89R3567 CMO-D     By: Middleton S.B. No. 453       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to the inclusion of a course on modern conflicts in the   curriculum requirements for public high school students.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Section 28.025, Education Code, is amended by   amending Subsection (b-1) and adding Subsection (b-25) 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 and one-half 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 world geography or world history,   and one-half credit in modern conflicts;                (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)  four and one-half [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).          (b-25)  In adopting rules under Subsection (b-1), the State   Board of Education shall ensure that a course on modern conflicts   taken to comply with the requirements under Subsection (b-1)(4)   includes instruction in accordance with Section 28.0122.           SECTION 2.  Subchapter A, Chapter 28, Education Code, is   amended by adding Section 28.0122 to read as follows:          Sec. 28.0122.  REQUIRED COURSE ON MODERN CONFLICTS. A   course in modern conflicts required under Section 28.025(b-1)(4)   must include instruction relating to:                (1)  the modern history of Russia, including:                      (A)  the Bolshevik Revolution;                      (B)  the Chernobyl disaster;                      (C)  the government structure of the Soviet Union   and the disbursement of wealth in the region;                      (D)  the collapse of the Soviet Union, including   the Revolutions of 1989 and Ronald Reagan's "Tear Down This Wall"   and "Evil Empire" speeches;                      (E)  economic reform under Mikhail Gorbachev;                      (F)  the invasion of Afghanistan and the funding   by the United States of the mujahideen related to the invasion; and                      (G)  relevant political ideologies, including:                            (i)  Leninism;                            (ii)  War Communism; and                            (iii)  Stalinism, including atrocities   committed under Stalin;                (2)  the history of the People's Republic of China,   including:                      (A)  the rise of the Communist Party of China;                      (B)  the concept of the Great Leap Forward;                       (C)  the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests;                      (D)  any history of famine experienced in the   country;                      (E)  the conquering of Tibet and the effects on   the Dalai Lama; and                      (F)  the treatment of ethnic and religious   minorities, including the Uyghurs and Tibetans and the followers of   Falun Gong;                (3)  the history of North Korea;                (4)  the Communist Party of Cuba and the economic   effects of communism on Cuba;                (5)  the Cambodian Genocide;                (6)  the fall of the Berlin Wall;                (7)  the Gulf War and Operation Desert Storm;                (8)  the attacks of September 11, 2001, and the   collapse of the World Trade Center Twin Towers; and                (9)  the Iraq and Afghan Wars, including:                      (A)  the history of Saddam Hussein;                       (B)  the history of the mujahideen and the   Taliban;                      (C)  the concept of Sharia law;                      (D)  the history of Osama Bin Laden; and                      (E)  the history of the Islamic State of Iraq and   Syria (ISIS).          SECTION 3.  Section 28.025(b-1), Education Code, as amended   by this Act, applies only to students entering the ninth grade   during the 2025-2026 school year or a later school year.  For   students entering a grade above ninth grade during the 2025-2026   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 applies beginning with the 2025-2026   school year.          SECTION 5.  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.