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Donna Bahorich, president of the Texas State Board of Education, said Monday in a statement that Texas wants to remove some of the program content required so that teachers can delve deeper into topics, instead of focusing on memorizing dates .
Officials said teachers can still talk about excised historical figures – but this will not be mandatory. There will be no new textbooks as part of the plan, so the "cut" numbers will remain on paper.
Bahorich said the board realizes that people will disagree on who is essential to include in the required program.
"Texas just has too many learning standards, which need to be taught and evaluated in state assessments, so that educators cover them in a year," she said.
The council made a preliminary decision Friday to "streamline" the curriculum for its 5.4 million students, based on the recommendations of volunteer working groups. It will take a final vote in November.
The working groups reviewed the historical figures and scored them on a points system, with factors including various perspectives, whether they were part of a decisive moment and the impact on or for under-represented groups.
Clinton scored a five; Keller, lawyer of the deaf and blind, a seven; and Goldwater, the 1964 Republican presidential candidate, received no points.
Evangelist Billy Graham scored 4 and an earlier task force recommended removing him from the program. But he was back in the final recommendation.
The preliminary vote prompted some criticism.
"If Helen Keller was an important historical figure when I was in school (and she was there), then she is still there today," said Friday. Texas State Representative Chris Turner. "@HillaryClinton is the first and only woman to run for president of a large party in the history of the United States.
What is perhaps the most famous monument in Texas has also been discussed. The school board rejected the advisory council's recommendation not to use the word "heroic" to describe the Alamo's defenders against the Mexican army in 1836. The board finally approved a new course of instruction. Mexican-American studies.
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