Advocates for changes to Texas’ social studies curriculum denounce proposed delay
A Fort Worth area State Board of Education member is calling on her colleagues to reconsider a vote that delays a review of social studies curriculum to 2025.
The board had been slated to update the state’s Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills by the end of the year in what would be the curriculum’s first major rewrite in more than a decade. But the board members preliminary voted 7-2 on Tuesday to delay the process. The decision comes after members received opposition from conservatives.
Ahead of a final vote expected Friday, advocates and members of the state board who support the process moving forward are speaking out against the potential delay.
Board Member Aicha Davis, who represents District 13, one of two State Board of Education districts in Tarrant County, said during a Wednesday news conference that she was disappointed in the vote.
“I’m calling for this to continue,” she said in an interview with the Star-Telegram. “For us to finish by the end of the year so we get our students better standards, quicker. There’s no need for our students to wait three, four additional years for some updates that are very much needed.”
For months, work groups have convened to propose changes to the state’s social studies standards, which outline what students are supposed to learn in each grade.
Davis and supporters of the proposed updates think the changes would make the state’s curriculum more representative of different cultures. Davis praised the inclusion of more information about African Americans and Mexican Americans and the pride movement in the LGBTQ community.
“I loved that they talked about things like the Alamo and challenged students to look at different perspectives — and even with the Texas Rangers, look at different things that may have not been so good,” she said. “So they really thought of a lot of stories that hadn’t been in Texas history to put in there, not to hate Texas or hate America, but for them to have a deeper understanding and not make those same mistakes again.”
Opponents who spoke during Tuesday’s meeting said the proposed curriculum lacked promotion of American exceptionalism, broached critical race theory, and should not include lessons about the pride movement or the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, according to the Texas Tribune.
A group of conservative lawmakers, the Texas Freedom Caucus, wrote to the state board’s chairman on Monday with concerns that subjects related to critical race theory would be taught and the teaching of Texas history diluted, including by requiring students to compare different perspectives of the Alamo.
Mayes Middleton, a Wallisville Republican and chairman of the caucus, argued that in some cases the changes are illegal.
“We are watching these changes closely and will not hesitate to intervene in the next legislative session, should the need arise, to protect Texas children from being further indoctrinated and taken advantage of.”
Some of the biggest proposed changes include a more chronological teaching of history in elementary and middle school and the elimination of a stand-alone Texas history class in fourth and seventh grades. School officials in the Fort Worth area have previously said they’re worried the proposed curriculum may water down state history and include ideas for students in early grades that they won’t be able to comprehend.
The board, if the review continues, is able to take up amendments to the recommendations before finally adopting them by the year’s end.
If the review is delayed to 2025, it will come after the latest election cycle. The meeting also comes as school board meetings have become political hot-spots for debates about the teaching of race and sexuality and the appropriateness of books.
“Let’s be clear, it was all political,” Davis said about the preliminary vote to delay the review. “We’ve received probably about a thousand emails from folks who don’t want diversity. Who don’t want any mention of GLAAD. Who don’t want any mention of a pride parade.”
Davis, a Democrat, is up for reelection in November, when she will appear on the ballot with Republican Kathryn Monette.
Tarrant County also falls within District 11 represented by Patricia Hardy. Hardy, a Republican, is also up for election against Democrat Luis Miguel Sifuentes and write-in candidate Kathi Arocha. She was among the board members who on Tuesday voted in favor of the delay.
Hardy, in an interview with the Star-Telegram, raised concerns about history being taught in chronological order, rather than starting with Texas history and the scope broadened as done now. She was also concerned that the proposed standards would result in students being taught material that’s not appropriate for their grade level.
“We needed to do some more homework before we started this process,” Hardy said.
Hardy also wasn’t satisfied with the “tone” of the proposed standards.
“For example, I think that we should tell all about history,” she said. “You should be able to reveal the negatives of history, but the general tone should be very positive. I think the United States is an exceptional country, and when you’re talking about social studies and you’re wanting the students to learn their history, you want them to also feel positive about their history.”
Hardy said the state has taken steps to make curriculum more representative of African Americans and other groups of people.
“Yes, we need to make sure those people are there, but I think that we’ve done a good job of doing that,” she said. “You can always improve, but you need to keep a balance in there as well. I do believe that our standards are very fair.”
Hardy said she does not think teachings about GLAAD and the pride movement should be included in the standards.
It’s unclear what would happen to the work groups’ draft recommendations if the board finalizes the vote Friday to revisit the review in 2025.
The curriculum is expected to be updated to address changes in Texas law after lawmakers passed anti-critical race theory legislation in 2021 limiting how race is taught in schools. Educators have said the academic concept is not taught in Texas grade schools.
This story was originally published August 31, 2022 at 4:56 PM.
