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Texas School Curriculum

Governor Abbott, TEA Bolster Educational Resources On Israeli Conflict For Texas Students

On October 20, 2023 Texas governor Abbott "encouraged schools across the state to utilize additional lessons and resources shared by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to increase awareness and understanding of the Israel-Hamas war and root causes of conflict in the region. In addition to the current curriculum on Israel, antisemitism, genocide, and the Holocaust, the new resources and lessons will help educators and parents ensure Texas students have a thorough understanding of the current acts of war, regional violence, and the conflict in Israel." His announcement can be found at: https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-tea-bolster-educational-resources-on-israeli-conflict-for-texas-students.

Unfortunately, missing from the listing of curriculum is Palestinian history and what students need to know about the more than 55 year occupation, more than 16 year blockade of Gaza, and more than 75 year incessant violation of human rights, and the Nakba (catastrophe where the majority of Palestinians were forced to leave their towns and villages in 1948). To claim "to increase awareness and understanding of the Israel-Hamas war and root causes of conflict in the region" without covering the Palestinian history is to do a great disservice to Texas students - it does leaves them vulnerable to misleading information about the motivations of different parties and the actual history and situation on the ground.

The Texas Coalition for Human Rights therefore proposes some alternative documents that relate much more to the "understanding of the Israel-Hamas war and root causes of conflict in the region." They include:

Palestine Education Resources:

2018 Texas Educational Standards

Click here to see how in 2018, The Texas Coalition for Human Rights worked to change the standards and related curriculum.