House Bill No. 3579 proposes to amend the Education Code by eliminating the requirement for personal skills instruction in public schools. The bill modifies Section 29.906, changing its heading to "Character Traits Instruction" and removing references to "personal skills" throughout the section. The State Board of Education will still be required to integrate positive character traits into the essential knowledge and skills for students from kindergarten through grade 12, but the specific mention of personal skills has been deleted.

Additionally, the bill mandates that each school district and open-enrollment charter school adopt a character education program that includes the specified positive character traits, which now focus solely on attributes such as courage, trustworthiness, integrity, and responsibility, among others. The act is set to take effect for the 2025-2026 school year, with provisions for immediate effect if it receives a two-thirds vote from both houses of the legislature.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: Education Code 29.906 (Education Code 29)