The Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) will hold meetings this week to discuss and take public comment on its newly proposed instructional materials, following the passage of House Bill (HB) 1605.
The SBOE meeting will be held from September 10 through 13.
The new Instructional Materials Review and Approval (IMRA) process, enacted under HB 1605, replaces the State Board of Education (SBOE) Proclamation and the Texas Resource Review (TRR) processes, consolidating reviews under a single SBOE-governed system.
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) released a new set of state-owned instructional curricula as in May.
TEA Commissioner Mike Morath said that the new curriculum is going to help kids “to lead much more successful lives.”
The proposal has been met with pushback, most vocally from Texas Rep. James Talarico (D-Round Rock), who spoke out against the inclusion of references to religion in the curriculum during a House committee hearing.
Talarico called the idea of religious themes in education “reckless” as he peppered Morath with questions.
“When you're talking about religion, when you're talking about faith, when you're talking about theology, you're working with fire,” Talarico remarked.
During the same meeting, Rep. Matt Schaefer (R-Tyler) argued that the inclusion of biblical references, such as the 10 Commandments in public spaces as well as in educational curricula, is justified because of Christianity's significant influence on the Founding of the United States, the American legal system, and Western civilization as a whole.
“The simple truth,” Schafer argued, “is that all world religions did not have an equal impact on why we're here today.”
Some of the religious topics included in the TEA curriculum proposal include lessons about the Golden Rule, the Good Samaritan, and Queen Esther.
The religious source material used in the curriculum is a “fraction” of the new materials, the TEA explained to The Texan.
“It is dealt with in a way to emphasize historical events or those canonical pieces of literature.”
The American Federation of Teachers, Texas Division has been candid about their thoughts on the new TEA instructional materials.
“Look, there’s nothing wrong with classical education as a concept nor is there anything wrong with learning about religion and its impact on society. It is impossible to teach history without understanding the impact of religion on historical figures such as Martin Luther or Martin Luther King, Jr., for that matter,” said Zeph Capo, president of Texas AFT in a statement.
“There is something wrong, though, with using ‘classical education’ as a cover for the creep of Christian Nationalist philosophy into our classrooms.”
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