Texas Unveils ‘Classical’ Education Curricula Based on Texas and American Exceptionalism

Religion, history, and civics will be a part of lessons taught to the state’s students if approved by the Texas State Board of Education.

The Battle of Gonzales scene at the The Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin, Texas, on Jan. 24, 2023. Darlene McCormick Sanchez/The Epoch Times

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) unveiled a “classical” curricula on May 29 that incorporates Texas and American exceptionalism into reading and math lessons for school children.

Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath told The Epoch Times that TEA used a variety of resources, including textbooks, to create about 3,000 lessons so far.

The traditional model curricula pulls from history, civics, and religion.

Classics such as C.S. Lewis’ “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” and works from Shakespeare are part of the reading lessons.

Children developing reading skills will learn vocabulary to accompany reading passages concerning a variety of topics, including Greek and Roman mythology, the Crusades, the Magna Carta, the American Revolution, the Civil War, and the Holocaust.

There will be a stronger emphasis on phonics when teaching students how to read, which has fallen out of favor in educational settings in recent years. Likewise, penmanship will include cursive writing lessons, which has also fallen by the wayside in many schools.

Historical events—warts and all—will be addressed, he said.

Students “will also learn slavery in context,” he said. The mistakes that America has made as a country will be addressed, as well as America’s exceptionalism and what it has overcome.

References to Christianity and the Bible, along with other religions, will be included in lessons.

“You can’t learn about the Crusades without learning about two major world religions because it was not a real estate conflict. It was a clash between religions,” Mr. Morath said.

TEA developed the curricula in response to House Bill 1605, which was passed during the 2023 regular session of the Texas Legislature. While conservative groups praised the bill, some liberal groups, such as Texas Freedom Network, said they worried the process would be politicized.

The law directs the commissioner to work with the Texas State Board of Education to create quality foundational curricula and lessons.

The curricula will be transparent and accessible to parents, who will be able to monitor what their children are learning in school districts that adopt the curricula.

So far, TEA has developed Open Education Resource curricula for English language arts grades K–5 and math K—12. The public comment period for the materials ends Aug. 16.

Past Objections to Curricula

In 2022, conservative Texas parents objected to proposed social studies content.

The State Board of Education was flooded with emails and parents who showed up at meetings on the social studies curriculum over concerns it was leaving out Texas and American exceptionalism and adding in left-wing ideology such as critical race theory (CRT).

However, teachers and professors spoke in favor of adding gender, race, and LGBT issues into educational standards, saying it would make Texas more inclusive.

Texas banned teaching CRT in K–12 public school classrooms in 2021 and banned diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) offices at public colleges and universities in 2023.

CRT is a Marxist-based concept that divides people into classes of oppressors and victims based on race and gender. It contends America is systemically racist and must be dismantled and rebuilt.

DEI relies on the belief that underrepresented populations must be given preference in areas such as hiring or scholarships in order to correct “white privilege” and systemic racism in America.

Mr. Morath said he believes Texas could be the first state to develop new curricula relying on Western canon, which is a body of literature, music, philosophy, and art that are highly valued by Western civilization.

“I don’t think anything has been designed like what we’re doing, and nothing is as robust,” he said.

It will be available to schools, parents, and anyone who wants it online for free.

The public will have a chance to review the material, which will also go through a professional review process over the summer.

Texas parents showed up to speak against changes in social studies curriculum at a State Board of Education meeting in Austin, Texas, on Aug. 30, 2022. Darlene McCormick Sanchez/The Epoch Times

The State Board of Education will examine the curricula and decide if it will make the list of approved materials this fall.

If the curricula are approved, Texas schools will be allowed to use earmarked funds to get hard copies and instructional materials that go with the lessons for free, Mr. Morath said.

The curricula will follow the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), which are the state’s educational standards detailing what students should learn and be able to do from pre–K through high school.

The state board adopts the TEKS for each subject area.

“Anybody can download it and use it anyway they want,” Mr. Morath said. “It’s free in electronic format.”

Texas State Board of Education Chairman Aaron Kinsey told a crowd at the Texas GOP Convention on May 25 that, as chairman, he will battle against all the three-letter acronyms, such as CRT, DEI, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards, an investment concept based on climate and social justice instead of capitalism.

Providing more education options for parents is a priority as well, he said.

“We will take our rightful place as a state that teaches the next generation of Texans how to think and not to hate themselves,” he said.

“We will support a curriculum that encourages them to embrace capitalism and self-reliance as noble quests.”