Members of the State Board of Education have given preliminary approval to proposed K-12 Texas Education Knowledge and Skills standards for social studies.
Despite receiving praise for keeping “solid American and Texan values” in the standards for K-5 grades, concerned individuals have pointed out shortfalls made during the amendment process for the 6th-12th-grade standards, one of which is the removal of significant Revolutionary War battles.
“Texans should know that one of the most significant events in American history—and world history—was removed and replaced with pop cultural figures such as Oprah Winfrey,” Mandy Drogin, K-12 Education Expert with the Texas Public Policy Foundation told Texas Scorecard. “How any patriotic American can support the removal of significant Revolutionary War battles, including Lexington, Concord, and Valley Forge, from Texas public schools’ U.S. History standards, is beyond me.”
Drogin said that activists in the “Marxist Islamist History Alliance” pushed the SBOE to remove the “shot heard ‘round the world’” from the standards late Wednesday night.
“I trust th[at] Chairman Kinsey and anyone claiming the tributes of patriotism will fix this disastrous attempt to revise US History,” added Drogin.
The amendment to remove these significant battles was passed by the Democrats with the assistance of three Republican members: Will Hickman (R–Houston), Keven Ellis (R–Lufkin), and Pam Little (R–Fairview).
SBOE member Julie Pickren (R–Pearland) has also highlighted the removal of Spindletop—which launched the modern Texas oil boom—from the 7th-grade standards. The removal was initiated by Hickman, who said it is covered in 6th and 8th grade.
Pickren also reported that Hickman was able to do this because of support from the Democrats and that they “removed Black Robe Regiment w/ help from the same voting block.”
The Black Robed Regiment refers to influential 18th-century American Protestant pastors who supported and fought for the patriot cause during the American Revolution.
Reference to the relationship between Harriet Tubman’s role in the underground railroad and the role of Moses leading the Israelites in the biblical story of the Exodus was narrowly retained in the 6th-grade standards.
An amendment to add Charlie Brown, a freed slave who became one of Texas’ largest landowners in the 8th-grade standards, was also voted down.
Some of the changes to the standards for K-5 that received preliminary approval early Wednesday morning included the addition of notable figures such as Bessie Coleman and Phillis Wheatley. The K-5 standards also preserved Holocaust instruction and protected instruction on the Ten Commandments in 3rd grade. Efforts to introduce terminology such as “Gulf of America” and to significantly expand early-grade or ancient history content were rejected.
The board will take a final vote on the proposed standards on Friday.
Members Little, Hickman, and Ellis did not respond to Texas Scorecard’s request for comment before publication about why they voted to remove Revolutionary War battles from the TEKS. This article will be updated with any responses received.
