AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) met this week to discuss proposed changes to the social studies curriculum.
The proposed changes include teaching Texas history throughout elementary and middle school, rather than just in fourth and seventh grades; incorporating personal financial literacy in high school; and clarifying how to teach racism in the classroom.
During the last legislative session, lawmakers passed Senate Bill 3, the state's so-called "critical race theory" law, which changed how Texas educators can teach students about race and racism.
The bill was written by State Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola). He spoke to SBOE members at their Monday meeting, explaining the law and how it doesn't ban lessons on race and racism.
“"That bill is not an attempt to sanitize or to teach our history in any other way than the truth — the good, the bad and the ugly — and those difficult things that we’ve been through and those things we’ve overcome," Hughes said. "No one is saying that we don’t have systemic racism. But what we’re saying is, we’ve made a lot of progress. We have a long way to go. But the way to get there is to come together as Americans."
Hughes said the law does ban teaching that one race or gender is superior to another.
The SBOE is expected to vote on new curriculum changes in November.
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