Texas slammed over proposal to call slavery 'INVOLUNTARY RELOCATION' in public schools
AUSTIN, TEXAS: Public schools in Texas would describe slavery to second graders as “involuntary relocation” under new social studies standards proposed to the Texas State Board of Education, but board members have asked them to reconsider the phrasing, according to the state board’s chair. “The board -- with unanimous consent -- directed the work group to revisit that specific language,” Keven Ellis, chair of the Texas State Board of Education said in a statement issued late Thursday, June 30. A group of nine educators, including a professor at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, advised the education board to make changes in the social sciences curriculum for second graders, as reported by The Texas Tribune.
The board is considering curriculum changes one year after Texas passed a law to eliminate topics from schools that make students “feel discomfort.” The suggested change surfaced late during its June 15 meeting that lasted more than 12 hours. Board member Aicha Davis, a Democrat who represents Dallas and Fort Worth, brought up concerns to the board saying that wording is not a “fair representation” of the slave trade. “For K-2, carefully examine the language used to describe events, specifically the term ‘involuntary relocation,’” the state board wrote in its guidance to the workgroup.
