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The Texas State Board of Education has once again postponed a vote on whether to approve an American Indian/Native Studies class, disappointing advocates who have been defending the material since 2020.
This course was not on the agenda for next week's SBOE meeting. Supporters of the course hope the curriculum will be revised this month so that the materials are approved and ready for adoption statewide in the 2024-25 school year. The board's next chance to review courses won't be until its June meeting, which would be too late for most schools to add classes this fall.
“This is the process states should follow when ethnic studies courses move forward,” said Eliza Epstein, co-director of the Texas School Ethnic Studies Coalition, which is advocating for the course. “I don't think anyone is asking for the course to just be approved. They are asking for the course to progress.”
Grand Prairie Independent School District is piloting a Native Learning course starting in 2021. The class is currently designated as an innovative course by the Texas Education Agency, and this status must be renewed approximately every five years. Other schools can also apply to offer this course, but many prefer to wait for formal approval from the SBOE before investing resources in new classes.
Former SBOE chair Keven Ellis announced his intention to bring up the Indigenous studies course at the January board meeting, but current chair Aaron Kinsey chose not to include it on the agenda at the time. In a statement, he explained that the postponement was “to give members more time to review the content.” Kinsey, who was appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott in December, could not be reached for comment Monday afternoon.
Support for Native Studies classes signals further push for ethnic studies in Texas education. In 2018, the SBOE board approved an ethnic studies class on Mexican Americans, and in 2020, the board unanimously passed an African American studies class. Round Rock ISD piloted the state's first Asian American studies class last year.
The postponement also comes at a time when the SBOE is shifting ideologically to the right amid a debate over how children should learn about sex and race in schools. Ten of the current 15 board members identify as Republicans. One Republican lost his seat in last month's primary election, and two others face a runoff next month between challengers seeking a more conservative vision for the board.
Grand Prairie ISD's Native Studies Pilot Course is a social studies elective for grades 10-12 that interweaves topics such as history, science and economics. This material covers multiple tribes and nations in Texas and the United States, including the Lipan Apaches and the Coushatta Tribe of Alabama. According to Janice Henderson, who helped design the curriculum, it covers not only historical events but also modern times.
“We're still here. We're not going back to the 1800s, when the history books came to a screeching halt,” Comanche member Hawana Hwini Townsley told reporters last week. He spoke at a press conference. “That’s what we seek to convey and give to the children of this state with this course.”
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