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 113.47 - Special Topics in Social Studies (One-Half Credit), Beginning with School Year 2011-2012

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. Students may take this course with different course
				  content for a maximum of two credits.
(b) Introduction.
(1) In Special Topics in Social Studies, an
				  elective course, students are provided the opportunity to develop a greater
				  understanding of the historic, political, economic, geographic, multicultural,
				  and social forces that have shaped their lives and the world in which they
				  live. Students will use social science knowledge and skills to engage in
				  rational and logical analysis of complex problems using a variety of
				  approaches, while recognizing and appreciating diverse human
				  perspectives.
(2) 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.
(3) 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.
(4) 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 Texas Education Code,
				  §
												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: "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."
(5) Students identify and discuss how the
				  actions of U.S. citizens and the local, state, and federal governments have
				  either met or failed to meet the ideals espoused in the founding
				  documents.