Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB2136 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	By: Creighton S.B. No. 2136
2	2	(Kuempel)
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to measures to support public secondary and postsecondary
8	8	American history and civics education, including the satisfaction
9	9	of curriculum requirements in American History at institutions of
10	10	higher education and the establishment of the American History and
11	11	Civics Project.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Section 51.302(b), Education Code, is amended to
14	14	read as follows:
15	15	(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), a college or
16	16	university receiving state support or state aid from public funds
17	17	may not grant a baccalaureate degree or a lesser degree or academic
18	18	certificate to any person unless the person has credit for six
19	19	semester hours or its equivalent in American History. A student is
20	20	entitled to submit as much as three semester hours of credit or its
21	21	equivalent in Texas History in partial satisfaction of this
22	22	requirement. The college or university shall ensure that a student
23	23	may satisfy this requirement by successfully completing survey
24	24	courses that address the major themes of American history from the
25	25	nation's founding onward. The college or university may determine
26	26	that a student has satisfied this requirement in whole or part on
27	27	the basis of credit granted to the student by the college or
28	28	university for a substantially equivalent course completed at
29	29	another accredited college or university, or on the basis of the
30	30	student's successful completion of an advanced standing
31	31	examination administered on the conditions and under the
32	32	circumstances common for the college or university's advanced
33	33	standing examinations. The college or university may grant as much
34	34	as three semester hours of credit or its equivalent toward
35	35	satisfaction of this requirement for substantially equivalent work
36	36	completed by a student in the program of an approved senior R.O.T.C.
37	37	unit.
38	38	SECTION 2. Subchapter C, Chapter 61, Education Code, is
39	39	amended by adding Section 61.0518 to read as follows:
40	40	Sec. 61.0518. AMERICAN HISTORY AND CIVICS PROJECT. (a) In
41	41	this section, "project" means the American History and Civics
42	42	Project.
43	43	(b) The board, in consultation with institutions of higher
44	44	education, shall establish the American History and Civics Project
45	45	to:
46	46	(1) strengthen American history and civics education
47	47	at public high schools and institutions of higher education; and
48	48	(2) encourage the development and effective use of
49	49	high-quality digital content and professional development
50	50	materials for use in American history and civics education at
51	51	public high schools and institutions of higher education.
52	52	(c) The board shall convene an expert commission of scholars
53	53	and educators to assist in the creation of the project.
54	54	(d) Using funds appropriated or otherwise available for
55	55	purposes of the project, the board shall award grants to
56	56	individuals with relevant subject matter expertise, school
57	57	districts, or institutions of higher education to recommend and
58	58	develop digital content and professional development materials for
59	59	use in American history and civics education at public high schools
60	60	and institutions of higher education.
61	61	(e) Digital content recommended or developed using a grant
62	62	awarded under Subsection (d) may include interactive and
63	63	audiovisual resources, assignments, and model syllabuses that:
64	64	(1) address the major themes of American history from
65	65	the nation's founding onward; and
66	66	(2) may be used in the delivery of:
67	67	(A) survey courses offered by institutions of
68	68	higher education;
69	69	(B) dual credit or dual enrollment courses
70	70	offered by public high schools or institutions of higher education;
71	71	or
72	72	(C) public high school courses for which students
73	73	may receive credit that satisfies all or part of the requirements
74	74	under Section 51.302(b).
75	75	(f) To encourage the effective use of digital content
76	76	recommended or developed using a grant awarded under Subsection
77	77	(d), the board shall, using funds appropriated or otherwise
78	78	available for purposes of the project, support the establishment of
79	79	a professional development program for individuals who teach one or
80	80	more American history and civics courses, including a dual credit
81	81	or dual enrollment course, at a public high school or institution of
82	82	higher education. The professional development program may include
83	83	an annual statewide conference.
84	84	(g) The board shall include in the state repository of open
85	85	educational resources developed under Section 61.0670 any digital
86	86	content or professional development materials developed using a
87	87	grant awarded under Subsection (d).
88	88	(h) The board may adopt rules necessary to implement this
89	89	section.
90	90	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.