87(1) SB 3 - Engrossed version - Bill Text

	By:  Hughes, et al.	S.B.  No.  3

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to certain curriculum in public schools, including certain
	instructional requirements and prohibitions.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION  1.    Subchapter J, Chapter 21, Education Code, is
	amended by adding Section 21.4555 to read as follows:
	Sec.  21.4555.    CIVICS TRAINING PROGRAM. (a) To facilitate
	the teaching of curriculum consistent with Sections 28.002(h-2) and
	28.0022, the commissioner shall develop and make available civics
	training programs for teachers and administrators.
	(b)    A civics training program developed under this section
	must include training in:
	(1)    the essential knowledge and skills for the social
	studies curriculum related to civic knowledge adopted under Section
	28.002(h-2);
	(2)    guided classroom discussion of current events, as
	appropriate for the grade level and consistent with the
	restrictions under Section 28.0022;
	(3)    classroom simulations and models of governmental
	and democratic processes consistent with the requirements and
	restrictions of Sections 28.002(h-2) and 28.0022;
	(4)    media literacy, including instruction on
	verifying information and sources, identifying and responding to
	logical fallacies, and identifying propaganda, as appropriate for
	the grade level and consistent with the restrictions under Section
	28.0022; and
	(5)    strategies for incorporating civics instruction
	into subject areas other than social studies.
	(c)    The commissioner by rule shall establish the grade
	levels at which a teacher provides instruction to be eligible to
	participate in a civics training program. In making the
	determination, the commissioner shall include grade levels for
	which the State Board of Education makes significant revisions to
	the essential knowledge and skills for the social studies
	curriculum under Section 28.002(h-2).
	(d)    Each civics training program developed under Subsection
	(a) must be reviewed and approved by the State Board of Education.
	The board shall annually review each program.
	(e)    Each school district and open-enrollment charter school
	shall ensure that each district or school campus that offers a grade
	level described by Subsection (c) has at least one teacher and one
	principal or campus instructional leader who has attended a civics
	training program. The agency shall provide assistance to school
	districts and open-enrollment charter schools in complying with the
	requirements of this subsection.
	(f)    From funds available for that purpose, a teacher who
	attends a civics training program may receive a stipend in an amount
	determined by the commissioner. A stipend received under this
	section is not included in determining whether a district is paying
	the teacher the minimum monthly salary under Section 21.402.
	(g)    The commissioner may delay implementation of Subsection
	(e) to a school year not later than the 2025-2026 school year if the
	revision of the essential knowledge and skills for the social
	studies curriculum under Section 28.002(h-2) or the availability of
	civics training programs does not occur in a manner that reasonably
	affords public schools the ability to comply with that subsection
	by an earlier school year. This subsection expires September 1,
	2026.
	(h)    Nothing in this section may be construed as limiting the
	teaching of or instruction in the essential knowledge and skills
	adopted under Subchapter A, Chapter 28.
	SECTION  2.    Section 28.002, Education Code, as effective
	September 1, 2021, is amended by adding Subsections (h-2), (h-7),
	and (h-8) to read as follows:
	(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;