| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to public school elective courses in the history and |
|
|
literature of the Old and New Testaments eras. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 28, Education Code, is |
|
|
amended by adding Section 28.011 to read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 28.011. ELECTIVE COURSES IN HISTORY AND LITERATURE OF |
|
|
OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS ERAS. (a) A school district shall offer to |
|
|
students in grades nine or above an elective course in the history |
|
|
and literature of the Old Testament era and an elective course in |
|
|
the history and literature of the New Testament era. |
|
|
(b) The purpose of a course under this section is to: |
|
|
(1) accommodate the rights and desires of teachers who |
|
|
wish to teach and students who wish to study, as applicable, the Old |
|
|
or New Testament; and |
|
|
(2) familiarize students with, as applicable: |
|
|
(A) the contents of the Old or New Testament; |
|
|
(B) the history recorded by the Old or New |
|
|
Testament; |
|
|
(C) the literary style and structure of the Old |
|
|
or New Testament; |
|
|
(D) the customs and cultures of the peoples and |
|
|
societies recorded in the Old or New Testament; and |
|
|
(E) the influence of the Old or New Testament on |
|
|
law, history, government, literature, art, music, customs, morals, |
|
|
values, and culture. |
|
|
(c) Notwithstanding Sections 28.002(c) and 31.022, |
|
|
respectively, for a course under this section, the State Board of |
|
|
Education may not: |
|
|
(1) identify the essential knowledge and skills; or |
|
|
(2) adopt textbooks under Chapter 31. |
|
|
(d) The book or collection of books commonly known as the |
|
|
Old Testament shall be used as the basic textbook for a course in |
|
|
the history and literature of the Old Testament era. The book or |
|
|
collection of books commonly known as the New Testament shall be |
|
|
used as the basic textbook for a course in the history and |
|
|
literature of the New Testament era. In addition to the basic |
|
|
textbooks, students may be assigned a range of reading materials |
|
|
for the courses, including selections from secular historical and |
|
|
cultural works and selections from religious and cultural |
|
|
traditions other than the Judeo-Christian tradition. |
|
|
(e) A course under this section must familiarize students |
|
|
with, as applicable: |
|
|
(1) the customs and cultures of the times and places |
|
|
referred to in the Old or New Testament; |
|
|
(2) the methods and tools of writing during the period |
|
|
the Old or New Testament was written; |
|
|
(3) the means by which the Old or New Testament book |
|
|
was preserved; |
|
|
(4) the languages in which the Old or New Testament |
|
|
book was written and into which that book was translated; and |
|
|
(5) the historical and cultural events that led to the |
|
|
translation of the Old or New Testament book into English. |
|
|
(f) The board of trustees of a school district may recommend |
|
|
which version of the Old or New Testament may be used in a course |
|
|
offered by the district under this section, except that: |
|
|
(1) the teacher of the course may not be required to |
|
|
adopt the board's recommendation and may use the recommended |
|
|
version or another version; and |
|
|
(2) a student may not be required to use a specific |
|
|
version as the sole text of the Old or New Testament and may use as |
|
|
the basic textbook a different version of the Old or New Testament |
|
|
from that chosen by the board of trustees or the teacher. |
|
|
(g) A course offered under this section: |
|
|
(1) must be taught in an objective and nondevotional |
|
|
manner that does not attempt to indoctrinate students as to either |
|
|
the truth or falsity of the Judeo-Christian biblical materials or |
|
|
of texts from other religious or cultural traditions other than the |
|
|
Judeo-Christian tradition; |
|
|
(2) may not include teaching of a religious doctrine |
|
|
or a sectarian interpretation of the Old or New Testament or of |
|
|
texts from other religious or cultural traditions other than the |
|
|
Judeo-Christian tradition; and |
|
|
(3) may not disparage or encourage a commitment to a |
|
|
set of religious beliefs. |
|
|
(h) The board of trustees of a school district shall |
|
|
determine the qualifications, assignment, and training of teachers |
|
|
of a course under this section, except that: |
|
|
(1) the teacher must be certified as provided by |
|
|
Subchapter B, Chapter 21, unless an exception to that requirement |
|
|
exists under this title; and |
|
|
(2) the board may not assign a person to teach a course |
|
|
under this section based in whole or in part on any religious test, |
|
|
profession of faith or lack of faith, prior or present religious |
|
|
affiliation or lack of affiliation, or criteria involving |
|
|
particular beliefs or lack of beliefs about the Old or New |
|
|
Testament. |
|
|
(i) For the purpose of a student earning credit for high |
|
|
school graduation, a school district shall grant one-half academic |
|
|
elective credit for satisfactory completion of a course in the |
|
|
history and literature of the Old Testament era and one-half |
|
|
academic elective credit for satisfactory completion of a course in |
|
|
the history and literature of the New Testament era. This |
|
|
subsection applies only to a course that is taught in strict |
|
|
compliance with this section. |
|
|
(j) The board of trustees of a school district may, as the |
|
|
board determines appropriate, monitor the content and teaching of a |
|
|
course offered under this section. |
|
|
(k) This section does not limit the authority of the board |
|
|
of trustees of a school district to offer a course regarding the Old |
|
|
Testament or the New Testament that does not comply with this |
|
|
section, except that the district may not spend state funds |
|
|
distributed under this title in connection with a course that does |
|
|
not meet the requirements of this section. |
|
|
(l) This section does not prohibit the board of trustees of |
|
|
a school district from offering an elective course based on the |
|
|
books of a religion or society other than one with Judeo-Christian |
|
|
traditions. In determining whether to offer such a course, the |
|
|
board may consider various factors including student and parent |
|
|
demand for such a course and the impact such books have had on |
|
|
history and culture. |
|
|
SECTION 2. 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, and geography; and |
|
|
(2) an enrichment curriculum that includes: |
|
|
(A) to the extent possible, languages other than |
|
|
English; |
|
|
(B) health, with emphasis on the importance of |
|
|
proper nutrition and exercise; |
|
|
(C) physical education; |
|
|
(D) fine arts; |
|
|
(E) economics, with emphasis on the free |
|
|
enterprise system and its benefits; |
|
|
(F) career and technology education; [and] |
|
|
(G) technology applications; and |
|
|
(H) the history and literature of the Old and New |
|
|
Testaments eras as provided by Section 28.011. |
|
|
SECTION 3. A school district shall offer a course in the |
|
|
history and literature of the Old Testament era and a course in the |
|
|
history and literature of the New Testament era that comply with |
|
|
Section 28.011, Education Code, as added by this Act, beginning |
|
|
with the 2007-2008 school year. |
|
|
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, 2007. |