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 113.51 - Ethnic Studies

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) General
				  requirements. Students shall be awarded one credit for successful completion of
				  this course. This course is recommended for students in Grades 10-12.
(b) Introduction.
(1) In Ethnic Studies: African American
				  Studies, an elective course, students learn about the history and cultural
				  contributions of African Americans. This course is designed to assist students
				  in understanding issues and events from multiple perspectives. This course
				  develops an understanding of the historical roots of African American culture,
				  especially as it pertains to social, economic, and political interactions
				  within the broader context of United States history. It requires an analysis of
				  important ideas, social and cultural values, beliefs, and traditions. Knowledge
				  of past achievements provides citizens of the 21st century with a broader
				  context within which to address the many issues facing the United
				  States.
(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 biographies, autobiographies, landmark cases
				  of the U.S. Supreme Court, novels, speeches, letters, diaries, poetry, songs,
				  and artwork is encouraged. Resources are available from museums, historical
				  sites, presidential libraries, and local and state preservation
				  societies.
(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.
(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: "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 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.
(9) 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.