Kolkhorst authors Senate Bill 1776: 'Let's pass on the amazing American story to our children, grandchildren'

A bill recently passed unanimously in the Texas Senate that would require public schools to offer an elective course in the nation’s founding principles, and may have inspired a similar bill in the state House of Representatives related to Texas itself.

State Sen. Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham) took to social media to express her reasons for authoring Senate Bill 1776, and the requirements it would place on public schools across the state.

“We are living in challenging times with some people attempting to ‘reimagine’ our American story and remove our Founding Fathers from history books,” Kolkhorst said in a post to her official Facebook page. “Our nation's future [is] on the line. Now more than ever we simply must prepare the next generation with an appreciation of our nation’s history and greatness!”

In addition to requiring schools to offer an elective course on the nation’s founding principles, the bill would also encourage schools to post copies of founding documents, including the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, Kolkhorst said.

“Ronald Reagan once said ‘Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.’ Those words still ring true,” she said in her post. “Let's pass on the amazing American story to our children and grandchildren, and pray that many school boards will embrace this effort and eagerly offer the course.”

A similar bill, House Bill 2497, is purported to seek to educate Texans about the state’s history in a similar vein, according to coverage by Court House News. The bill relates to the establishment of an advisory board that would promote “patriotic education” as it relates to the state.

“The 1836 Project intends to find the missing chapters of our story and make them available for current and future generations of Texans,” state Rep. Tan Parker (R-Flower Found) was quoted as saying by Court House News.

Yet, opponents of that legislation have expressed concerns that the project could leave out significant elements of the state’s history that some may not find appealing.