The Texas State Board of Education is voting this week on new curriculum that includes references to Christian texts and emphasizes Texas history.
At its meeting in Austin, the 15-member board is expected to give final approval to changes to history, social studies and reading lists that every public school student in Texas child is taught.
Advocates for the changes say they put Texas and Christianity in their proper perspective of their impact on U.S. history, as well as advocate for freedom and capitalism.
Critics say the curriculum favors Christianity over other religions and includes inaccuracies.
“There's a concerted effort to teach history from a perspective that highlights Christian contributions and ignores others,” said Southern Methodist University religious studies professor Mark Chancey. “So Christian contributions to American society are emphasized but not those of other groups, other peoples.”
The proposed curriculum would teach third-graders about Moses’ “contributions as a law-giver through the Ten Commandments,” and “how Christian beliefs … helped shape American ideas about equality, rights, and treating people with dignity.”
The state board adopted the new social studies framework last year and worked on rewriting the standards earlier this year. A board-appointed academic adviser told SBOE the changes would “create an American and Texas identity.”
Rocia Fierro-Perez, political director of the left-leaning Texas Freedom Network, said the same tenets are found in other religions.
“To attribute these values exclusively to Christianity misrepresents the world and ignores the contributions of other beliefs that help shape American culture,” she said.
The new curriculum would go into effect in 2030. Members of her organization plan to testify before the board this week before it takes the final vote.
“Texans need to know what’s going on,” she said. “We would love to have a reasonable conversation with members, but that seems further and further away.”
Bill Zeeble is KERA’s education reporter. Got a tip? Email Bill at bzeeble@kera.org. You can follow him on X @bzeeble.
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