89R5533 GP-F     By: Leach H.B. No. 5077       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to the essential knowledge and skills for the public   school foundation curriculum and social studies curriculum.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Sections 28.002(h-1) and (h-2), Education Code,   are amended to read as follows:          (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   understanding of:                (1)  the fundamental moral, political, and   intellectual foundations of the American experiment in   self-government;                (2)  the history, qualities, traditions, and features   of civic engagement in the United States;                (3)  the structure, organization, function, and   processes of government institutions at the federal, state, and   local levels; and                (4)  the founding documents of the United States,   including:                      (A)  the entirety of the Declaration of   Independence;                      (B)  the entirety of the United States   Constitution;                      (C)  the Federalist Papers, including the   entirety of Essays 10, [and] 51, and 78;                      (D)  excerpts from Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. 137   (1803);                      (E)  excerpts from Alexis de Tocqueville's   Democracy in America;                      (F) [(E)]  the transcript of the first   Lincoln-Douglas debate;                      (G) [(F)]  the writings of the founding fathers of   the United States;                      (H) [(G)]  the entirety of Frederick Douglass's   speeches "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro" and "What the   Black Man Wants"; and                      (I) [(H)]  the entirety of Martin Luther King   Jr.'s speech "I Have a Dream."          (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;                      (C)  the structure, organization, function, and   processes of government institutions at the federal, state, and   local levels, with an emphasis on:                            (i)  the structure of the federal court   system and the court system of this state;                            (ii)  the role the judiciary, as a co-equal   branch of government, plays in providing checks and balances on   governmental power;                            (iii)  the selection of judicial   officeholders within the federal and state judicial systems, with   special consideration given to state and local officeholders of   this state;                            (iv)  the processing and flow of cases at all   court levels in this state;                            (v)  the role judges and juries play in the   criminal and civil justice systems; and                            (vi)  the sharing of governance between the   federal and state governments in a federalist system and the   interplay between the judicial examination of legal issues at the   federal and state level; and                      (D)  the founding documents of the United States;                (2)  the ability to:                      (A)  analyze and determine the reliability of   information sources;                      (B)  formulate and articulate reasoned positions;                      (C)  understand the manner in which local, state,   and federal government works and operates through the use of   simulations and models of governmental and democratic processes;                      (D)  actively listen and engage in civil   discourse, including discourse with those with different   viewpoints; and                      (E)  participate as a citizen in a constitutional   democracy by voting; and                (3)  an appreciation of:                      (A)  the importance and responsibility of   participating in civic life;                      (B)  a commitment to the United States and its   form of government; and                      (C)  a commitment to free speech and civil   discourse.          SECTION 2.  This Act applies beginning with the 2025-2026   school year.          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.