Austin, USA – Republicans on the State Board of Education soundly rejected a Democratic-backed proposal Thursday that would have required Texas students to be taught the reasons behind the prohibition of a state religion in the Bill of Rights.
The contentious decision in curriculum standards for U.S. government classes appeared to signal the unhappiness of several board members with court rulings that have affirmed the separation of church and state – including a longtime ban on school-sponsored prayer.
Board members defeated an amendment by member Mavis Knight, D-Dallas, that would have required students to examine the reasons the Founding Fathers "protected religious freedom in America by barring government from promoting or disfavoring any particular religion over all others."
The seven social conservatives on the panel – several of whom openly question the legal precedents affirming the separation of church and state – were joined by the three moderate Republicans in voting no.
All five Democrats – three Hispanics and two blacks – voted for the amendment.
Board members are scheduled to tentatively approve their first draft of the social studies standards today. A final vote will occur in May.
Knight said all she was trying to do in her proposal was to let students study the First Amendment language that states: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."
A succession of court rulings have relied on that language to uphold the separation of church and state in a section of the Bill of Rights referred to as the "Establishment Clause."
But many religious conservatives – including a board-appointed curriculum expert – contend that separation of church and state was established in the law only by activist judges and not the Constitution or Bill of Rights.
Republicans said Knight's proposed requirement was based on an inaccurate interpretation of what the Founding Fathers wanted. One called her proposal a "half-truth" that would play down the importance of religion to the nation's founders.
Board members also disagreed on dozens of other amendments as they continued to write the curriculum standards that will be the basis for future textbooks and classroom instruction in U.S. history, government and other social studies subjects.
Lasting impact
Curriculum standards adopted by the board will remain in place for the next decade, dictating what is taught in all public elementary and secondary schools.
Texas standards often wind up being taught in other states because national publishers tailor their materials to those standards – a result of Texas' status as one of the nation's biggest textbook purchasers.
Among the amendments proposed by social conservatives and adopted Thursday were requirements that students understand how taxes and regulations restrict private enterprise, and that students analyze the importance of the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. Gun rights were given the same importance as free speech rights.
The board agreed to strengthen nods to Christianity by adding references to "laws of nature and nature's God" to a section in U.S. history that requires students to explain major political ideas.
Knight's proposal on religious freedom triggered swift criticism from some Republicans after she said it was "important for students to know the Founding Fathers supported a strong wall of separation between church and state."
She said her addition to the curriculum standards "has nothing to do with the left or the right but what is best for the children to know."
Board member Cynthia Dunbar, R-Richmond, said Knight's proposal was "not an accurate perception and not what the Founding Fathers intended."
Dunbar denied the criticism by some that social conservatives on the board want to put religion into the curriculum. "We are not trying to inject religion," she said.
Board member Don McLeroy, R-College Station, also said Knight's proposal was based on a "half-truth" and did not accurately depict what the Founding Fathers wanted. McLeroy, a conservative Christian, is among the board members who question the doctrine of separation of church and state.
Kathy Miller, president of the Texas Freedom Network, said the board action "represents an irresponsible rewriting of American history and a stunning triumph of politics over education."
On the other side, Jonathan Saenz of the conservative Liberty Institute applauded the board's decision. "Thus far, the liberal efforts to infiltrate, indoctrinate and saturate our social studies with narrow ideology have failed," he said.
Parting shot
Minority board members were frustrated by their inability to get more minority figures included in the social studies standards and what they said was an effort by social conservatives to "whitewash" the harsh treatment of minority groups in U.S. history.
"To say America has treated minorities well is a gross distortion. They don't want to talk about the bad things in the past, just the good things," said Mary Helen Berlanga, D-Corpus Christi.
Before she walked out of the meeting while the board was still considering amendments, Berlanga offered a parting shot to Republicans, saying, "We can just continue to pretend that America is white and Hispanics don't exist."