By: Taylor S.B. No. 2026
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to instruction in informed patriotism in public schools.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 4.001, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 4.001. Public Education Mission and Objectives.
(b) The objectives of public education are:
OBJECTIVE 1: Parents will be full partners with education in
the education of their children
OBJECTIVE 2: Students will be encouraged and challenged to
meet their full educational potential.
OBJECTIVE 3: Through enhanced dropout prevention efforts,
all students will remain in school until they obtain a high school
diploma.
OBJECTIVE 4: A well-balanced and appropriate curriculum will
be provided to all students. Through that curriculum, students will
be prepared to succeed in a variety of postsecondary activities,
including employment and enrollment in institutions of higher
education.
OBJECTIVE 5: Educators willmustpreparecultivate in
students an informed patriotism, which consists primarily of
leading students through close study of America's and Texas'
founding documents. This objective's purpose is to:
(A) beincrease students' knowledge of their
country's and state's deepest and noblest purposes,
(B) enhance students' intellectual independence,
in order that they become thoughtful,activeeffective citizens who
have an appreciation for the basic valuesfundamental moral
principles of our state and national heritage, and
(C)guide students towardwho can understanding and
productively functioning in a free enterprise society.
OBJECTIVE 6: Qualified and highly effective personnel will be
recruited, developed, and retained.
OBJECTIVE 7: The state's students will demonstrate exemplary
performance in comparison to national and international standards.
OBJECTIVE 8: School campuses will maintain a safe and
disciplined environment conducive to student learning.
OBJECTIVE 9: Educators will keep abreast of the development
of creative and innovative techniques and instruction and
administration using those techniques as appropriate to improve
student learning.
OBJECTIVE 10: Technology will be implemented and used to
increase the effectiveness of student learning, instructional
management, staff development, and administration.
OBJECTIVE 11: The State Board of Education, the agency, and
the commissioner, shall assist school districts and charter schools
in providing career and technology education to students.
SECTION 2. Section 28.002, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 28.002. Required Curriculum. (h) The State Board of
Education and each school district shall requirefoster the
continuation of the tradition of teaching ofUnited Statesinformed
American patriotism and Texas history and the free enterprise
system in regular subject matter and in reading courses and in the
adoption of instructional materials for kindergarten through grade
12. A primary purpose of the public school curriculum is to prepare
thoughtful, activeeffective citizens who understand the importance
of patriotism and can function productively in a free enterprise
society with appreciation for the basic democratic valuesmoral
principles of our state and national heritage.
SECTION 3. Section 28.002, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (h-1) to read as follows:
(h-1) In adopting the essential knowledge and skills for the
social studies curriculum, the State Board of Education shall adopt
essential knowledge and skills that develop each student's civic
knowledge, including an understanding of:
(1) the fundamental moral, political, and
intellectual foundations of the American experiment in
self-government, as well as the history, qualities, traditions, and
features of civics in the United States;
(2) the structure, function, and processes of
government institutions at the federal, state, and local levels;
and
(3) the Founding documents of the United States,
including the Declaration of Independence, the United States
Constitution, the Federalist Papers (including but not limited to
Essays 10 and 51), excerpts from Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy
in America, the first Lincoln-Douglas debate, and the writings of
the Founding Fathers of the United States.
SECTION 4. This Act applies beginning with the 2021-2022
school year.
SECTION 5. 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, 2021.