| 1 | 1 | | 86R4649 SOS-F |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | By: Miles S.B. No. 419 |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | relating to the inclusion of American principles, including social |
|---|
| 8 | 8 | | injustice and civil rights concepts, in the public school |
|---|
| 9 | 9 | | curriculum and instructional materials and in training materials |
|---|
| 10 | 10 | | and resources for use by school districts. |
|---|
| 11 | 11 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|---|
| 12 | 12 | | SECTION 1. Subchapter J, Chapter 21, Education Code, is |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | amended by adding Sections 21.460 and 21.461 to read as follows: |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | Sec. 21.460. TRAINING MATERIALS AND RESOURCES REGARDING |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | SITUATIONS INVOLVING SOCIAL INJUSTICE AND CIVIL RIGHTS ISSUES. The |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | agency shall advise school districts regarding training materials |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | and resources for a school district to use in assisting educators |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | to: |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | (1) recognize and respond to situations that involve |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | an alleged social injustice or violation of civil rights; and |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | (2) as appropriate, consult persons with substantial, |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | demonstrated experience in addressing those situations. |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | Sec. 21.461. BEST PRACTICES FOR PROMOTING STUDENT FREE |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | SPEECH. The agency shall provide to school districts information |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | relating to best practices for promoting the ability of all |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | students to engage in free speech guaranteed by the constitution of |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | the United States or this state regarding a policy issue, including |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | engaging in speech through a public forum, a nonvoting position on a |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | school district board of trustees, or a civic engagement program. |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | SECTION 2. Section 28.002, Education Code, is amended by |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | adding Subsection (h-1) to read as follows: |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | (h-1) To accomplish the primary purpose stated in |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | Subsection (h): |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | (1) the State Board of Education and each school |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | district shall ensure that: |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | (A) the public school curriculum emphasizes: |
|---|
| 37 | 37 | | (i) understanding the principles |
|---|
| 38 | 38 | | underlying the United States Constitution, including the freedom of |
|---|
| 39 | 39 | | speech, the rights to assemble and to petition the government for a |
|---|
| 40 | 40 | | redress of grievances, and other principles contained in the Bill |
|---|
| 41 | 41 | | of Rights; |
|---|
| 42 | 42 | | (ii) empowering students to protect |
|---|
| 43 | 43 | | themselves and others from injustices and to rectify those |
|---|
| 44 | 44 | | injustices; and |
|---|
| 45 | 45 | | (iii) understanding the benefits of |
|---|
| 46 | 46 | | diversity and the history of the civil rights movement; and |
|---|
| 47 | 47 | | (B) each historical event addressed in the public |
|---|
| 48 | 48 | | school curriculum meets a reasonable standard of historical |
|---|
| 49 | 49 | | significance, in relation to the limited amount of available |
|---|
| 50 | 50 | | instructional time; and |
|---|
| 51 | 51 | | (2) a course of instruction may include the use of a |
|---|
| 52 | 52 | | public forum, youth dialogue, workshop, or other appropriate method |
|---|
| 53 | 53 | | of instruction. |
|---|
| 54 | 54 | | SECTION 3. Section 31.023(a), Education Code, is amended to |
|---|
| 55 | 55 | | read as follows: |
|---|
| 56 | 56 | | (a) For each subject and grade level, the State Board of |
|---|
| 57 | 57 | | Education shall adopt a list of instructional materials. The list |
|---|
| 58 | 58 | | includes each instructional material submitted for the subject and |
|---|
| 59 | 59 | | grade level that meets applicable physical specifications adopted |
|---|
| 60 | 60 | | by the State Board of Education, that [and] contains material that |
|---|
| 61 | 61 | | is consistent with the purpose and guidelines of Sections 28.002(h) |
|---|
| 62 | 62 | | and (h-1), and that covers [covering] at least half of the elements |
|---|
| 63 | 63 | | of the essential knowledge and skills of the subject and grade level |
|---|
| 64 | 64 | | in the student version of the instructional material, as well as in |
|---|
| 65 | 65 | | the teacher version of the instructional material, as determined by |
|---|
| 66 | 66 | | the State Board of Education under Section 28.002 and adopted under |
|---|
| 67 | 67 | | Section 31.024. |
|---|
| 68 | 68 | | SECTION 4. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this |
|---|
| 69 | 69 | | section, this Act applies beginning with the 2019-2020 school year. |
|---|
| 70 | 70 | | (b) The changes in law made by this Act to Section |
|---|
| 71 | 71 | | 31.023(a), Education Code, apply to instructional materials |
|---|
| 72 | 72 | | adopted by the State Board of Education on or after September 1, |
|---|
| 73 | 73 | | 2020. |
|---|
| 74 | 74 | | SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
|---|
| 75 | 75 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
|---|
| 76 | 76 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
|---|
| 77 | 77 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
|---|
| 78 | 78 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2019. |
|---|