To submit a public comment to the Texas State Board of Education, follow these steps:
- Go to the form on the Texas Education Agency (TEA)'s web site at: https://form.jotform.com/81206305801142
- In response to the first question, "Which proposed rule are you commenting on?" respond with:
PROPOSED REVISIONS TO 19 TAC CHAPTER 113, SUBCHAPTER C,
SECTIONS 13(F) AND 14(A), TEXAS ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE AND
SKILLS FOR SOCIAL STUDIES
Sample Comment (Please modify to make your own and change BOLDED area below):
As a Texas (student/parent/teacher/community member/etc), I object to the proposed revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 113, Subchapter C, Sections 13(F), 14(A) and 24(D) Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Social Studies.
Proposed 13(F) oversimplifies complex historical and political events and as a result limits the capacity of students to fully learn about conflicts in the Middle East by presenting opinions as fact rather than objectively teaching social studies and allowing students to use their skills to come to their own conclusions.
Proposed 14(A) is discriminatory and has substantial potential to trigger direct and indirect anti-Muslim bias in the classroom and beyond. Texas students will become tomorrow's leaders and they would greatly benefit from a more nuanced approach to these topics. These proposed revisions promote further misinformation and bias and stifle the ability of Texas students to learn and understand social studies.
Proposed 24(D) is similarly discriminatory and anti-Muslim but it also misses the impact of government policies on religions and religious fundamentalism. To imply that religion only drives government policy and not vice-versa is misleading and does not explain why fundamentalism of all religions rises and falls.
As a Texas (student/parent/teacher/community member/etc), I object to the proposed curriculum and the insufficient revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 113, Subchapter C, Sections 13(F), 14(A) and 24(D), Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Social Studies. The proposed revisions maintain an oversimplified and single perspective framing of historical and political events and as a result limit student learning about the Middle East region. The proposed curriculum presents subjective conclusions rather than objectively teaching social studies skills including research, multiple perspective analysis and critical thinking.
Thank you.