Texas education board approves Native Studies course, skirting concerns about state’s K-12 DEI ban

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The Texas State Board of Education on Friday renewed an elective course that teaches high school students about the history and cultures of Indigenous peoples, overcoming criticism from some Republican members about potentially violating a state ban on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

The American Indian/Native Studies course gained reapproval on a bipartisan 9-5 vote, a long-awaited decision that will allow Texas public schools to offer the class for state credits. Advocates for the ethnic studies course have repeatedly shown up to quarterly state board meetings throughout the last year, pleading for Republican board chair Aaron Kinsey to put it on the panel’s agenda.

The Grand Prairie Independent School District, near Dallas, is the only district to have piloted the class. Friday’s vote opens it up to the rest of the state.

The move still falls short of calls to make the class’ teachings an official component of the state standards for what students are expected to learn. But the decision to keep it as an elective course that school districts can offer marks a noteworthy development in a state that has clamped down on efforts to make public education more inclusive.

Board members also expressed an interest in establishing official standards for the class, with one Republican, Will Hickman of Houston, saying that approving the course now is the fastest path to reaching that goal.

Lawyers from the state attorney general’s office and the Texas Education Agency did not say during a board meeting on Thursday whether they believe the current version of the course violates Senate Bill 12, a new state law prohibiting public schools from enacting policies, activities or programs that reference race, ethnicity, gender identity or sexual orientation. In general, they advised board members to review the materials carefully and to consider if and how any lessons overstep the law. Education officials reviewed the content in recent months and flagged areas that could potentially conflict with state laws, a process that started prior to SB 12’s passage.

In an attempt to settle the concerns of members worried about the course potentially violating Texas’ ban on diversity efforts, Orlando Lara, co-founder of the Ethnic Studies Network of Texas, noted that tribal identity is not the same as an ethnic group. Lara also cited a recent letter from the U.S. Department of Education stating that American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian history “is not classified as diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

The course’s reapproval did not come without blowback from some on the Republican-dominated board, who on Friday almost succeeded in delaying the vote on a technicality before they were overruled by the majority. The members criticized the course, saying it is one-sided, oversimplifies tribal histories and lacks historical nuance.

Brandon Hall, an Aledo Republican member of the board, expressed concern on Thursday about how the course addresses “land acknowledgement,” a custom recognizing that Indigenous peoples are the original inhabitants of certain locations. Hall said the notion that “this is all stolen land” does not account for times when property changed hands voluntarily, nor the fact that land did not always belong exclusively to a particular group.

Julie Pickren, a Republican from Pearland who noted that her husband and son are citizens of the Choctaw Nation, said Thursday the course “doesn’t do our history justice.” She pointed to missing details about how Native American tribes factored into major historical events like Juneteenth and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

On Friday, Pickren took her criticism a step further, saying she was “absolutely appalled that one Texas tax dollar has paid for this junk to be in our schools.” She used as one example an apparent reference to George Washington instructing his army to use “terroristic activity against Indians,” trying to make the case that the materials labeled Washington a terrorist.

The passage, read aloud by Kinsey, the board chair, was referencing a Washington letter to Major General John Sullivan in 1779 that stated: “It should be previously impressed upon the minds of the men wherever they have an opportunity, to rush on with the war hoop and fixed bayonet — Nothing will disconcert and terrify the Indians more than this.” Washington, in the same letter, called for “the total destruction and devastation of their settlements and the capture of as many prisoners of every age and sex as possible.”

Ultimately, the board voted to approve the course overall but not necessarily the individual instructional materials in question, though schools can still use them. A day before, Marisa B. Perez-Diaz, a San Antonio Democrat, cautioned members against rejecting the course because of what they perceive as imperfections.

“I think that the argument can be made that there are quite a few flaws in how we teach social studies and how we teach science currently,” Perez-Diaz said. “But to not allow students to have the opportunity to get any of this knowledge, I think, would be a disservice to plenty of students who've already been benefiting from the course.”

Perez-Diaz was backed by roughly a dozen Texans who spoke in favor of the class, including representatives from the Grand Prairie school district who piloted it. The public testimony list also included Laura Rios Ramirez, an educator of 30 years based out of the Somi Se'k Territory of Yanaguana, in San Antonio, who pleaded for board members to protect the right of schools and families to choose what’s best for their children.

“These courses actually teach us the principles of being Indigenous in our communities, which are very inclusive and allow us to learn from each other in ways that inspire the diaspora of people that we have in our school districts,” Ramirez said. “I know that these particular courses have been really instrumental in building the foundation for understanding our shared humanity, our unity.”

Walter Dougherty, a student in the Conroe Independent School District who described himself to board members as “a proud American, a proud Texan and a very proud Cherokee citizen,” said lessons about Native Americans are not present enough in school.

“People talk about us like we're gone,” the 10-year-old said. “But we're not. I'm right here.”

In his closing remarks, Dougherty reminded the board of one of the core tenets of public education: learning about other people.

“It makes me feel smarter and like I can be a better friend,” Dougherty said. “More importantly, when I learn about my Cherokee family, I feel proud. I feel like I can do anything. And who knows? Maybe one day I could even be chief.”

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