Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1954 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	88R10915 DIO-F
2	2	By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 1954
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the essential knowledge and skills of the public school
8	8	foundational curriculum for civics education and social studies.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Sections 28.002(h-1) and (h-2), Education Code,
11	11	are amended to read as follows:
12	12	(h-1) In adopting the essential knowledge and skills for the
13	13	foundation curriculum under Subsection (a)(1), the State Board of
14	14	Education shall, as appropriate, adopt essential knowledge and
15	15	skills that develop each student's civic knowledge, including an
16	16	understanding of:
17	17	(1) the fundamental moral, political, and
18	18	intellectual foundations of the American experiment in
19	19	self-government;
20	20	(2) the history, qualities, traditions, and features
21	21	of civic engagement in the United States;
22	22	(3) the structure, organization, function, and
23	23	processes of government institutions at the federal, state, and
24	24	local levels; and
25	25	(4) the founding documents of the United States,
26	26	including:
27	27	(A) the entirety of the Declaration of
28	28	Independence;
29	29	(B) the entirety of the United States
30	30	Constitution;
31	31	(C) the Federalist Papers, including the
32	32	entirety of Essays 10 [and] 51, and 78;
33	33	(D) excerpts from Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. 137
34	34	(1803);
35	35	(E) excerpts from Alexis de Tocqueville's
36	36	Democracy in America;
37	37	(F) [(E)] the transcript of the first
38	38	Lincoln-Douglas debate;
39	39	(G) [(F)] the writings of the founding fathers of
40	40	the United States;
41	41	(H) [(G)] the entirety of Frederick Douglass's
42	42	speeches "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro" and "What the
43	43	Black Man Wants"; and
44	44	(I) [(H)] the entirety of Martin Luther King
45	45	Jr.'s speech "I Have a Dream."
46	46	(h-2) In adopting the essential knowledge and skills for the
47	47	social studies curriculum for each grade level from kindergarten
48	48	through grade 12, the State Board of Education shall adopt
49	49	essential knowledge and skills that develop each student's civic
50	50	knowledge, including:
51	51	(1) an understanding of:
52	52	(A) the fundamental moral, political,
53	53	entrepreneurial, and intellectual foundations of the American
54	54	experiment in self-government;
55	55	(B) the history, qualities, traditions, and
56	56	features of civic engagement in the United States;
57	57	(C) the structure, organization, function, and
58	58	processes of government institutions at the federal, state, and
59	59	local levels, with an emphasis on:
60	60	(i) the structure of the federal court
61	61	system and the court system of this state;
62	62	(ii) the role the judiciary, as a co-equal
63	63	branch of government, plays in providing checks and balances on
64	64	governmental power;
65	65	(iii) the selection of judicial
66	66	officeholders within the federal and state judicial systems, with
67	67	special consideration given to state and local officeholders of
68	68	this state;
69	69	(iv) the processing and flow of cases at all
70	70	court levels in this state;
71	71	(v) the role judges and juries play in the
72	72	criminal and civil justice systems; and
73	73	(vi) the sharing of governance between the
74	74	federal and state governments in a federalist system and the
75	75	interplay between the judicial examination of legal issues at the
76	76	federal and state level; and
77	77	(D) the founding documents of the United States;
78	78	(2) the ability to:
79	79	(A) analyze and determine the reliability of
80	80	information sources;
81	81	(B) formulate and articulate reasoned positions;
82	82	(C) understand the manner in which local, state,
83	83	and federal government works and operates through the use of
84	84	simulations and models of governmental and democratic processes;
85	85	(D) actively listen and engage in civil
86	86	discourse, including discourse with those with different
87	87	viewpoints; and
88	88	(E) participate as a citizen in a constitutional
89	89	democracy by voting; and
90	90	(3) an appreciation of:
91	91	(A) the importance and responsibility of
92	92	participating in civic life;
93	93	(B) a commitment to the United States and its
94	94	form of government; and
95	95	(C) a commitment to free speech and civil
96	96	discourse.
97	97	SECTION 2. This Act applies beginning with the 2023-2024
98	98	school year.
99	99	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
100	100	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
101	101	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
102	102	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
103	103	Act takes effect September 1, 2023.