| 1 | 1 | | 86R9176 GCB-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Allison H.B. No. 3429 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to the inclusion of instruction about mental health, |
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| 8 | 8 | | suicide prevention, bullying, cyberbullying, and harassment in the |
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| 9 | 9 | | required curriculum for public school students. |
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| 10 | 10 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 11 | 11 | | SECTION 1. Sections 28.002(a) and (s), Education Code, are |
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| 12 | 12 | | amended to read as follows: |
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| 13 | 13 | | (a) Each school district that offers kindergarten through |
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| 14 | 14 | | grade 12 shall offer, as a required curriculum: |
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| 15 | 15 | | (1) a foundation curriculum that includes: |
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| 16 | 16 | | (A) English language arts; |
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| 17 | 17 | | (B) mathematics; |
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| 18 | 18 | | (C) science; and |
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| 19 | 19 | | (D) social studies, consisting of Texas, United |
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| 20 | 20 | | States, and world history, government, economics, with emphasis on |
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| 21 | 21 | | the free enterprise system and its benefits, and geography; and |
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| 22 | 22 | | (2) an enrichment curriculum that includes: |
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| 23 | 23 | | (A) to the extent possible, languages other than |
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| 24 | 24 | | English; |
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| 25 | 25 | | (B) health, including mental health, with |
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| 26 | 26 | | emphasis on the importance of: |
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| 27 | 27 | | (i) proper nutrition and exercise; |
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| 28 | 28 | | (ii) the relationship between physical and |
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| 29 | 29 | | mental health; and |
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| 30 | 30 | | (iii) suicide prevention; |
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| 31 | 31 | | (C) physical education; |
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| 32 | 32 | | (D) fine arts; |
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| 33 | 33 | | (E) career and technology education; |
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| 34 | 34 | | (F) technology applications; |
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| 35 | 35 | | (G) religious literature, including the Hebrew |
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| 36 | 36 | | Scriptures (Old Testament) and New Testament, and its impact on |
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| 37 | 37 | | history and literature; and |
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| 38 | 38 | | (H) personal financial literacy. |
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| 39 | 39 | | (s) In this subsection, "bullying" and "cyberbullying" have |
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| 40 | 40 | | [has] the meanings [meaning] assigned by Section 37.0832, and |
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| 41 | 41 | | "harassment" has the meaning assigned by Section 37.001. In |
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| 42 | 42 | | addition to any other essential knowledge and skills the State |
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| 43 | 43 | | Board of Education adopts for the health curriculum under |
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| 44 | 44 | | Subsection (a)(2)(B), the board shall [adopt for the health |
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| 45 | 45 | | curriculum], in consultation with the Texas School Safety Center, |
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| 46 | 46 | | adopt essential knowledge and skills that include: |
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| 47 | 47 | | (1) evidence-based practices that will effectively |
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| 48 | 48 | | address awareness, prevention, identification, self-defense in |
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| 49 | 49 | | response to, and resolution of and intervention in bullying, |
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| 50 | 50 | | cyberbullying, and harassment; and |
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| 51 | 51 | | (2) information about potential criminal consequences |
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| 52 | 52 | | of bullying, cyberbullying, and harassment and the requirement |
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| 53 | 53 | | under Section 37.0832 for each school district to adopt a bullying |
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| 54 | 54 | | prevention policy. |
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| 55 | 55 | | SECTION 2. This Act applies beginning with the 2019-2020 |
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| 56 | 56 | | school year. |
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| 57 | 57 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 58 | 58 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 59 | 59 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 60 | 60 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 61 | 61 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2019. |
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