A Texas mom attracted attention at a school board meeting when she was asked to leave after making a rude gesture to a board member while expressing her disapproval of a plan to introduce Bible lessons in the classroom.
The incident took place at a public workshop held in Sugar Land, located near Houston, where parents voiced their strong objections to the proposed Bluebonnet curriculum. This curriculum aimed to integrate Bible references into reading classes, a decision that was met with resistance from some parents.
The curriculum, which includes teachings such as the ‘Golden Rule’ and other Biblical lessons, had been officially approved by the state’s Board of Education in November, setting the stage for the contentious debate at the local school board meeting.
Of the nine parents who signed up to speak at the meeting, all of whom shared concerns over the curriculum, one mother descended into a profanity-laced attack against a board member.
‘You can’t choose to elevate one religion over another, and that’s what this Bluebonnet curriculum does. It puts Christianity over anybody else,’ said the woman, who described herself as a lawyer, calling the proposal as ‘deeply anti-American.’
‘If you vote for this you have already failed your children,’ she added. ‘Stand up for the kids in this district that come from all religions, all walks of life, our diversity is our strength here.’
As she concluded her time, she turned toward one member while flipping the bird, saying, ‘ban this you fascist little b***.’
In response, the school board’s president announced that the women had to leave. She refused, and security was summoned to escort her out.
Other speakers at the workshop expressed similar concerns their opposition to the curriculum.
‘Let’s leave religion to families, let’s keep lessons of Christianity to Sunday Schools and private Christian schools,’ one speaker said.
‘We are living in a time when vouchers are presented as a parents’ right to choose, but parents’ rights to decide what religion their children are exposed to is being stripped away,’ another stated.
‘The curriculum is a blatant intrusion of religious dogma where it does not belong,’ a third said.
Schools have not been required to adopt the new curriculum, but those that do would receive a $60 per student incentive, KHOU reported.
Zeph Capo, president of the Texas American Federation of Teachers union, told Fox 7, said that the curriculum ‘does seem to potentially put us in conflict with our code of ethics.’
‘First and foremost, our teachers are going to push back, and they always have no matter where the curriculum comes from when they’re given information from the school district or the state that provides inaccurate information.’
Capo and other organizations argued that the religious aspects violate the separation of church and state.
‘We are opposed to the fact that there’s a bit – we’re a bit too preachy in this curriculum for out taste,’ he continued. ‘This is a public school, not Sunday school.’
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, however, defended the choice schools have in using the curriculum.
‘The passage of Bluebonnet Learning is a critical step forward to provide the best education in the nation,’ he said in a November statement.
‘These educational materials are voluntary and free for schools to use. We’ll ensure young Texans have access to high-quality curricula.’
The school board, which oversees 86 schools in the greater Houston area, has not decided whether it will be adopting the curriculum.
‘In order for the administration to even be able to review it, we have to say, “Yes, go ahead order a sample set.” That’s what we’re voting on,’ school board President Kritsin Tassin told the Houston Chronicle.
‘It doesn’t make us fascist, doesn’t make us Christian national, doesn’t make us any of these things.’
