By: Taylor, et al. S.B. No. 2026
(Bonnen, et al.)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to instruction on informed American patriotism in public
schools.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 4.001(b), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) The objectives of public education are:
OBJECTIVE 1: Parents will be full partners with educators 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 shall cultivate in [will prepare]
students an informed American patriotism and lead students in a
close study of the founding documents of the United States and
Texas. The purpose of this objective is to:
(1) increase students' knowledge of the deepest and
noblest purposes of the United States and Texas;
(2) enhance students' intellectual independence so
that students may become [be] thoughtful, informed [active]
citizens who have an appreciation for the fundamental democratic
principles [basic values] of our state and national heritage; and
(3) guide students toward understanding [who can
understand] and productively functioning [function] 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 in 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 5.001, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subdivision (10) to read as follows:
(10) "Informed American patriotism" means a reasoned
appreciation, gained through the study of historical primary
sources, of why America has been, is now, and continues to be the
destination of choice for those around the world who yearn to live
in freedom. Informed American patriotism is only a conditional
pledge of devotion that will be maintained only so long as America
adheres to a republican form of government. If we abandon a
representative democracy, our pledge of allegiance will be
withdrawn as is stated in the Pledge of Allegiance, which swears
devotion to a "republic".
SECTION 3. Section 28.002, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (h) and adding Subsections (h-1) and (h-2) to
read as follows:
(h) The State Board of Education and each school district
shall require [foster] the [continuation of the tradition of]
teaching of informed American patriotism, [United States 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, including the founding
documents of the United States. A primary purpose of the public
school curriculum is to prepare thoughtful, informed [active]
citizens who understand the importance of patriotism and can
function productively in a free enterprise society with
appreciation for the fundamental [basic] democratic principles
[values] of our state and national heritage.
(h-1) In adopting the essential knowledge and skills for the
foundation curriculum under Subsection (a)(1), the State Board of
Education shall, as appropriate, 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;
(2) the history, qualities, traditions, and features
of civic engagement in the United States;
(3) the structure, function, and processes of
government institutions at the federal, state, and local levels;
and
(4) the founding documents of the United States,
including:
(A) the entirety of the Declaration of
Independence;
(B) the entirety of the United States
Constitution;
(C) the Federalist Papers, including the
entirety of Essays 10 and 51;
(D) excerpts from Alexis de Tocqueville's
Democracy in America;
(E) the transcript of the first Lincoln-Douglas
debate;
(F) the writings of the founding fathers of the
United States;
(G) the entirety of Frederick Douglass's
speeches The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro and What the Black
Man Wants; and
(H) the entirety of Martin Luther King Jr.'s
speech I Have a Dream.
(h-2) In providing instruction regarding the founding
documents of the United States as described by Subsection (h-1)(4),
a school district or open-enrollment charter school shall use those
documents as part of the instructional materials for the
instruction.
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.