Celebrate Freedom Week

What

Celebrate Freedom Week

When

9/12/2023

Week of September 17: Celebrate Freedom Week, to educate students about the sacrifices made for freedom in the founding of thiscountry and the values on which this country was founded. Education Code 29.907

AppropriateInstruction
Each social studies class shall include, during Celebrate FreedomWeek or during another full school week as determined by theboard, appropriate instruction concerning the intent, meaning, andimportance of the Declaration of Independence and the UnitedStates Constitution, including the Bill of Rights, in their historicalcontext.The study of the Declaration of Independence must include thestudy of the relationship of the ideas expressed in that document tosubsequent American history, including the relationship of its ideasto the rich diversity of our people as a nation of immigrants, theAmerican Revolution, the formulation of the United States Constitution, and the abolitionist movement, which led to the EmancipationProclamation and the women’s suffrage movement.19 TAC 74.33(a)

Recitation
Each district shall require that, during Celebrate Freedom Week orother prescribed week of instruction, students in grades 3–12 studyand recite the following text: “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by theirCreator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life,Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness — That to secure theseRights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their JustPowers from the Consent of the Governed.”

Exception
Each district shall excuse from recitation a student:1. Whose parent or guardian submits to the district a written request that the student be excused;2. Who, as determined by the district, has a conscientious objection to the recitation; or3. Who is the child of a representative of a foreign governmentto whom the United States government extends diplomaticimmunity.19 TAC 74.33(b), .36