Bill sets up Holocaust Remembrance Week grants and teacher training

The text as introduced · 1,225 words

90R2920 GP-D

By: Menéndez
S.B. No. 134

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to Holocaust education and training for educators and

students enrolled at public schools and public institutions of

higher education.

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

SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 8, Education Code, is

amended by adding Section 8.065 to read as follows:

Sec. 8.065. COLLABORATION WITH HOLOCAUST MUSEUMS. Each

regional education service center shall on a regular basis

collaborate with one or more of the Holocaust museums in this state

to expand educator training and classroom education opportunities

regarding Holocaust education.

SECTION 2. Section 29.9072, Education Code, is amended by

amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (d) and (e) to read

as follows:

(a) In this section, "Holocaust" has the meaning assigned by

Section 448.001 [ 449.001 ], Government Code.

(d) Not later than June 1 of each school year, each school

district and open-enrollment charter school shall submit to the

agency a report regarding the Holocaust Remembrance Week

instruction offered by the district or school for that school year

under this section. The report must include the activities,

lessons, and instructional materials used for the instruction.

(e) As soon as practicable after June 1 of each school year,

the agency shall compile all reports submitted under Subsection (d)

for the school year and submit the compiled information to each

regional education service center and the Texas Holocaust,

Genocide, and Antisemitism Advisory Commission.

SECTION 3. Subchapter Z, Chapter 29, Education Code, is

amended by adding Section 29.90721 to read as follows:

Sec. 29.90721. HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE WEEK GRANT PROGRAM.

(a) In this section:

(1) "Advisory commission" means the Texas Holocaust,

Genocide, and Antisemitism Advisory Commission.

(2) "Commission" means the Texas Historical

Commission.

(3) "Holocaust" has the meaning assigned by Section

448.001, Government Code.

(b) From money appropriated for purposes of this section,

the commission, in coordination with the advisory commission, shall

establish and administer a grant program to provide grants to

school districts and museums, centers, and other relevant

organizations in this state to assist in the implementation of

Holocaust Remembrance Week instruction under Section 29.9072. The

commission may award a grant for purposes of:

(1) developing optional, age-appropriate lesson plans

for classroom teachers who lack relevant subject matter expertise

regarding the Holocaust;

(2) sponsoring student field trips to the Holocaust

museums in this state, with priority given to campuses in urban and

rural districts;

(3) providing training approved by the advisory

commission for educators and for administrators who manage

professional development and teacher training in each district;

(4) cataloging and expanding relevant audiovisual and

digital classroom resources, including resources maintained by

Holocaust museums in this state; and

(5) developing, in collaboration with museums,

bilingual curricula to meet the needs of more students in this state

and making the curricula available on the advisory commission's

Internet website.

(c) The commission, in coordination with the advisory

commission, shall adopt rules as necessary to establish and

administer the grant program under this section.

SECTION 4. Subchapter C, Chapter 61, Education Code, is

amended by adding Section 61.0767 to read as follows:

Sec. 61.0767. EDUCATOR PREPARATION PILOT PROGRAM TO IMPROVE

DELIVERY OF HOLOCAUST EDUCATION. (a) The board shall establish a

pilot program at institutions of higher education selected by the

board to train students enrolled in an educator preparation program

to provide more effective instruction related to the history and

remembrance of the Holocaust. The board may adopt rules as

necessary to administer this section.

(b) An institution of higher education selected under this

section must have an educator preparation program approved by the

State Board for Educator Certification or be affiliated with a

program approved by the State Board for Educator Certification.

(c) At least 50 percent of the institutions of higher

education selected by the board must be located in an area or likely

to graduate educators who will teach in a public school in an area

where the applicable school district has demonstrated low

participation in Holocaust Remembrance Week instruction.

(d) The board shall collaborate with the Texas Holocaust,

Genocide, and Antisemitism Advisory Commission to establish

minimum curriculum requirements, guidelines, and procedures

necessary for the implementation of the pilot program.

(e) The board shall use any money appropriated or otherwise

made available for purposes of the pilot program and may accept

gifts, grants, and donations to fund the pilot program.

(f) The pilot program shall operate for four full academic

years.

(g) An institution of higher education selected for the

pilot program shall annually report to the board in the manner

prescribed by the board data and information regarding the

operation of the pilot program.

(h) The report required by Subsection (g) must contain, with

respect to the preceding academic year:

(1) a description of the manner in which the selected

institution complied with the purpose of the pilot program and any

difficulties encountered in complying with that purpose, including

timelines related to implementing the pilot program;

(2) data regarding the institution's students

receiving instruction under the pilot program through an educator

preparation program;

(3) information regarding any third-party entities or

organizations the institution collaborates with to deliver

instruction under the pilot program through an educator preparation

program; and

(4) a survey of educator preparation program students

and faculty who participated in the pilot program at the

institution, including feedback regarding the results of the pilot

program and information regarding the marketability and subsequent

teaching careers of participating students.

(i) The board shall compile a biennial report based on the

data and information received under Subsection (g) regarding the

operation of the pilot program and the results of the survey of

educator preparation program students and faculty who participated

in the pilot program at each of the selected institutions during the

preceding biennium. Not later than September 1 of each

odd-numbered year, the board shall deliver a copy of the report to

the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of

representatives, and the chair of each standing committee of the

legislature having primary jurisdiction over higher education.

(j) The biennial report produced by the board before

September 1, 2031, must include a recommendation regarding whether

the pilot program should be continued, expanded, or terminated.

(k) Before September 1, 2033, the board shall conduct a

final survey of educator preparation program students and faculty

who participated in the pilot program at the selected institutions

at any time during the operation of the program, including feedback

regarding the results of the pilot program and information

regarding the marketability and teaching careers of participating

students. The board shall publish the results of the survey on its

Internet website.

(l) The pilot program concludes and this section expires

December 1, 2033.

SECTION 5. Section 29.9072, Education Code, as amended by

this Act, applies beginning with the 2027-2028 school year.

SECTION 6. As soon as practicable after the effective date

of this Act, the Texas Historical Commission, in coordination with

the Texas Holocaust, Genocide, and Antisemitism Advisory

Commission, shall establish the grant program required by Section

29.90721, Education Code, as added by this Act.

SECTION 7. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board

shall select public institutions of higher education for the pilot

program required under Section 61.0767, Education Code, as added by

this Act, not later than May 1, 2028.

SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2027.