HBA-JEK, MPM H.B. 127 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 127
By: West, George "Buddy"
Public Education
3/12/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Under current law, students are not required to recite the Declaration of
Independence of the United States (Declaration) at school.  As the
Declaration reflects the ideals upon which this nation was founded,
understanding the document may lead to a fuller understanding of our
nation's history.  House Bill 127 requires students to recite selected text
from the Declaration at the beginning of each school day. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 127 amends the Education Code to require school districts to
require students to recite the following text from the Declaration of
Independence of the United States at the beginning of each school day: 

"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." 

The bill requires a district to excuse a student from recitation of this
text upon a written request from the student's parent or guardian. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act
takes effect September 1, 2001. This Act applies beginning with the
2001-2002 school year.