SLS 21RS-3747 ORIGINAL
2021 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 250
BY SENATOR MORRIS
EDUCATION DEPARTMENT. Requests that certain topics related to American history
and world history be included in state content standards and curricula for public school
students.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To urge and request that certain topics regarding American history and world history be
3 included in state content standards and curricula for public school students.
4 WHEREAS, the Declaration of Independence states that "all men are created equal";
5 and
6 WHEREAS, other states have adopted curricula emphasizing patriotism because it
7 is in the best interest of children; and
8 WHEREAS, incorporating patriotism in education is about the preservation of a free
9 America, and it is essential that children be taught about their duties, responsibilities, and
10 obligations as Americans.
11 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
12 does hereby urge and request the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to
13 adopt only state content standards that provide for the objective, fact-based history of the
14 United States.
15 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana does
16 hereby urge and request the state Department of Education and each public school governing
17 authority to provide for civics and government courses that teach students the entire,
18 contextual, and documented experience of the United States and to use curricula and
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SLS 21RS-3747 ORIGINAL
1 instructional materials that teach apolitical, fact-based, and race-neutral history.
2 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that topics included in such standards and curricula
3 shall include the following, which shall be covered in an age-appropriate and incremental
4 manner:
5 (1) An examination of the causes of the War for American Independence.
6 (2) An understanding of the content of the Declaration of Independence, especially
7 the words, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they
8 are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life,
9 Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness".
10 (3) A familiarity with the Founding Fathers, including the signers of the Declaration
11 of Independence and the sacrifices they endured in the Revolutionary War.
12 (4) An examination of the failures of the Articles of Confederation.
13 (5) An examination of the Constitutional Convention, the writing and content of the
14 Constitution, and the political considerations that led to the structure of the government
15 created by the Constitution.
16 (6) An understanding of the Bill of Rights and how it restricts the power of the
17 federal government.
18 (7) An examination of the First Amendment, including Freedom of Religion,
19 Freedom of Speech, Freedom of the Press, Freedom of Assembly, and the Right for a
20 Redress of Grievances.
21 (8) An understanding of the three branches of government, the role of each, and
22 checks and balances.
23 (9) An understanding of the arguments presented in the Federalist Papers.
24 (10) An understanding of the causes of the War of 1812.
25 (11) An understanding of the causes of the Civil War and how the Civil War
26 changed the nation.
27 (12) An understanding of the history of slavery, the capture and sale of Africans, the
28 hardships of passage to the New World, the evils of slavery in the United States, the freeing
29 of the slaves, and the Civil Rights movement.
30
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SLS 21RS-3747 ORIGINAL
1 (13) An understanding of the causes of World War II, why the United States entered
2 the war, the hardships suffered during the war, and how the war changed the world.
3 (14) An understanding of the rise of anti-Semitism in Nazi Germany and how that
4 led to the Holocaust.
5 (15) An understanding of the free enterprise system in the United States, including
6 the importance of private property, free markets, the law of supply and demand, and the role
7 of profits.
8 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana does
9 hereby urge and request that no state content standards be adopted and no curricula be used
10 that provide that one race is superior or inferior to another and that all standards and
11 curricula seek to foster unity and respect.
12 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
13 president of the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, the state
14 superintendent of education, the executive director of the Louisiana School Boards
15 Association, and the executive director of the Louisiana Association of Public Charter
16 Schools.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Cheryl Serrett.
DIGEST
SR 250 Original 2021 Regular Session Morris
Requests that certain topics regarding American history and world history be included in
state content standards and curricula for public school students.
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