bill requiring a modern conflicts course in high school

The text as introduced · 799 words

89R3567 CMO-D

By: Middleton
S.B. No. 453

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the inclusion of a course on modern conflicts in the

curriculum requirements for public high school students.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 28.025, Education Code, is amended by

amending Subsection (b-1) and adding Subsection (b-25) 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 and one-half 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 ,

and one-half credit in modern conflicts ;

(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).

(b-25) In adopting rules under Subsection (b-1), the State

Board of Education shall ensure that a course on modern conflicts

taken to comply with the requirements under Subsection (b-1)(4)

includes instruction in accordance with Section 28.0122.

SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 28, Education Code, is

amended by adding Section 28.0122 to read as follows:

Sec. 28.0122. REQUIRED COURSE ON MODERN CONFLICTS. A

course in modern conflicts required under Section 28.025(b-1)(4)

must include instruction relating to:

(1) the modern history of Russia, including:

(A) the Bolshevik Revolution;

(B) the Chernobyl disaster;

(C) the government structure of the Soviet Union

and the disbursement of wealth in the region;

(D) the collapse of the Soviet Union, including

the Revolutions of 1989 and Ronald Reagan's "Tear Down This Wall"

and "Evil Empire" speeches;

(E) economic reform under Mikhail Gorbachev;

(F) the invasion of Afghanistan and the funding

by the United States of the mujahideen related to the invasion; and

(G) relevant political ideologies, including:

(i) Leninism;

(ii) War Communism; and

(iii) Stalinism, including atrocities

committed under Stalin;

(2) the history of the People's Republic of China,

including:

(A) the rise of the Communist Party of China;

(B) the concept of the Great Leap Forward;

(C) the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests;

(D) any history of famine experienced in the

country;

(E) the conquering of Tibet and the effects on

the Dalai Lama; and

(F) the treatment of ethnic and religious

minorities, including the Uyghurs and Tibetans and the followers of

Falun Gong;

(3) the history of North Korea;

(4) the Communist Party of Cuba and the economic

effects of communism on Cuba;

(5) the Cambodian Genocide;

(6) the fall of the Berlin Wall;

(7) the Gulf War and Operation Desert Storm;

(8) the attacks of September 11, 2001, and the

collapse of the World Trade Center Twin Towers; and

(9) the Iraq and Afghan Wars, including:

(A) the history of Saddam Hussein;

(B) the history of the mujahideen and the

Taliban;

(C) the concept of Sharia law;

(D) the history of Osama Bin Laden; and

(E) the history of the Islamic State of Iraq and

Syria (ISIS).

SECTION 3. 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 4. This Act applies beginning with the 2025-2026

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, 2025.