HB 2230
AN ACT relating to including an understanding of certain political
89th Regular Session
Jan 14, 2025 - Jun 2, 2025 • Session ended
Awaiting Committee Assignment
Bill filed, pending referral to House committee
Committee
Not yet assigned
Fiscal Note
Not available
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 Schools must use first-person accounts and original historical documents to teach these topics, ensuring students learn about the moral, political, and intellectual foundations of the United States, including founding documents like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
Bill filed: AN ACT relating to including an understanding of certain political
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