Bill Text: TX SB248 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to ethnic studies instruction in public schools.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-02-15 - Referred to Education [SB248 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-SB248-Introduced.html
88R1411 JTZ-D | ||
By: Alvarado | S.B. No. 248 |
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relating to ethnic studies instruction in public schools. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Section 28.002(a), Education Code, is amended to | ||
read as follows: | ||
(a) Each school district that offers kindergarten through | ||
grade 12 shall offer, as a required curriculum: | ||
(1) a foundation curriculum that includes: | ||
(A) English language arts; | ||
(B) mathematics; | ||
(C) science; and | ||
(D) social studies, consisting of Texas, United | ||
States, and world history, government, economics, with emphasis on | ||
the free enterprise system and its benefits, [ |
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ethnic studies, including Mexican American and African American | ||
studies; and | ||
(2) an enrichment curriculum that includes: | ||
(A) to the extent possible, languages other than | ||
English; | ||
(B) health, with emphasis on: | ||
(i) physical health, including the | ||
importance of proper nutrition and exercise; | ||
(ii) mental health, including instruction | ||
about mental health conditions, substance abuse, skills to manage | ||
emotions, establishing and maintaining positive relationships, and | ||
responsible decision-making; and | ||
(iii) suicide prevention, including | ||
recognizing suicide-related risk factors and warning signs; | ||
(C) physical education; | ||
(D) fine arts; | ||
(E) career and technology education; | ||
(F) technology applications; | ||
(G) religious literature, including the Hebrew | ||
Scriptures (Old Testament) and New Testament, and its impact on | ||
history and literature; and | ||
(H) personal financial literacy. | ||
SECTION 2. Section 28.025(b-1), Education Code, is amended | ||
to read as follows: | ||
(b-1) The State Board of Education by rule shall require | ||
that the curriculum requirements for the foundation high school | ||
program under Subsection (a) include a requirement that students | ||
successfully complete: | ||
(1) four credits in English language arts under | ||
Section 28.002(a)(1)(A), including one credit in English I, one | ||
credit in English II, one credit in English III, and one credit in | ||
an advanced English course authorized under Subsection (b-2); | ||
(2) three credits in mathematics under Section | ||
28.002(a)(1)(B), including one credit in Algebra I, one credit in | ||
geometry, and one credit in any advanced mathematics course | ||
authorized under Subsection (b-2); | ||
(3) three credits in science under Section | ||
28.002(a)(1)(C), including one credit in biology, one credit in any | ||
advanced science course authorized under Subsection (b-2), and one | ||
credit in integrated physics and chemistry or in an additional | ||
advanced science course authorized under Subsection (b-2); | ||
(4) three credits in social studies under Section | ||
28.002(a)(1)(D), including one credit in United States history, at | ||
least one-half credit in government and at least one-half credit in | ||
economics or personal financial literacy & economics, and one | ||
credit in ethnic studies, including Mexican American studies or | ||
African American studies, world geography, or world history; | ||
(5) except as provided under Subsections (b-12), | ||
(b-13), and (b-14), two credits in the same language in a language | ||
other than English under Section 28.002(a)(2)(A); | ||
(6) five elective credits; | ||
(7) one credit in fine arts under Section | ||
28.002(a)(2)(D); and | ||
(8) except as provided by Subsection (b-11), one | ||
credit in physical education under Section 28.002(a)(2)(C). | ||
SECTION 3. Section 28.025(b-1), Education Code, as amended | ||
by this Act, applies only to students entering the ninth grade | ||
during the 2024-2025 school year or a later school year. For | ||
students entering a grade above ninth grade during the 2024-2025 | ||
school year, Section 28.025(b-1), Education Code, as that section | ||
existed before amendment by this Act, applies, and that section is | ||
continued in effect for that purpose. | ||
SECTION 4. 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, 2023. |