Texas Administrative Code › Title 19 - EDUCATION › Part 2 - TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY › Chapter 113 - TEXAS ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS FOR SOCIAL STUDIES › Subchapter C - HIGH SCHOOL › Section 113.31 - Economics with Emphasis on the Free Enterprise System and Its Benefits, High School (One-Half Credit), Adopted 2022

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) Implementation. The provisions of this
				  section shall be implemented by school districts beginning with the 2024-2025
				  school year.
(b) General
				  requirements. This course will be taught in the social studies department and
				  is recommended to be taught in Grade 12.
(c) Introduction.
(1) Economics with Emphasis on the Free
				  Enterprise System and Its Benefits is the culmination of the economic content
				  and concepts studied from Kindergarten through required secondary courses. The
				  focus is on the basic principles concerning production, consumption, and
				  distribution of goods and services (the problem of scarcity) in the United
				  States and a comparison with those in other countries around the world.
				  Students analyze the interaction of supply, demand, and price. Students will
				  investigate the concepts of specialization and international trade, economic
				  growth, key economic measurements, and monetary and fiscal policy. Students
				  will study the roles of the Federal Reserve System and other financial
				  institutions, government, and businesses in a free enterprise system. Types of
				  business ownership and market structures are discussed. The course also
				  incorporates instruction in personal financial literacy. Students apply
				  critical-thinking skills using economic concepts to evaluate the costs and
				  benefits of economic issues.
(2)
				  Students identify the role of the U.S. free enterprise system within the
				  parameters of this course and understand that this system may also be
				  referenced as capitalism or the free market system.
(3) Economics with Emphasis on the Free
				  Enterprise System and Its Benefits builds upon the foundation in economics and
				  social studies laid by the social studies essential knowledge and skills in
				  Kindergarten-Grade 12. The course will apply these skills to current economic
				  situations. The content enables students to understand the importance of
				  patriotism, function in a free enterprise society, and appreciate the basic
				  democratic values of our state and nation as referenced in the Texas Education
				  Code (TEC), §28.002(h).
(4)
				  Students understand that a constitutional republic is a representative form of
				  government whose representatives derive their authority from the consent of the
				  governed, serve for an established tenure, and are sworn to uphold the
				  constitution.
(5) As referenced in
				  House Bill 492, an act of the Texas Legislature signed into law in 2005, the
				  concepts of personal financial literacy are to be mastered by students in order
				  that they may become self-supporting adults who can make informed decisions
				  relating to personal financial matters. These concepts are incorporated into
				  the student expectations of Economics with Emphasis on the Free Enterprise
				  System and Its Benefits: understanding interest, avoiding and eliminating
				  credit card debt; understanding the rights and responsibilities of renting or
				  buying a home; managing money to make the transition from renting a home to
				  home ownership; starting a small business; being a prudent investor in the
				  stock market and using other investment options; beginning a savings program
				  and planning for retirement; bankruptcy; types of bank accounts available to
				  consumers and benefits of maintaining a bank account; balancing a checkbook;
				  types of loans available to consumers and becoming a low-risk borrower;
				  understanding insurance; and charitable giving.
(6) State and federal laws mandate a variety
				  of celebrations and observances, including Celebrate Freedom Week.
(A) Each social studies class shall include,
				  during Celebrate Freedom Week as provided under the TEC, §
												29.907, or during
				  another full school week as determined by the board of trustees of a school
				  district, appropriate instruction concerning the intent, meaning, and
				  importance of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution,
				  including the Bill of Rights, in their historical contexts. The study of the
				  Declaration of Independence must include the study of the relationship of the
				  ideas expressed in that document to subsequent American history, including the
				  relationship of its ideas to the rich diversity of our people as a nation of
				  immigrants, the American Revolution, the formulation of the U.S. Constitution,
				  and the abolitionist movement, which led to the Emancipation Proclamation and
				  the women's suffrage movement.
(B)
				  Each school district shall require that, during Celebrate Freedom Week or other
				  week of instruction prescribed under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph,
				  students in Grades 3-12 study and recite the following text from the
				  Declaration of Independence: "We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all
				  Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
				  unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of
				  Happiness--That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men,
				  deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed."
(7) Students discuss how and
				  whether the actions of U.S. citizens and the local, state, and federal
				  governments have achieved the ideals espoused in the founding
				  documents.