89R5868 JDK-D
By: Schatzline H.B. No. 1911
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to instruction in human trafficking awareness in public
schools.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 28.002, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (u) and (u-1) to
read as follows:
(a) Each school district that offers kindergarten through
grade 12 shall offer, as a required curriculum:
(1) a foundation curriculum that includes:
(A) English language arts;
(B) mathematics;
(C) science; and
(D) social studies, consisting of Texas, United
States, and world history, government, economics, with emphasis on
the free enterprise system and its benefits, and geography; and
(2) an enrichment curriculum that includes:
(A) to the extent possible, languages other than
English;
(B) health, with emphasis on:
(i) physical health, including the
importance of proper nutrition and exercise;
(ii) mental health, including instruction
about mental health conditions, substance abuse, skills to manage
emotions, establishing and maintaining positive relationships, and
responsible decision-making; and
(iii) suicide prevention, including
recognizing suicide-related risk factors and warning signs;
(C) physical education;
(D) fine arts;
(E) career and technology education;
(F) technology applications;
(G) religious literature, including the Hebrew
Scriptures (Old Testament) and New Testament, and its impact on
history and literature; [and]
(H) personal financial literacy; and
(I) human trafficking awareness.
(u) In adopting the essential knowledge and skills for the
human trafficking awareness curriculum required under Subsection
(a)(2)(I), the State Board of Education shall ensure that the
curriculum includes grade-level appropriate instruction relating
to:
(1) for students in grades six through eight:
(A) the underlying causes of human trafficking;
(B) identification of and prevention of human
trafficking for labor and sexual exploitation, with an emphasis on:
(i) understanding the signs or indicators
of human trafficking;
(ii) practicing online safety; and
(iii) understanding the methods used by
human traffickers to recruit children;
(C) methods for reporting suspected human
trafficking; and
(D) interventions and treatment provided to
survivors of human trafficking; and
(2) for students in grades 9 through 12, the topics
provided by Subdivision (1) and:
(A) the commercial sexual exploitation of and
vulnerability to human trafficking of minors;
(B) the role of gender in the selection of
targets for human trafficking;
(C) distinguishing human trafficking from other
types of offenses involving the transport or movement of
individuals by others, such as kidnapping and human smuggling; and
(D) domestic and foreign policy responses to
human trafficking.
(u-1) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules
requiring students enrolled in grades six through eight to complete
a one-semester human trafficking awareness course covering the
essential knowledge and skills described by Subsection (u)(1). The
course may be required only once for the middle school grade levels.
SECTION 2. Section 28.025(b-1), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b-1) The State Board of Education by rule shall require
that the curriculum requirements for the foundation high school
program under Subsection (a) include a requirement that students
successfully complete:
(1) four credits in English language arts under
Section 28.002(a)(1)(A), including one credit in English I, one
credit in English II, one credit in English III, and one credit in
an advanced English course authorized under Subsection (b-2);
(2) three credits in mathematics under Section
28.002(a)(1)(B), including one credit in Algebra I, one credit in
geometry, and one credit in any advanced mathematics course
authorized under Subsection (b-2);
(3) three credits in science under Section
28.002(a)(1)(C), including one credit in biology, one credit in any
advanced science course authorized under Subsection (b-2), and one
credit in integrated physics and chemistry or in an additional
advanced science course authorized under Subsection (b-2);
(4) three credits in social studies under Section
28.002(a)(1)(D), including one credit in United States history, at
least one-half credit in government and at least one-half credit in
economics or personal financial literacy & economics, and one
credit in world geography or world history;
(5) except as provided under Subsections (b-12),
(b-13), and (b-14), two credits in the same language in a language
other than English under Section 28.002(a)(2)(A);
(6) four and one-half [five] elective credits;
(7) one credit in fine arts under Section
28.002(a)(2)(D); [and]
(8) except as provided by Subsection (b-11), one
credit in physical education under Section 28.002(a)(2)(C); and
(9) one-half credit in human trafficking awareness
under Section 28.002(a)(2)(I).
SECTION 3. As soon as practicable after the effective date
of this Act, the State Board of Education shall develop the
curriculum required under Section 28.002(u), Education Code, as
added by this Act.
SECTION 4. (a) Sections 28.002(u)(1) and (u-1), Education
Code, as added by this Act, apply only to the middle school
curriculum required for students entering the sixth grade during
the 2025-2026 school year or a later school year.
(b) Section 28.025(b-1), Education Code, as amended by this
Act, applies only to students entering the ninth grade during the
2025-2026 school year or a later school year. For students entering
a grade above ninth grade during the 2025-2026 school year, Section
28.025(b-1), Education Code, as that section existed before
amendment by this Act, applies, and that section is continued in
effect for that purpose.
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, 2025.