SBOE balks at sex ed books
Changes sought for middle school texts
The Texas State Board of Education has signaled that it won’t endorse middle school health textbooks unless changes are made in how they address such topics as masturbation, abortion, gender identity and sexual orientation.
The Republican-led board’s debate over sex education comes as state GOP leaders put increasing pressure on public schools over books and images in libraries and classrooms that they deem inappropriate or pornographic.
“If I were to support, I wouldn’t get seated at a restaurant or get my cleaning picked up,” said Jay Johnson, a Republican from rural Gray County in the Texas Panhandle, as he voted against the textbooks. “I think, in my constituency, I will be a ‘no’ for this.”
The board will cast its final votes on the new health textbooks Friday, after the publishers have had a chance to revise them.
The culture war centered on gender issues and how sexuality is taught in schools has been fought each time the Board of Education sets new requirements for health studies, or reviews new textbooks.
But this time it comes as national conservative groups pledge to fight what they consider leftist indoctrination on campus. This year, parents have led grassroots campaigns to remove certain books from at least a halfdozen Texas school districts.
A Fort Worth lawmaker took it a step further by sending letters to nearly two dozen school districts with a list of 800 books, asking if they had any of them on their library shelves. Most of state Rep. Matt Krause’s list was made up of books written to teach children and teens about sexuality and LGBTQ issues.
Gov. Greg Abbott weighed in on Nov. 8, saying local school boards are to blame for inappropriate books and directing Texas education agencies to develop statewide standards for selecting them.
Those on the left call it a cynical effort to censor discussion of
issues relating to gender identity and sexual orientation.
Well over 100 members of the public spoke for or against the health textbooks on Tuesday.
Several middle school health textbooks were presented to the board for approval based on standards it set last year. They include requirements for students to learn about contraceptive methods, rather than just abstinence. The board did not include requirements for students to be taught about sexual orientation or gender identity.
But textbooks can go beyond the minimum standards, and the health books included information about human sexuality and reproduction.
“When you read the media reports, it kept on saying that we were adopting standards on sex education. And we were doing no such thing,” said Tom Maynard, a Republican, adding that instead the board adopted health standards and sex education is left up to local school districts. “What we’re getting in a lot of comments is the fact that there’s a lot of content in some of these texts ... that goes beyond what we adopted . ... That we intentionally left off because it’s intended to be handled separately from health education.”
Generally, the dozens who spoke against the textbooks were frustrated that the lessons for middle school students included information about consent, gender identity and sexual orientation, among other topics. Many in the public felt misled, noting that the board had made a concession in 2020 to move away from abstinence-only sex education, but now the textbooks were going even further by presenting issues of sexuality frankly to middle schoolers.
Those who supported the textbooks pointed out that the board’s decision to endorse the books does not require any schools to buy them. It is meant instead as a resource for schools that align with the curriculum standards, and because nonpartisan staff found that the proposed books covered all or almost all of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills standards, voting them down would be fruitless.
“This is an educational dumpster fire,” said Val Benavidez, president of the Texas Freedom Network, a watchdog group that monitors the education board. “Too many board members simply surrendered to extremists who see nothing but a conspiracy to sexualize students in a state where many of those students say they’re already having sex. Our youth, including those who identify as LGBTQ, need a truthand science-based education that helps them make healthy life decisions.”
There was concern among many on the board that failing to endorse any of the health textbooks would be confusing for educators around the state, leaving them unsure of what books are best.
“It feels like we’re about to leave a lot of districts in the dark with this, because I know a lot of them can’t afford to just go out and find their own material,” said Aicha Davis, a Democrat from Dallas.
“This is an educational dumpster fire.”
Val Benavidez, president of the Texas Freedom Network, a watchdog group that monitors the education board