A majority of the Texas State Board of Education approved a state-authored curriculum on Friday, which has been the subject of intense criticism in recent months due to its heavy reliance on biblical teachings.
The Texas Education Agency’s proposed elementary school curriculum, Bluebonnet Learning, was approved by eight of the board’s fifteen members earlier this year.
A cross-disciplinary approach was used in the curriculum’s creation, with reading and language arts sessions serving to reinforce or advance ideas in other subjects like social studies and history. Religious studies academics are among the critics who claim that the curriculum’s lessons make more references to Christianity than any other religion, which they claim could cause non-Christian students to be bullied and isolated, erode church-state separation, and give the state extensive control over how children are taught about religion. They also questioned whether some of the lessons were accurate.
Supporters of the curriculum claim that mentioning Christianity will help children comprehend the history of the nation.
The decision to use the materials will rest with Texas school districts, who are free to select their own lesson plans. However, districts who implement the courses will receive a $60 incentive per student from the state, which may be attractive to some given that schools are having financial difficulties following a number of years without a sizable increase in state funding.
Many of the biggest school districts in the Houston region, such as Cy-Fair, Fort Bend, and Conroe ISDs, stated that they have not been utilizing an earlier iteration of Bluebonnet Learning and do not currently have any plans to use the curriculum.
According to Humble ISD officials, beginning in January, approximately one-third of elementary schools will implement the math curriculum developed by Bluebonnet Learning. Jamie Mount, the chief communications officer for Humble, stated that district administrators had not yet discussed incorporating additional resources into the language arts curriculum.
Requests for comment regarding Bluebonnet Learning have not received a response or have been refused this week by a number of other Houston-area districts, including Houston, Katy, Aldine, and Pasadena ISDs.
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In opposition to the materials, the board’s four Democrats were joined by three Republicans, Evelyn Brooks, Patricia Hardy, and Pam Little.
The curriculum was approved by Leslie Recine, a Republican who was nominated by Governor Greg Abbott to temporarily fill the State Board of Education’s District 13 seat that was left empty by former member Aicha Davis, a Democrat who was elected to the Texas House earlier this year.
To avoid Democrat Tiffany Clark, Abbott personally selected Recine, who was the decisive vote on the materials, to occupy the seat through the end of the year, only days before the general election. In this election, the majority of voters in District 13 chose Clark to serve as their representative on the board the next year. She ran without anyone.
During the week, board members who endorsed the curriculum stated that they thought the resources will help children become better readers and better worldly thinkers. Members added that politics had no bearing on their decision and that they backed the materials because they thought they would benefit Texas kids the most.
Will Hickman, a Republican from Houston, stated, “I think these stories are on the education side and are establishing cultural literacy.” Additionally, all pupils should be exposed to religious ideas like Moses, the Golden Rule, and the Good Samaritan.
As an illustration of what it means to uphold the Golden Rule, the proposed curriculum asks instructors to tell kindergarteners the fable of The Good Samaritan, which tells us to love everyone, including your enemies. The lesson describes how a man named Jesus recounted the story, which is taken from the Bible, as part of his Sermon on the Mount, which contained the maxim “Do unto others as you would have done unto yourself.”The Golden Rule is a concept found in many different religions.
The Texas Education Agency is not a textbook publishing corporation, according to Brooks, one of the Republicans who opposed the materials, who also stated this week that classifying it as such has created an unfair playing field for textbook companies. Additionally, Brooks stated that she has not yet seen any proof that the curriculum would enhance students’ learning.
Republican Hardy, who also objected to the materials, claimed she did so without taking into account the religious allusions. She voiced concerns about the age-appropriateness of the curriculum and said she didn’t think it met the state’s requirements for reading and other courses.
Some Democrats who opposed the curriculum, meanwhile, expressed concern that the teachings would unnecessarily impose Christianity on students in public schools. Others expressed worries that Texas would be in violation of the Establishment Clause, which forbids states from supporting a specific religion.
According to Houston Democrat Staci Childs, if this is the norm for Texas students, then it must be just that. It must be of the highest caliber, adhere to the standard, be truthful, and be free of any violations of the establishment clause.
Before the formal decision on Friday, the state has until late Wednesday to make changes addressing the concerns expressed by the public and board members.
However, Democratic members stated on Friday that they were still concerned. Childs, who is also an attorney, stated that she thinks a lawsuit alleging a violation of the Establishment Clause by the state would probably be successful.
Democrat of San Antonio Marisa B. Prez-Diaz stated that although she thought the materials were valuable, she was unable to support them because of their Christian leaning. Although the curriculum makes an effort to make references to religion traditions other than Christianity, Rebecca Bell-Metereau, a Democrat from San Marcos, said she doesn’t think the state did so in a significant way.
“It looks like it’s attempting to cover a huge wound with a Band-Aid,” Bell-Metereau remarked.
On Monday, more than 100 Texans registered to voice their support and opposition to the curriculum, which was created by the state.
Board members were informed by Courtnie Bagley, education director of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative think organization that contributed to the curriculum’s development, that the Texas Education Agency has done everything it can to address public concerns. Rejecting the teachings, she claimed, would unfairly favor non-state-owned materials.
According to Bagley, it would lead to a double standard because Bluebonnet Learning has been subjected to a different and stricter review procedure than other materials that are being considered.
Some questioned whether the state’s motives in creating a curriculum that strongly relies on Christianity are political, while others claimed that the revisions did not go far enough.
As a Christian, I do think that religion plays a role in our culture, yet there is no religion in our country. According to Mary Lowe, co-founder of Families Engaged for an Effective Education, we’re special in that regard. Therefore, I do not believe that our school systems should strive to explicitly or implicitly convey to young, vulnerable youngsters that the state does have a state religion.
While some supporters have expressed their opinion that the usage of religious references does not violate the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution, education officials claim that doing so will help pupils better grasp the nation’s history. According to legal experts, recent decisions by the conservative majority of the U.S. Supreme Court have undermined decades of precedent and left it unclear what governmental actions are in violation of the Establishment Clause.
The documents, according to state officials, cover a wide variety of religions and only mention religion when it is suitable. According to Education Commissioner Mike Morath, the resources will enhance student results and are grounded in a wealth of cognitive science research. At least half of the ten members of the advisory panel that the Texas Education Agency appoints to make sure the content is truthful, age-appropriate, and impartial have a background in faith-based activism.
Parents, historians, and educators have challenged the materials’ treatment of America’s history of racism, slavery, and civil rights, according to a recent Texas Tribune article. According to public comments on the curriculum and interviews with the Tribune, the materials deprive important historical figures of their complexity and imperfections while leaving out important background information that they believe would give kids a more realistic picture of the nation’s past and present. In their public testimony on Monday, Bell-Metereau and other Texans cited the Tribune’s coverage.
The Texas Education Agency has addressed those worries by stating that the lessons will give children a solid basis on which to grasp increasingly difficult ideas as they advance through the grades. Additionally, according to state officials, the materials are written in an age-appropriate style.
Additional reporting by Angelica Perez, a staff writer at Houston Landing.
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