ROUND ROCK, Texas — For months, separation between church and state in Texas public schools has been a debate within the Texas State Board of Education. But now that’s up to each school district in the state to decide.
Back in November, the board voted to approve the “Bluebonnet Learning” curriculum proposed by the Texas Education Agency. This all stems from Texas lawmakers passing House Bill 1605 last legislative session. That bill required the TEA to create a new statewide curriculum that the board approved.
But over the last year, the curriculum has sparked controversy, as some say it favors Christianity over other religions and contains lessons that are not completely age-appropriate.
Now that the board approved the curriculum, each district can decide if and how they want to implement the curriculum. But, there is a financial incentive that would allocate money for the price of the curriculum if they choose to adopt it.
In Round Rock ISD, district leaders are currently weighing up the pros and cons of the new curriculum. Back in December, they announced they would be adopting the Bluebonnet math curriculum, but they have not yet decided on the reading and language arts section.
“First comes with exploring their curriculum in depth, looking at how it could impact our students and what’s the best decision and course of action for our district,” said Dr. Laura Carlin-Gonzalez, the executive director of teaching and learning for Round Rock ISD.
The district will be forming a committee made up of curriculum experts, community members, parents, principals, and most importantly teachers, to study the material.
“We need to study even further in-depth that if we decided to change … a passage in a unit, what would the implications for that be? We don’t know yet,” Carlin-Gonzalez said.
When lawmakers passed HB 1605, the way the bill was written, it said the curriculum needed to be adopted “with fidelity.” Although teachers adapt lesson plans daily to tailor to their students, there are still widespread questions about how much this curriculum can actually be amended.
“There are real concerns with, if you adapt or change the material, are you losing that “with fidelity,” said Tricia Cave, a lobbyist with the Association of Texas Professional Educators.
Cave said as districts start to implement the curriculum, it’s most likely it’s going to be a trial and error process, as districts try to make sure they’re not violating the “with fidelity” clause.
Round Rock ISD said since they have adopted the math curriculum, they could start implementing it as soon as this upcoming school year. But as for the Reading/Language Arts curriculum, they have no timeline of when they will decide on adopting the curriculum.
The district said once they put together this committee, they’ll start having more discussions. In the meantime, Round Rock ISD leaders said they are in no hurry to make any decisions on the curriculum because they want to make sure whatever they decide is in the best interest of their students and the entire community.
“We’re not going to rush this process,” Carlin-Gonzalez said. “We want to make the best decision for our students, and so however long it takes, is how long it takes.”