After liberals attempted this week to insert controversial sex education into the state’s public school curriculum, Texas’ State Board of Education voted on Friday to table the radical plan.
The board met this week to consider and vote on revisions to public education standards—known as Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS)—for science, physical education, and health education.
As they did at the SBOE meeting in June, leftist advocacy groups turned out to testify in favor of adding highly sexualized “LGBTQ+” and pro-abortion material to the health curriculum taught to Texas kids, calling it a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to change course.”
Parents and professionals who prefer public schools to teach abstinence and sexual risk avoidance also testified to the board.
Ultimately, the board voted against the changes in a 9-6 vote, maintaining the state’s abstinence-based focus on sex education.
9 Against
- Ken Mercer (District 5)
- Donna Bahorich (District 6)
- Barbara Cargill (District 8)
- Tom Maynard (District 10)
- Patricia Hardy (District 11)
- Pam Little (District 12)
- Sue Melton-Malone (District 14)
- Marty Rowley (District 15)
- Keven Ellis (District 9)
6 For
- Georgina C. Perez (District 1)
- Ruben Cortez (District 2)
- Marisa Perez-Diaz (District 3)
- Lawrence Allen (District 4)
- Matt Robinson (District 7)
- Aicha Davis (District 13)
“Today, we are grateful that the State Board of Education voted to stick to education and teach children how to live a healthy and productive life as opposed to confusing them with controversial political ideologies,” said Mary Elizabeth Castle, policy advisor at Texas Values. “The statewide Health standards look nothing like Austin ISD’s radical sex education propaganda; and efforts to politicize Science failed.”
A final vote on these curriculum standards will take place the week of November 17-20.
