| Vote Recommendation | Economic Freedom | Property Rights | Personal Responsibility | Limited Government | Individual Liberty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | Neutral | Neutral | Neutral | Positive | Neutral |
Relating to instruction in informed patriotism in public schools.
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
HB 4509 would prioritize the cultivation in public school students of an informed American patriotism and lead students in a close study of the founding documents of the United States and Texas.
To that end HB 4509 would require as essential knowledge for the social studies curriculum, the fundamental moral, political, and intellectual foundations of the American experiment in self-government, as well as the history, qualities, traditions, and features of civics in the United States, the structure, function, and processes of government institutions at the federal, state, and local levels, and the Founding documents of the United States, including the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, the Federalist Papers, excerpts from Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America, the first Lincoln-Douglas debate, the writings of the Founding Fathers of the United States, and selected works by Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King Jr.
Texas Action supports HB 4509 on the principles of limited government and individual liberty. The curriculum proposed by this legislation would help equip Texas students with valuable knowledge and understanding of the philosophical origins of the United States, and a better understanding of our form of government and the purposes behind it. This essential civics curriculum is foundational to fulfilling the mission of providing quality education to Texas students.