House Resolution 110 - Introduced HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 110 BY FETT , ANDREWS , CISNEROS , FISHER , GEHLBACH , SITZMANN , GUSTOFF , BEHN , DUNWELL , HENDERSON , HAYES , and LARSON A Resolution honoring the Phoenix Declaration. 1 WHEREAS, parents are the primary educators of their 2 children, and parents should have the freedom to choose 3 the learning environments that align with their values 4 and best meet their children’s individual learning 5 needs, with public education funding following the 6 child; and 7 WHEREAS, educational policies should respect 8 the right and high duty of parents to raise their 9 children and make decisions about their children’s 10 education; and 11 WHEREAS, schools, as secondary educators, should 12 work with parents, not attempt to serve as replacements 13 for parents; and 14 WHEREAS, schools have a responsibility to be 15 transparent with parents about what their children are 16 being taught and how their children are performing; and 17 WHEREAS, schools must never use misguided 18 policies that hide information from parents about 19 their children’s mental, emotional, or physical 20 well-being; and 21 WHEREAS, the highest form of accountability is 22 when schools are answerable directly to well-informed 23 parents; and 24 WHEREAS, education must be grounded in truth, and 25 students should learn that there is objective truth and 26 -1- LSB 5926YH (4) 91 jda/jm 1/ 4

H.R. 110 that it is knowable; and 1 WHEREAS, science courses must be grounded in 2 reality, not ideological fads, and students should 3 learn that good and evil exist, and that human beings 4 have the capacity and duty to choose good; and 5 WHEREAS, a central purpose of education is to 6 transmit humanity’s accumulated knowledge and wisdom, 7 as well as America’s particular culture and heritage, 8 to the next generation, and a civilization survives 9 only if it intentionally transmits its history, 10 traditions, and values, including its yet unrealized 11 aspirations, to the next generation; and 12 WHEREAS, true progress comes only by building 13 on what has been learned and achieved in the past, 14 and students should therefore learn about America’s 15 founding principles and roots in the broader Western 16 and Judeo-Christian traditions; and 17 WHEREAS, students should study only the best that 18 has been thought and said, engaging in the great 19 conversation among the competing viewpoints that 20 comprise our intellectual heritage, so that they freely 21 make the best views their own; and 22 WHEREAS, education must prepare children for the 23 challenges and responsibilities of adulthood, and 24 that endeavor entails much more than merely preparing 25 students for a career; and 26 WHEREAS, a proper education is focused on the 27 full formation of a child, particularly the child’s 28 character, and education should cultivate the virtues 29 and discipline necessary for self-governance; and 30 -2- LSB 5926YH (4) 91 jda/jm 2/ 4

H.R. 110 WHEREAS, students must be held accountable for 1 their behavior, both to learn that their choices have 2 consequences and to maintain the order necessary for 3 learning to proceed; and 4 WHEREAS, schools should foster academic excellence 5 and prioritize a rigorous and content-rich curriculum 6 rooted in foundational subjects such as math, 7 literature, science, history, civics, and the arts; and 8 WHEREAS, emphasis should be placed on core 9 knowledge and tried-and-true pedagogy rather than 10 fads or experimental teaching methods, students 11 should be challenged and rewarded for hard work and 12 accomplishment, and schools should help students 13 achieve their full potential, going as far and as fast 14 as their talents will take them; and 15 WHEREAS, a republic depends upon an educated and 16 patriotic citizenry, and schools should teach students 17 the civic virtues and civic knowledge necessary for 18 self-government and the task of building a more perfect 19 union, including the value of civil disagreement; and 20 WHEREAS, schools should also foster a healthy 21 sense of patriotism and cultivate gratitude for and 22 attachment to our country and all who serve its central 23 institutions; and 24 WHEREAS, our shared civic rituals, such as the 25 Pledge of Allegiance and national anthem, should be 26 respected and revived; and 27 WHEREAS, students should develop a deep 28 understanding of and respect for America’s founding 29 documents and the ideas they contain about ordered 30 -3- LSB 5926YH (4) 91 jda/jm 3/ 4

H.R. 110 liberty, justice, the rule of law, limited government, 1 natural rights, and the equal dignity of all human 2 beings; and 3 WHEREAS, students should learn the whole truth about 4 America, its merits and failings, without obscuring 5 that America is a great source of good in the world and 6 that we have a tradition that is worth passing on; NOW 7 THEREFORE, 8 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, That 9 the House of Representatives believes that in order 10 to empower families, advance educational excellence, 11 transmit our culture, and uphold the foundational 12 principles of our constitutional republic, the 13 principles described above, as set out in the Phoenix 14 Declaration, should guide American families, schools, 15 and policymakers; and 16 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the House of 17 Representatives fully supports the Phoenix Declaration. 18 -4- LSB 5926YH (4) 91 jda/jm 4/ 4