TITLE 20 EDUCATION

Section 2. Elementary and Secondary Education, 20-2-1 through 20-2-2180.

ARTICLE 19A AMERICAN HISTORY RECOGNITION AND SIGNIFICANT DOCUMENTS

20-2-1020. Establishment of Celebrate Freedom Week; purpose.

1. To educate students about the sacrifices made for freedom in the founding of this country and the values, principles, and philosophies on which this country was founded, it is strongly encouraged that the full week in September which includes Constitution Day, September 17, is recognized in public elementary, middle, and high schools in this state as Celebrate Freedom Week. It is strongly encouraged that Celebrate Freedom Week include approximately three hours of appropriate instruction, as determined by each local school system, in each social studies class. It is strongly encouraged that the instruction include an age-appropriate study of the intent, meaning, and importance of the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution, including the Bill of Rights, in their historical context including the background of the colonial era along with instruction about the Founding Fathers, such as the signers of the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution, the first six Presidents, and particularly George Washington. The religious references in the writings of the Founding Fathers shall not be censored. During Celebrate Freedom Week, it is strongly encouraged that local school systems suggest that students in grades three through 12 read at least one book during the school year that focuses on the Founding Era, either the times and events or the people who made significant contributions to independence or toward establishing the new federal or state governments. In addition, local school systems are strongly encouraged to require students in grades three through 12 to recite at least one of the following three excerpts at least once during the week, and local school systems are encouraged to require daily recitations from one or all of these excerpts at the beginning of each school day:
   1. From the Declaration of Independence:

      We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness - That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed ....;

   2. From the Preamble of the U.S. Constitution:

      We the people of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.; or

   3. From the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights:

      Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

2. Upon written request from a student's parent or guardian, a local school system shall excuse the student from the recitation required by this Code section. This Code section shall not apply to a student who:
   1. Has a conscientious objection to the recitation; or
   2. Is the child of a representative of a foreign government to whom the United States government extends diplomatic immunity.
3. This Code section shall apply beginning with the 2016-2017 school year.

(Code 1981, §20-2-1020, enacted by Ga. L. 2015, p. 1376, § 38A/HB 502.)