A small frenzy was growing Wednesday inside the Texas Education Agency in downtown Austin. Groups from across the nation came to speak before the Texas State Board of Education.
"It's scary to me that I have to come to Austin as a parent from Odessa, Texas to ask that American exceptional-ism be defended and promoted in our public schools. This seemed like a no-brainer to me. In fact some people have said to before well isn’t that a danger of becoming to pro-American. That’s a stunner to me that someone would even ask question like that," said one man.
The board is considering curriculum changes, particularly to history and social studies lessons.
Public testimony picked up on Wednesday and will continue possibly until Friday. More than 50 people registered to speak Wednesday morning.
Some are representing their own personal beliefs. Others are affiliated with groups such as LULAC, the NAACP, the Liberty Institute and teachers' associations.
Most of the concerns deal with historical figures or religious beliefs that could be excluded from the curriculum.
“What we want is what most Texans and Americans want that's accurate Social Studies and history standards for our students,” said Jonathan Saenz of the Liberty Institute, “Efforts to remove what makes America great and remove our Judeo-Christian values that have had an impact on our social studies and our history in our founding government is a form of bigotry and intolerance that we think the State Board of Education should reject.”
The public testimony varies across the board.
The board will make a preliminary vote on Friday, but a final, formal vote won't come until May. The board can make additions or exclusions to the proposed curriculum based on this public testimony in the meantime.
The vote is gaining national attention because what the board decides to include in curriculum for Texas public school students will dictate what textbook publishers will incorporate in the textbooks.
Most states use the same textbooks as Texas students so students across the nation will get the same lessons that the Texas Board of Education approves.
The curriculum standards usually stand for 10 years.
