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 Committees of teachers and experts have crafted the proposal that will be up for consideration by the State Board of Education on Thursday. Dozens of amendments and ideological battles are expected.
Whichever curriculum standards the board chooses will be the guideposts for teaching history and social studies to some 4.8 million K-12 students for 10 years. The standards will be used to develop state tests and also by textbook publishers who develop material for the nation based on Texas, one of the largest markets.
The standards aren't expected to get a final vote until March.
Early squabbles over how much prominence to give civil rights leaders such as Cesar Chavez and the inclusion of Christmas seem to have been smoothed over in the draft now being considered. But those issues could re-emerge as board members raise amendments for consideration before the vote.
In more than seven hours of public testimony on Wednesday, the board was asked to include more examples of Mexican American leaders. Amendments proposing that Hispanics be included in the fifth-grade social studies lessons, which lack examples of Latinos, are likely.
Another flashpoint is expected over how much emphasis should be given to the religious beliefs of the nation's founding fathers, after some activists have sought to promote and highlight their Christianity.
"We are concerned that some extremists are pressuring the board to censor and forbid students from learning about the religious heritage of our country and the faith of historical figures, including our founding fathers," said Kelly Shackelford, president of the conservative Free Market Foundation.
But many liberal activists who testified before the board on Wednesday implored the board to respect the constitutional separation of church and state.
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