VICTORY: Christian Heritage and Alamo Remains in Texas Education Standards
Austin, TX– Tonight, the Texas State Board of Education took preliminary votes to restore key elements of history for social studies and history standards in Texas public schools. An unelected work group made numerous outrageous suggestions including removing “heroic” in reference to defenders of the Alamo, and removing all references to Judeo-Christian heritage and legal tradition. They further pushed for the full removal of Moses as a historical figure related to law and government.
These shocking changes to our religious heritage and the Alamo got the attention of Gov. Greg Abbott who tweeted his support for keeping the current teaching about the Alamo and Moses. Texas Values testified before the SBOE on Tuesday, in support of restoring religious heritage and the Alamo.
Gov. Abbott specifically said: “Eliminating Moses as one of our law-givers is contrary to factual history and to #SCOTUS precedent. I successfully defended the Ten Commandments on the Capitol Grounds arguing that they were formative to our laws. Moses & the Commandments are in the #SCOTUS Building.”
Jonathan Saenz, President of Texas Values said: “In Texas, you don’t mess with the Alamo and you don’t mess with our Christian heritage. We applaud the majority of the State Board of Education for doing the right thing by restoring our foundational rights and history. We are very thankful for the support of Gov. Greg Abbott. We look forward to these crucial teaching standards being included in the final version of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills Standards and we are prepared to fight to protect these standards all the way to the end.”
The State Board of Education has the power to accept or reject these recommendations and today they rejected the work group’s recommendations numerous times. They voted to restore elements including the word “heroic” when describing the defenders of the Alamo, William B. Travis’ letter, religion as one of the reasons the 13 Colonies were founded, a reference to the value of the Judeo-Christian legal tradition, Moses as one of the important law-givers related to America’s history, and specific language to teach the words of the First Amendment of the U. S. Constitution.
This is not the final vote as the SBOE meets again on Friday and they are certain to receive major pressure to change their votes. They have already been heavily pressured all week by liberal activists who don’t support facts and important principles of America’s religious heritage.
About Texas Values
Texas Values is the largest statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to standing for faith, family, and freedom in Texas. More information is available at txvalues.org