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HB 2230

AN ACT relating to including an understanding of certain political

House Bill Oliverson
Filed

Filed

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Committee

Hearing

Passed Cmte

Calendar

Passed

Sent

Enrolled

Governor

Signed

89th Regular Session

Jan 14, 2025 - Jun 2, 2025 • Session ended

Awaiting Committee Assignment

Bill filed, pending referral to House committee

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What This Bill Does

Requires Texas public schools to include comprehensive instruction about political ideologies in their curriculum, specifically focusing on understanding communism, socialism, fascism, and totalitarianism in contrast to American democratic principles. Schools must use first-person accounts and original historical documents to teach these topics, ensuring students learn about the moral, political, and intellectual foundations of the United States, including founding documents like the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. The curriculum changes will be implemented in the 2025-2026 school year, aiming to deepen students' civic knowledge and understanding of political systems.

Subject Areas

Bill Text

relating to including an understanding of certain political
ideologies in the foundation curriculum in public schools.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1.  Section 28.002, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (h-1) and (h-6) and adding Subsection (h-3) to
(h-1)  In adopting the essential knowledge and skills for the
foundation curriculum under Subsection (a)(1), the State Board of
Education shall, as appropriate, adopt essential knowledge and
skills that develop each student's civic knowledge, including an
(1)  the fundamental moral, political, and
intellectual foundations of the American experiment in
(2)  political ideologies, such as communism,
socialism, fascism, and totalitarianism, that conflict with the
principles of freedom and democracy essential to the founding
principles of the United States;
(3)  the history, qualities, traditions, and features
of civic engagement in the United States;
(4) [(3)]  the structure, function, and processes of
government institutions at the federal, state, and local levels;
(5) [(4)]  the founding documents of the United States,
(A)  the entirety of the Declaration of
(B)  the entirety of the United States
(C)  the Federalist Papers, including the
(D)  excerpts from Alexis de Tocqueville's
(E)  the transcript of the first Lincoln-Douglas
(F)  the writings of the founding fathers of the
(G)  the entirety of Frederick Douglass's
speeches "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro" and "What the
(H)  the entirety of Martin Luther King Jr.'s
(h-3)  In providing instruction regarding the political
ideologies described by Subsection (h-1)(2), a school district or
open-enrollment charter school shall use first-person accounts as
part of the instructional materials for the instruction.
(h-6)  In providing instruction regarding the founding
documents of the United States as described by Subsection (h-1)(5)
[(h-1)(4)], a school district or open-enrollment charter school
shall use those documents as part of the instructional materials
SECTION 2.  This Act applies beginning with the 2025-2026
SECTION 3.  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, 2025.

Bill Sponsors

Legislators who authored or co-sponsored this bill.

Bill History

filed

Bill filed: AN ACT relating to including an understanding of certain political