2023 23LSO-0615
STATE OF WYOMING
SENATE FILE NO. SF0130
Educational Freedom Act.
Sponsored by: Senator(s) Hutchings, Ide, McKeown and Steinmetz and Representative(s) Bear,
Heiner, Ottman, Trujillo and Ward
A BILL
for
1 AN ACT relating to education; requiring instruction in
2 public K-12 schools to be consistent with the principles of
3 individual freedom as specified; providing definitions; and
4 providing for an effective date.
5
6 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
7
8 Section 1. W.S. 21-9-102 is amended to read:
9
10 21-9-102. Instruction in state and federal
11 constitutions required; limitation; satisfactory
12 examination a prerequisite to graduation.
13
14 (a) All schools and colleges in this state that are
15 supported in any manner by public funds shall give
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1 instruction in the essentials of the United States
2 constitution and the constitution of the state of Wyoming,
3 including the study of and devotion to American institution
4 and ideals, and no student shall receive a high school
5 diploma, associate degree or baccalaureate degree without
6 satisfactorily passing an examination on the principles of
7 the constitution of the United States and the state of
8 Wyoming. The instruction shall be given for at least three
9 (3) years in kindergarten through grade eight (8) and for
10 one (1) year each in the secondary and college grades.
11
12 (b) Instruction on the topics enumerated in this
13 section and any supporting materials shall be consistent
14 with the following principles of individual freedom:
15
16 (i) All members of the human race are equal as
17 provided by article 1, section 2 of the Wyoming
18 constitution;
19
20 (ii) All citizens are politically equal as the
21 laws of this state affecting the political rights and
22 privileges of its citizens shall be without distinction of
23 race, color, sex or any circumstance or condition other
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1 than individual incompetency or unworthiness duly
2 ascertained by a court of competent jurisdiction as
3 provided by article 1, section 3 of the Wyoming
4 constitution;
5
6 (iii) No ethnicity is inherently superior to
7 another ethnicity and no sectarian instruction shall be
8 taught on this topic as provided by article 7, section 12
9 of the Wyoming constitution;
10
11 (iv) No person shall be discriminated against or
12 receive adverse treatment solely or partly on the basis of
13 ethnicity, color, national origin, religion, disability or
14 sex;
15
16 (v) Meritocracy or traits, including solid work
17 ethic, are not racist but fundamental to the right to
18 pursue happiness and to be rewarded for industriousness;
19
20 (vi) No person, by virtue of his ethnicity or
21 sex, bears responsibility for actions committed in the past
22 by other members of the same ethnicity or sex;
23
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1 (vii) Instructional personnel may facilitate
2 discussions and use curricula to address, in an
3 age-appropriate manner, the topics of sexism, slavery,
4 racial oppression, racial segregation and racial
5 discrimination, including topics relating to the enactment
6 and enforcement of laws resulting in sexism, racial
7 oppression, racial segregation and racial discrimination.
8 Classroom instruction may include material that is
9 inconsistent with article 1, section 2 and article 1,
10 section 3 of the Wyoming constitution but classroom
11 instruction shall identify these inconsistencies.
12
13 (c) Administrative personnel shall not implement
14 programs or policies that adversely reflect upon a person
15 because of his ethnicity, color, creed, national origin,
16 ancestry, gender, religion, disability, socioeconomic
17 status or occupation or otherwise contradict the principles
18 enumerated in subsection (b) of this section.
19
20 (d) Any board of trustees of any school district
21 shall not provide an educational program pursuant to W.S.
22 21-3-110(a)(xv) that adversely reflects upon a person
23 because of his ethnicity, color, creed, national origin,
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1 ancestry, gender, religion, disability, socioeconomic
2 status or occupation or otherwise contradicts the
3 principles enumerated in subsection (b) of this section.
4
5 (e) As used in this section:
6
7 (i) "Instructional personnel" means any person
8 employed by a school district who provides instructional
9 services to students including teachers as defined in W.S.
10 21-7-102(a)(vii);
11
12 (ii) "Administrative personnel" means any person
13 employed by a school district who has administrative
14 responsibilities including the superintendent as defined in
15 W.S. 21-7-102(a)(v) and principals.
16
17 Section 2. This act is effective July 1, 2023.
18
19 (END)
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Statutes affected:
Introduced: 21-9-102