State Board Of Education

The Texas State Board of Education gave final approval Friday to a controversial new K-5 curriculum that weaves in Christian references.

Supporters say kids need to understand the Bible to understand American literature. But opponents say kids are too young for this type of instruction and the materials could alienate students who aren't Christian.

D.C. Caldwell is a local educator running to represent District 10 on the State Board of Education. He's branded himself a 'fusion' candidate, seeking the nominations of the Republican, Democratic, Libertarian and Green parties.

The SBOE’s Friday decision is somewhat surprising. In November of last year, the Republican-controlled Board overwhelmingly voted to reject “all attempts to divert public dollars away from public schools.”

Students had been pushing for the State Board of Education to adopt a new, more inclusive social studies curriculum this year. Instead, the board delayed their scheduled update until at least 2025.

At a news conference Wednesday, they said misinformation derailed the process of overhauling the curriculum. The State Board of Education was scheduled to adopt the new guidelines in November, but is now expected to delay revisions until 2025.

The Republican-controlled board heard hours of testimony Tuesday on the proposed guidelines. It took a step toward delaying updates to the social studies curriculum standards until 2025 after facing conservative pushback.

All 15 seats of the State Board of Education are up for grabs in November, and there were more than 50 candidates vying for their parties’ nominations.

Across Texas, there are 15 single-member State Board of Education districts, and every seat is on the ballot this election. The SBOE makes important decisions about things like public school curriculum and what textbooks are used.

Until now, the State Board of Education has left library selections up to local schools.