Virginia HB 781: Public elementary and secondary schools; student citizenship skills, etc.

Bill Text

2022SESSION
INTRODUCED
22101538D
1 HOUSEBILLNO.781
2 OfferedJanuary12,2022
3 PrefiledJanuary11,2022
4 A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 22.1-208.03, relating to public
5 elementary and secondary schools; student citizenship skills; certain instructional policies prohibited;
6 parental rights; disclosures; penalties; other remedies.
7 ––––––––––
Patron––Williams
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9 ReferredtoCommitteeonEducation
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11 Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
12 1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding a section numbered 22.1-208.03 as follows:
13 § 22.1-208.03. Student citizenship skills; certain instructional policies prohibited; parental rights;
14 disclosures; penalties; other remedies.
15 A. As used in this section, "divisive concept" means the concept that (i) one race, religion, ethnicity,
16 or sex is inherently superior to another race, religion, ethnicity, or sex; (ii) an individual, by virtue of
17 the individual's race, religion, ethnicity, or sex, is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether
18 consciously or unconsciously; (iii) an individual should be discriminated against or receive adverse
19 treatment solely or partly because of the individual's race, religion, ethnicity, or sex; (iv) members of
20 one race, religion, ethnicity, or sex cannot and should not attempt to treat others without respect to
21 race, religion, ethnicity, or sex; (v) an individual's moral character is necessarily determined by the
22 individual's race, religion, ethnicity, or sex; (vi) an individual, by virtue of the individual's race,
23 religion, ethnicity, or sex, bears responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of the
24 same race, religion, ethnicity, or sex; (vii) an individual should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any
25 other form of psychological distress on account of the individual's race, religion, ethnicity, or sex; (viii)
26 meritocracy, punctuality, proper language usage, free markets, and traits such as strong work ethic are
27 racist or sexist or were created by members of a particular race to oppress members of another race;
28 (ix) the ideology of equity of outcomes is superior to the ideology of equality, a concept enshrined in the
29 Constitution of the United States, of opportunities; (x) mathematics and scientific empiricism are
30 products of western civilization and thus are rooted in racism; (xi) the Commonwealth or the United
31 States is fundamentally or systemically racist or sexist; or (xii) capitalism, free markets, free industry,
32 and other related economic systems are inherently racist.
33 B. The Board shall, in furtherance of the citizens skills portion of the 5 C's in the Profile of a
34 Virginia Graduate, incorporate into each relevant Standard of Learning and associated curriculum
35 framework a requirement that each student demonstrate the understanding of:
36 1. The fundamental moral, political, and intellectual foundations of the American experiment in
37 self-government, as well as the history, qualities, traditions, and features of civic engagement in the
38 United States;
39 2. The structure, function, and processes of government institutions at the federal, state, and local
40 levels; and
41 3. The founding documents of the United States, including the Declaration of Independence, the
42 United States Constitution, the Federalist Papers, including Essays 10 and 51, excerpts from Alexis de
43 Tocqueville's Democracy in America, the first debate between Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass,
44 and the writings of the Founding Fathers of the United States.
45 C. No public school teacher or other instructional staff member shall be required to discuss any
46 current event or widely debated and currently controversial issue of public policy or social affairs. Any
47 such employee who chooses to discuss any such event or issue in the scope of his instructional duties
48 shall, to the best of his ability, strive to explore such issues from diverse and contending perspectives,
49 without giving deference to any one perspective.
50 D. Neither the Board or Department nor any local school board shall (i) teach, instruct, or train any
51 school board employee, contractor, or consultant, any public elementary or secondary school student, or
52 any other individual or group to support, believe, endorse, embrace, confess, act upon, or otherwise
53 assent to a divisive concept; (ii) penalize or discriminate against any such individual or group for
54 refusing to support, believe, endorse, embrace, confess, act upon, or otherwise assent to a divisive
55 concept; or (iii) accept any funding from any source for (a) the development, purchase, or choice of
56 curricula or curricular materials that include divisive concepts, pertain to social-emotional learning, or
57 otherwise violate any provision of this section or (b) the training or professional development of
58 teachers that includes divisive c