By: Farrar H.B. No. 4250
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to requiring Latino and African-American history as part
of the social studies curriculum.
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; Latino
history, African-American history, 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. (a) Not later than March 1, 2010:
(1) the commissioner of education shall adopt rules as
necessary to administer Section 28.002(a)(D), Education Code, as
added by this Act; and
(2) Beginning with the 2010-2011 school year, each
school district shall begin to implement Latino and
African-American history into the required social studies
curriculum.
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.