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 113.44 - United States Government (One-Half Credit), Adopted 2018

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) General requirements. Students shall be
				  awarded one-half unit of credit for successful completion of this
				  course.
(b) Introduction.
(1) In United States Government, the focus is
				  on the principles and beliefs upon which the United States was founded and on
				  the structure, functions, and powers of government at the national, state, and
				  local levels. This course is the culmination of the civic and governmental
				  content and concepts studied from Kindergarten through required secondary
				  courses. Students learn major political ideas and forms of government in
				  history. A significant focus of the course is on the U.S. Constitution, its
				  underlying principles and ideas, and the form of government it created.
				  Students analyze major concepts of republicanism, federalism, checks and
				  balances, separation of powers, popular sovereignty, and individual rights and
				  compare the U.S. system of government with other political systems. Students
				  identify the role of government in the U.S. free enterprise system and examine
				  the strategic importance of places to the United States. Students analyze the
				  impact of individuals, political parties, interest groups, and the media on the
				  American political system, evaluate the importance of voluntary individual
				  participation in a constitutional republic, and analyze the rights guaranteed
				  by the U.S. Constitution. Students examine the relationship between
				  governmental policies and the culture of the United States. Students identify
				  examples of government policies that encourage scientific research and use
				  critical-thinking skills to create a product on a contemporary government
				  issue.
(2) To support the teaching
				  of the essential knowledge and skills, the use of a variety of rich primary and
				  secondary source material such as the complete text of the U.S. Constitution,
				  selected Federalist Papers, landmark cases of the U.S. Supreme Court (such as
				  those studied in Grade 8 and U.S. History Since 1877), biographies,
				  autobiographies, memoirs, speeches, letters, and periodicals that feature
				  analyses of political issues and events is encouraged.
(3) The eight strands of the essential
				  knowledge and skills for social studies are intended to be integrated for
				  instructional purposes. Skills listed in the social studies skills strand in
				  subsection (c) of this section should be incorporated into the teaching of all
				  essential knowledge and skills for social studies. A greater depth of
				  understanding of complex content material can be attained when integrated
				  social studies content from the various disciplines and critical-thinking
				  skills are taught together. Statements that contain the word "including"
				  reference content that must be mastered, while those containing the phrase
				  "such as" are intended as possible illustrative examples.
(4) 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.
(5) Throughout social
				  studies in Kindergarten-Grade 12, students build a foundation in history;
				  geography; economics; government; citizenship; culture; science, technology,
				  and society; and social studies skills. The content, as appropriate for the
				  grade level or course, 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).
(6)
				  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.
(7) 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."
(8) 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.