The Texas State Board of Education has reapproved an elective Native American studies course for high school students, sparking fierce backlash from several Republican members who argue the class promotes anti-American ideology.
The 9–5 vote, taken in late June, reauthorizes the American Indian/Native Studies (AINS) elective for use in public schools across Texas. While the decision was bipartisan, critics say the curriculum is infused with critical theory language and violates recent state laws aimed at curbing “woke” programs.
“The entire course teaches students to view history through the lens of ethnicity. This is CRT by definition,” Republican board member Brandon Hall told The Dallas Express, referencing Critical Race Theory, which is banned in Texas K-12 classrooms under state law. “There is zero reason to believe that the course would be decoupled from the recommended curricular resources in any Texas classroom.”
The Grand Prairie Independent School District initially piloted the course. With the board’s approval, it can now be offered statewide for credit. However, some board members and outside critics say the curriculum includes one-sided portrayals of history, omits inconvenient facts about Native communities, and presents concepts that blur the line between education and activism.
For example, Hall pointed to a geography standard within the course that encourages land acknowledgments as a way to honor Indigenous peoples — a practice he called “anti-American propaganda.”
Julie Pickren, a Republican board member whose family is part of the Choctaw Nation, claimed that the materials suggest “President George Washington [was] a terrorist and Christians were kidnappers of children and running re-education camps.”
“It’s unfortunate that on the eve of celebrating America’s 250th anniversary, the SBOE approved anti-American woke indoctrination for students in Texas public schools,” Pickren told DX. “Parents and the general public were denied reviewing and offering public comment on the Native American Studies Course that was fast-tracked for state approval.”
An official report by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) examined the material against House Bill (HB) 1605.
“HB 1605 was passed during the 88th Texas Legislature (Regular Session) and established an expanded process for the State Board of Education (SBOE) to approve high-quality instructional materials (HQIM), increased funding for HQIM, supported parent transparency with instructional materials, created clear teacher protection guidelines for planning time, and provided new requirements for Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) review and revision,” the TEA website states.
According to Dr. Audrey Young, chair of the Committee on Instruction, the AINS course was insufficient in multiple areas under the state’s “suitability and quality” rubric, adding that there are a “number of items within the curriculum that violate state law.”
“There’s a lack of accountability at the state level within innovative courses,” Young continued. “Currently, local districts are responsible for monitoring the content of such electives.”
Young further said that she has drafted policy reforms, set to be presented at the board’s September meeting, to tighten oversight of innovative courses. “The draft policy will make changes to our innovative course adoption process in order to close the loopholes that currently allow curriculum offered as part of the innovative course to violate the law,” she said.
There are some apparent deficiencies, including a dearth of material about violence among tribes before European contact, tribal support for the Confederacy during the Civil War, and the exclusion of Black freedmen and their descendants by some tribes from tribal membership.
Still, Marisa Perez-Diaz, a Democrat on the board from San Antonio, called it a disservice to students to block the course over perceived flaws. “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,” she said, per The Texas Tribune.
Others quoted by the Tribune emphasized the personal impact the course has had. Walter Dougherty, a 10-year-old Cherokee student in the Conroe Independent School District, told the board: “People talk about us like we’re gone. But we’re not. I’m right here.”
“When I learn about my Cherokee family, I feel proud,” he reportedly said. “I feel like I can do anything. And who knows? Maybe one day I could even be chief.”
While the course has been reapproved, the debate is far from over. While policy changes may be forthcoming, AINS is one of several ethnic studies courses that the SBOE has approved in the last decade.