new required readings for Texas civics and social studies

The text as introduced · 665 words

89R5533 GP-F

By: Zaffirini
S.B. No. 821

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the essential knowledge and skills for the public

school foundation curriculum and social studies curriculum.

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

SECTION 1. Sections 28.002(h-1) and (h-2), Education Code,

are amended to read as follows:

(h-1) In adopting the essential knowledge and skills for the

foundation curriculum under Subsection (a)(1), the State Board of

Education shall, as appropriate, adopt essential knowledge and

skills that develop each student's civic knowledge, including an

understanding of:

(1) the fundamental moral, political, and

intellectual foundations of the American experiment in

self-government;

(2) the history, qualities, traditions, and features

of civic engagement in the United States;

(3) the structure, organization, function, and

processes of government institutions at the federal, state, and

local levels; and

(4) the founding documents of the United States,

including:

(A) the entirety of the Declaration of

Independence;

(B) the entirety of the United States

Constitution;

(C) the Federalist Papers, including the

entirety of Essays 10 , [ and ] 51 , and 78 ;

(D) excerpts from Marbury v. Madison , 5 U.S. 137

(1803);

(E) excerpts from Alexis de Tocqueville's

Democracy in America;

(F) [ (E) ] the transcript of the first

Lincoln-Douglas debate;

(G) [ (F) ] the writings of the founding fathers of

the United States;

(H) [ (G) ] the entirety of Frederick Douglass's

speeches "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro" and "What the

Black Man Wants"; and

(I) [ (H) ] the entirety of Martin Luther King

Jr.'s speech "I Have a Dream."

(h-2) In adopting the essential knowledge and skills for the

social studies curriculum for each grade level from kindergarten

through grade 12, the State Board of Education shall adopt

essential knowledge and skills that develop each student's civic

knowledge, including:

(1) an understanding of:

(A) the fundamental moral, political,

entrepreneurial, and intellectual foundations of the American

experiment in self-government;

(B) the history, qualities, traditions, and

features of civic engagement in the United States;

(C) the structure, organization, function, and

processes of government institutions at the federal, state, and

local levels , with an emphasis on:

(i) the structure of the federal court

system and the court system of this state;

(ii) the role the judiciary, as a co-equal

branch of government, plays in providing checks and balances on

governmental power;

(iii) the selection of judicial

officeholders within the federal and state judicial systems, with

special consideration given to state and local officeholders of

this state;

(iv) the processing and flow of cases at all

court levels in this state;

(v) the role judges and juries play in the

criminal and civil justice systems; and

(vi) the sharing of governance between the

federal and state governments in a federalist system and the

interplay between the judicial examination of legal issues at the

federal and state level ; and

(D) the founding documents of the United States;

(2) the ability to:

(A) analyze and determine the reliability of

information sources;

(B) formulate and articulate reasoned positions;

(C) understand the manner in which local, state,

and federal government works and operates through the use of

simulations and models of governmental and democratic processes;

(D) actively listen and engage in civil

discourse, including discourse with those with different

viewpoints; and

(E) participate as a citizen in a constitutional

democracy by voting; and

(3) an appreciation of:

(A) the importance and responsibility of

participating in civic life;

(B) a commitment to the United States and its

form of government; and

(C) a commitment to free speech and civil

discourse.

SECTION 2. This Act applies beginning with the 2025-2026

school year.

SECTION 3. 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.