| 1 | 1 | | 89R5738 KRM-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: King S.B. No. 1298 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | |
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| 6 | 6 | | |
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| 7 | 7 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 8 | 8 | | AN ACT |
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| 9 | 9 | | relating to instruction in online safety for minors provided in |
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| 10 | 10 | | public schools and by the Department of Public Safety. |
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| 11 | 11 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 12 | 12 | | SECTION 1. Section 28.002, Education Code, is amended by |
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| 13 | 13 | | amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c-6) to read as |
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| 14 | 14 | | follows: |
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| 15 | 15 | | (a) Each school district that offers kindergarten through |
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| 16 | 16 | | grade 12 shall offer, as a required curriculum: |
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| 17 | 17 | | (1) a foundation curriculum that includes: |
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| 18 | 18 | | (A) English language arts; |
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| 19 | 19 | | (B) mathematics; |
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| 20 | 20 | | (C) science; and |
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| 21 | 21 | | (D) social studies, consisting of Texas, United |
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| 22 | 22 | | States, and world history, government, economics, with emphasis on |
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| 23 | 23 | | the free enterprise system and its benefits, and geography; and |
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| 24 | 24 | | (2) an enrichment curriculum that includes: |
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| 25 | 25 | | (A) to the extent possible, languages other than |
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| 26 | 26 | | English; |
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| 27 | 27 | | (B) health, with emphasis on: |
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| 28 | 28 | | (i) physical health, including the |
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| 29 | 29 | | importance of proper nutrition and exercise; |
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| 30 | 30 | | (ii) mental health, including instruction |
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| 31 | 31 | | about mental health conditions, substance abuse, skills to manage |
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| 32 | 32 | | emotions, establishing and maintaining positive relationships, and |
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| 33 | 33 | | responsible decision-making; and |
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| 34 | 34 | | (iii) suicide prevention, including |
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| 35 | 35 | | recognizing suicide-related risk factors and warning signs; |
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| 36 | 36 | | (C) physical education; |
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| 37 | 37 | | (D) fine arts; |
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| 38 | 38 | | (E) career and technology education; |
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| 39 | 39 | | (F) technology applications; |
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| 40 | 40 | | (G) religious literature, including the Hebrew |
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| 41 | 41 | | Scriptures (Old Testament) and New Testament, and its impact on |
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| 42 | 42 | | history and literature; [and] |
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| 43 | 43 | | (H) personal financial literacy; and |
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| 44 | 44 | | (I) online safety, including instruction about |
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| 45 | 45 | | the potential dangers of using Internet websites, social media |
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| 46 | 46 | | applications, and applications that use artificial intelligence. |
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| 47 | 47 | | (c-6) In adopting the essential knowledge and skills for the |
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| 48 | 48 | | online safety curriculum required under Subsection (a)(2)(I), the |
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| 49 | 49 | | State Board of Education shall adopt essential knowledge and skills |
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| 50 | 50 | | that develop each student's understanding of: |
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| 51 | 51 | | (1) sharing information on social media; |
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| 52 | 52 | | (2) maintaining personal security; |
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| 53 | 53 | | (3) preventing oversharing of personal information; |
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| 54 | 54 | | (4) identifying cyberbullying, predatory behavior, |
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| 55 | 55 | | and human trafficking on the Internet; |
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| 56 | 56 | | (5) the permanence of information shared online; |
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| 57 | 57 | | (6) how to report suspicious activity encountered on |
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| 58 | 58 | | the Internet to appropriate authorities; and |
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| 59 | 59 | | (7) the topics described by Sections 37.218(b)(1), |
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| 60 | 60 | | (2), and (3). |
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| 61 | 61 | | SECTION 2. Section 411.045(b), Government Code, is amended |
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| 62 | 62 | | to read as follows: |
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| 63 | 63 | | (b) The bureau of training shall: |
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| 64 | 64 | | (1) establish and operate schools for training |
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| 65 | 65 | | department personnel in their duties and functions; |
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| 66 | 66 | | (2) establish and operate schools for training county |
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| 67 | 67 | | and municipal police officers who are selected to attend the |
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| 68 | 68 | | schools by the authorities of the law enforcement agencies that |
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| 69 | 69 | | employ them; and |
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| 70 | 70 | | (3) establish and carry out a comprehensive plan for |
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| 71 | 71 | | the education of citizens of this state in matters of public safety |
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| 72 | 72 | | and crime prevention and detection, including the education of |
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| 73 | 73 | | citizens under the age of 18 concerning online safety when using |
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| 74 | 74 | | Internet websites, social media applications, and applications |
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| 75 | 75 | | that use artificial intelligence. |
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| 76 | 76 | | SECTION 3. Section 28.002, Education Code, as amended by |
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| 77 | 77 | | this Act, applies beginning with the 2025-2026 school year. |
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| 78 | 78 | | SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 79 | 79 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 80 | 80 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 81 | 81 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 82 | 82 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |
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