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Texas State Board of Education's plan to update social studies curriculum derailed by political blowback
Board members were initially expected to take a final vote on the standards in November. That would give publishers enough time to update textbooks for the 2025-26 school year. But with all of the pushback, that timeline is in limbo.
AUSTIN, Texaseduc - The State Board of Education held a marathon meeting in Austin Tuesday.
The board is in the process of updating the standards for social studies that would determine what and how history is taught in Texas.
The drafts were created by workgroups comprised of educators.
Each group has spent countless hours over the past year coming up with recommended changes to the state curriculum.
The drafts expand history classes to be more inclusive of the diverse communities who shaped Texas and the country.
It's been more than a decade since the standards saw a significant update.
Board members were initially expected to take a final vote on the standards in November. That would give publishers enough time to update textbooks for the 2025-26 school year.
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But with all of the pushback, that timeline is in limbo.
Some community members are pushing back against proposed changes.
A Southlake resident presented the board with a petition she said was signed by hundreds of North Texans claiming the curriculum changes would diminish "American exceptionalism while expanding topics related to the LGBTQ community."
"We don't cower. We don't cater just because it hurts someone's feelings. And we're not going to hug this one out," the Southlake resident said.
That point of contention was the discussion of LGBTQ topics in 8th grade.
"Would there be any way of mentioning this," said board member Rebecca Bell-Mettereau.
"I don't think the subject is appropriate for the topic at all," said Mary Castle with Texas Values. "So I don't think it should be addressed."
There was also disagreement as to how to teach the treatment of Japanese Americans during World War II.
"This is the definition of internment," said committee member Matt Robinson. "And I think it perfectly characterizes what was happening to the Japanese Americans during World War II."
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Work group members also pushed back at what they see as politics at play, which could discount their work and delay the process further.
"There are factions in this room that will try to label any efforts that acculturate responsive curriculum as an example of critical race theory. This is falsely misleading," one member said.
None of the discussion Tuesday centered around high school curriculum.
Should the board rework the entire framework, it would delay the process. Some parents demanded the board push pause until next year and allow for more feedback and analysis.