HB 348 — Including fetal development instruction as part of the r

90R3654 RAL-D By: Leach H.B. No. 348 relating to including fetal development instruction as part of the required health curriculum for public school students in certain grade levels.

SECTION 1. Section 28.002, Education Code, is amended by adding Subsection (r-1) to read as follows: (r-1) The State Board of Education shall by rule require students in grades six through eight to receive instruction on fetal development, the humanity of the unborn child, and the concept that life begins at fertilization as part of the essential knowledge and skills for the health curriculum under Subsection (a)(2)(B). The instruction must include: (1) information on: (A) the human reproductive process, pregnancy, and infertility; (B) establishing healthy life skills; and (C) preventing birth defects, including information on the effect of drugs, alcohol, and environmental hazards, including lead; (2) a description of the growth and development of an unborn child that occur during each trimester of pregnancy; and (3) to the extent the videos are publicly available, a showing of the following each year: (A) LiveAction, Meet Baby Olivia (2025), https://www.babyolivia.liveaction.org; (B) St. John Paul II Life Center, A Glimpse Inside (2025), https://www.glimpseinside.org; and (2025), https://www.glimpseinside.org; and (C) "The Miracle of Life," NOVA (PBS Feb. 15, 1983).

SECTION 2. This Act applies beginning with the 2027-2028 school year.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2027.