1 | A bill to be entitled |
2 | An act relating to American Founders' Month; providing |
3 | a short title; creating s. 683.147, F.S.; designating |
4 | the month of September as "American Founders' Month"; |
5 | authorizing the Governor to annually issue a |
6 | proclamation designating the month and urging |
7 | participation; amending s. 1003.44, F.S.; requiring |
8 | district school boards to celebrate the American |
9 | Founders and the principles inherent in the country's |
10 | founding documents by observing American Founders' |
11 | Month; specifying the focus of instruction during the |
12 | month; providing that instruction may be integrated |
13 | into the existing school curriculum; requiring |
14 | distribution to school personnel of certain |
15 | information; providing an effective date. |
16 |
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17 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
18 |
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19 | Section 1. This act may be cited as the "American |
20 | Founders' Month Act." |
21 | Section 2. Section 683.147, Florida Statutes, is created |
22 | to read: |
23 | 683.147 American Founders' Month.- |
24 | (1) The month of September of each year is designated as |
25 | "American Founders' Month." |
26 | (2) The Governor may annually issue a proclamation |
27 | designating the month of September as "American Founders' Month" |
28 | and urging all civic, fraternal, and religious organizations and |
29 | public and private educational institutions to recognize and |
30 | observe this occasion through appropriate programs, meetings, |
31 | services, or celebrations in which state, county, and local |
32 | governmental officials are invited to participate. |
33 | Section 3. Subsection (2) of section 1003.44, Florida |
34 | Statutes, is amended, and subsections (3) and (4) are added to |
35 | that section, to read: |
36 | 1003.44 Patriotic programs; rules.- |
37 | (2) Each district school board may allow any teacher or |
38 | administrator to read, or to post in a public school building or |
39 | classroom or at any school-related event, any excerpt or portion |
40 | of the following historic material: the national motto; the |
41 | national anthem; the pledge of allegiance; the Constitution of |
42 | the State of Florida, including the Preamble; the Constitution |
43 | of the United States, including the Preamble; the Bill of |
44 | Rights; the Declaration of Independence; the Mayflower Compact; |
45 | the Emancipation Proclamation; the writings, speeches, |
46 | documents, and proclamations of the presidents of the United |
47 | States, the signers of the Constitution of the United States and |
48 | the Declaration of Independence, and civil rights leaders; and |
49 | decisions of the United States Supreme Court. However, any |
50 | material that is read, posted, or taught pursuant to this |
51 | provision may be presented only from a historical perspective |
52 | and in a nonproselytizing manner. When less than an entire |
53 | document is used, the excerpt or portion must include as much |
54 | material as is reasonably necessary to reflect the sentiment of |
55 | the entire document and avoid expressing statements out of the |
56 | context in which they were originally made. If the material |
57 | refers to laws or judicial decisions that have been superseded, |
58 | the material must be accompanied by a statement indicating that |
59 | such law or decision is no longer the law of the land. No |
60 | material shall be selected to advance a particular religious, |
61 | political, or sectarian purpose. The department shall distribute |
62 | a copy of this section to each district school board, whereupon |
63 | each district school superintendent shall distribute a copy to |
64 | all teachers and administrators. |
65 | (3)(a) Each district school board shall celebrate the |
66 | American Founders and the principles inherent in the country's |
67 | founding documents by observing American Founders' Month in |
68 | September of each year as provided in s. 683.147. This month may |
69 | be coordinated with Celebrate Freedom Week, which is observed |
70 | pursuant to s. 1003.421. |
71 | (b) During American Founders' Month, students may be |
72 | provided instruction that focuses on: |
73 | 1. The leading figures present at the country's founding |
74 | who were instrumental in crafting the founding documents that |
75 | institutionalized individual liberty and limited government that |
76 | derives its power from the consent of the governed. |
77 | 2. The moral and civic virtue, self-sacrifice, |
78 | intellectual genius, and patriotism demonstrated by the |
79 | country's founding fathers. |
80 | 3. The founding documents, including, but not limited to, |
81 | the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United |
82 | States, the Bill of Rights, and the Federalist Papers. |
83 | 4. The historical and philosophical importance of the |
84 | Declaration of Independence with its emphasis that all people |
85 | "are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, |
86 | that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of |
87 | happiness." |
88 | 5. The principles inherent in the founding documents, |
89 | including, but not limited to, individual freedom, equality, |
90 | limited representative government, a free market system, civic |
91 | virtue, natural law, and self-evident truth. |
92 | (c) The instruction may be integrated into the existing |
93 | school curriculum through methods including, but not limited to, |
94 | supplementing lesson plans, holding school assemblies, or |
95 | providing school-related activities. |
96 | (4) The department shall distribute a copy of this section |
97 | to each district school board, whereupon each district school |
98 | superintendent shall distribute a copy to all school |
99 | administrators and instructional personnel at the beginning of |
100 | each school year. |
101 | Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012. |