Overall Vote Recommendation

Yes

Principle Criteria

Free Enterprise

Property Rights

Personal Responsibility

Limited Government

Individual Liberty

Digest

SB 2617 requires each school district and open-enrollment charter school to adopt and implement a policy requiring the terms “Anno Domini (AD)” and “Before Christ (BC)” when dates are expressed during student instruction. The bill applies beginning with the 2026–2027 school year.

SB 2617 also prohibits a school district or open-enrollment charter school from purchasing or selecting curriculum materials that express dates in a manner inconsistent with the required local policy. In practical terms, districts and charter schools would need to account for the required AD/BC terminology not only in classroom instruction, but also when choosing curriculum materials for use in the school’s curriculum.

The bill amends Subchapter Z, Chapter 29, Education Code, by adding Section 29.935.

The originally filed version and the Committee Substitute are substantially similar. Both versions amend Subchapter Z, Chapter 29, Education Code, by adding Section 29.935, requiring school districts and open-enrollment charter schools to adopt a policy requiring the use of “Anno Domini (AD)” and “Before Christ (BC)” when expressing dates during student instruction. Both versions also prohibit districts and charter schools from purchasing or selecting curriculum materials that express dates in a manner inconsistent with the required policy.

The main substantive change is the implementation date. The originally filed bill applied beginning with the 2025–2026 school year, while the Committee Substitute applies beginning with the 2026–2027 school year. That change gives districts, charter schools, and curriculum-selection processes one additional school year before the mandate applies.

The Committee Substitute also makes a small wording change in the policy requirement. The originally filed bill required each district or charter school to “adopt a policy,” while the Committee Substitute requires them to “adopt and implement a policy.” This clarifies that the requirement is not merely procedural; districts and charter schools must put the policy into effect during instruction.

Author (1)

Brandon Creighton

Co-Author (3)

Donna Campbell

Adam Hinojosa

Bryan Hughes

Contact the Author

Sen. Brandon Creighton

Capitol Phone:

(512) 463-0104

Capitol Office:

EXT E1.606

E-Mail:

[email protected]

Visit Official Website

Fiscal Notes

According to the Legislative Budget Board (LBB), SB 2617 is expected to have no fiscal implications for the state.

For local governments, the LBB similarly anticipates no significant fiscal implications. That means the bill is not expected to impose material new costs on school districts or other local governmental units, despite requiring districts and charter schools to adopt and implement a policy governing the use of AD/BC terminology and to account for that policy when selecting curriculum materials.

The fiscal note does not identify any recurring state cost, one-time implementation cost, savings, revenue effect, or cost driver. It also does not characterize the fiscal impact as indeterminate or assumption-dependent; rather, the LBB’s conclusion is that the bill is expected to have no state fiscal impact and no significant local fiscal impact.

Vote Recommendation Notes

Texas Policy Research recommends lawmakers vote YES on SB 2617. The bill requires school districts and open-enrollment charter schools to adopt and implement a policy requiring the use of “Anno Domini (AD)” and “Before Christ (BC)” when expressing dates during student instruction. It also prohibits districts and charter schools from purchasing or selecting curriculum materials that express dates in a manner inconsistent with that policy. The requirement would apply beginning with the 2026–2027 school year.

The core purpose of the bill is cultural and instructional consistency. The State Board of Education previously considered replacing traditional “BC” and “AD” date designations with “BCE” and “CE,” but delayed broader curriculum changes. SB 2617 responds by preserving long-standing AD/BC terminology in public school instruction and curriculum materials before districts or future curriculum decisions move away from that convention.

AD/BC terminology reflects the historical dating convention most closely associated with Western civilization and the inherited calendar system used in public, academic, legal, and civic life for centuries. The bill does not require religious instruction, compel a statement of belief, or impose a religious exercise. Rather, it preserves traditional historical terminology used to describe dates within the same calendar system already used by BCE/CE.

The principal concern is limited government: the bill imposes a statewide instructional requirement and restricts local discretion in curriculum material selection. That concern should be acknowledged. However, the mandate is narrow, applies only to the terminology used when expressing dates during instruction, and does not create a new agency, office, enforcement program, penalty, fee, or express rulemaking authority. The bill does not expressly grant additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

The fiscal concern is also limited. According to the LBB, no fiscal implication to the state is anticipated, and no significant fiscal implications to units of local government is anticipated. That means the bill is not expected to create a meaningful taxpayer burden or require material new state or local spending.

On balance, SB 2617 is a narrow curriculum-consistency measure that preserves traditional Western historical terminology without creating new bureaucracy, new spending, or new enforcement penalties. While the local-control concern is real, it is limited in scope and outweighed by the bill’s purpose of maintaining consistency and continuity in how Texas students are taught to express historical dates.

Free Enterprise

The bill could affect curriculum publishers and vendors because school districts and charter schools may not purchase or select curriculum materials that express dates in a manner inconsistent with the AD/BC policy. That creates a limited market constraint on instructional materials. However, the bill does not regulate the broader private market, impose licensing requirements, create subsidies, or restrict private sellers outside the public school curriculum-selection context.

Property Rights

The bill does not take, regulate, encumber, or condition the use of private property. It does not affect land use, ownership, contracts between private parties generally, or asset control. Any property-rights impact is minimal to nonexistent.

Personal Responsibility

The bill does not create a dependency program or substitute the state for individual decision-making in a major area of private life. It reinforces a traditional instructional convention rather than creating a new entitlement or behavioral mandate for families. The main limitation is that it places the decision at the state level rather than leaving it to local school boards, parents, and educators.

Limited Government

The bill creates a statewide instructional requirement and narrows local discretion over curriculum materials, which is a limited-government concern. At the same time, the bill is narrow in scope, does not create a new agency or office, does not grant new rulemaking authority, does not impose penalties, and is not expected to create a fiscal impact to the state or significant fiscal impact to local governments. On balance, it modestly expands state direction over public education while avoiding broader bureaucratic growth.

Individual Liberty

The bill does not impose penalties on students, parents, or teachers, and it does not require religious instruction or a statement of belief. However, it does require public schools and charter schools to use AD/BC terminology when expressing dates during instruction, which limits educator and local discretion over classroom language. The liberty impact is modest but real because the state is prescribing a specific form of expression in instruction.

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