
(b) The discussion of controversial aspects of history; or 8
(c) The instruction and instructional materials on the historical oppression of a 9
particular group of people. 10
(3) (a) Notwithstanding the every six (6) year schedule set forth in KRS 11
158.6453(2)(a), no later than July 1, 2023, the Kentucky Department of 12
Education shall incorporate fundamental American documents and speeches 13
into the grade-level appropriate middle and high school social studies 14
academic standards and align corresponding assessments, including but not 15
limited to: 16
1. The Mayflower Compact; 17
2. The Declaration of Independence; 18
3. The Constitution of the United States; 19
4. The Federalist No. 1 (Alexander Hamilton); 20
5. The Federalist Nos. 10 and 51 (James Madison); 21
6. The June 8, 1789, speech on amendments to the Constitution of the 22
United States by James Madison; 23
7. The first ten (10) amendments to the Constitution of the United States, 24
also known as the Bill of Rights; 25
8. The 1796 Farewell Address by George Washington; 26
9. The United States Supreme Court opinion in Marbury v. Madison, 5 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 1801
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U.S. 137 (1803); 1
10. The Monroe Doctrine by James Monroe; 2
11. What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? speech by Frederick Douglass; 3
12. The United States Supreme Court opinion in Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 4
U.S. 393 (1857); 5
13. Final Emancipation Proclamation by Abraham Lincoln; 6
14. The Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln; 7
15. Declaration of Rights of the Women of the United States by Susan B. 8
Anthony, Matilda Joslyn Gage, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton; 9
16. The September 18, 1895, Atlanta Exposition Address by Booker T. 10
Washington; 11
17. Of Booker T. Washington and Others by W.E.B. Du Bois; 12
18. The United States Supreme Court opinion in Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 13
U.S. 537 (1896); 14
19. The August 31, 1910, New Nationalism speech by Theodore Roosevelt; 15
20. The January 11, 1944, State of the Union Address by Franklin D. 16
Roosevelt; 17
21. The United States Supreme Court opinions in Brown v. Board of 18
Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954) and Brown v. Board of 19
Education of Topeka, 349 U.S. 294 (1955); 20
22. Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King, Jr.; 21
23. The August 28, 1963, I Have a Dream speech by Martin Luther King, 22
Jr.; and 23
24. A Time for Choosing by Ronald Reagan. 24
(b) This revision shall not delay or otherwise impact the existing schedule as set 25
forth in KRS 158.6453(2). 26