81R3337 JRJ-D
By: McClendon H.B. No. 1281
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the inclusion in the foundation curriculum for public
schools of instruction in certain skills development to prepare
students for adult responsibility.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 28.002(a), Education Code, is amended 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, and geography; and
(E) adult responsibility education; and
(2) an enrichment curriculum that includes:
(A) to the extent possible, languages other than
English;
(B) health, with emphasis on the importance of
proper nutrition and exercise;
(C) physical education;
(D) fine arts;
(E) economics, with emphasis on the free
enterprise system and its benefits;
(F) career and technology education;
(G) technology applications; and
(H) religious literature, including the Hebrew
Scriptures (Old Testament) and New Testament, and its impact on
history and literature.
SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 28, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 28.0024 to read as follows:
Sec. 28.0024. ADVISORY PANEL REQUIRED TO DEVELOP CURRICULUM
FOR ADULT RESPONSIBILITY. (a) Not later than January 1, 2010, the
agency shall establish an advisory panel under this section to
develop the required foundation curriculum to teach students skills
in social, emotional, and behavioral interaction to prepare
students for adult responsibility. A primary purpose of the adult
responsibility curriculum is to teach students advanced methods of
thinking, speaking, learning, and reasoning, including methods
for:
(1) effective, nonviolent communication;
(2) problem solving;
(3) setting appropriate boundaries and priorities;
and
(4) creative decision making.
(b) The commissioner shall appoint members to the advisory
panel after consulting with the lieutenant governor, speaker of the
house of representatives, and the chairs of standing committees of
the senate and the house of representatives with primary
jurisdiction over public education. The advisory panel shall
consist of nine members as follows:
(1) three members who have professional or practical
expertise or experience in social and emotional development and
education;
(2) three members who are active educators; and
(3) three members who are business representatives or
members of the community.
(c) The appointed members of the advisory panel serve
staggered three-year terms. The commissioner shall appoint the
initial members to a three-year term. Following the initial term,
the commissioner shall appoint the members to terms of one, two, or
three years as necessary so that one-third of the appointed
advisory panel members' terms expire each year.
(d) The commissioner shall designate one member of the
advisory panel as the presiding officer.
(e) A member of the advisory panel serves on a voluntary
basis without compensation.
(f) The advisory panel may begin meeting after the
commissioner appoints at least five members to the panel.
(g) Not later than January 1, 2011, the advisory panel shall
develop the curriculum as required by this section and report to the
commissioner and the legislature as provided by this subsection.
The report must include recommendations regarding:
(1) whether the adult responsibility curriculum
should be incorporated into existing classes or provided in
separate classes before, during, or after the school day;
(2) the professional requirements for educators who
provide adult responsibility curriculum instruction;
(3) appropriate testing practices for measuring
student progress in the adult responsibility curriculum; and
(4) other considerations as determined appropriate by
the advisory panel.
(h) The commissioner shall report the recommendations
provided under Subsection (g) to the State Board of Education.
(i) Not later than September 1, 2011, the State Board of
Education by rule shall revise the essential knowledge and skills
as provided by Section 28.002(c) to include the adult
responsibility curriculum developed under this section based on the
recommendations of the advisory panel under Subsection (g). The
State Board of Education shall require school districts to provide
instruction in the adult responsibility curriculum for:
(1) kindergarten through grade five beginning with the
2012-2013 school year;
(2) grade six through grade eight beginning with the
2014-2015 school year; and
(3) grade nine through grade 12 beginning with the
2016-2017 school year.
(j) The advisory panel shall deliver a biennial report to
the commissioner and the legislature that:
(1) assesses the state's progress in meeting the goals
stated in the curriculum plans developed under this section; and
(2) recommends legislative action to assist the state
in meeting those goals.
(k) This section expires September 1, 2018.
SECTION 3. 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, 2009.