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| Art by Deante’ Moore. |
Do read and learn about the context within which we seek support for this American Indian/Native Studies petition for Texas Public,
K-12 Schools.
This is part of the ongoing Ethnic Studies Movement in Texas. Please Sign and Share.
Angela Valenzuela
What happens in Texas public education impacts the rest of the United States because of the role the state plays in developing K-12 textbooks and instructional materials that get adopted in other parts of the US. Texas has also helped lead the nation in book-banning and censorship, all while severely under-funding public education. The state's hard turn toward academic censorship has now also impacted Ethnic Studies. Prior to 2024, Texas educators were well on their way to developing a complete roster of high school level Ethnic Studies courses, with record enrollment for the already adopted Mexican American and African American Studies courses. Since Governor Abbot appointed a new SBOE Chair in December of 2023, the process of Ethnic Studies course adoption has ground to a halt, with a ground-breaking course in American/Indian Studies being the first course to get side-lined in the process.
IMPORTANT UPDATE: SBOE Chair Kinsey did not add the AI/NS course to the June agenda. However, we still want him to add the course at the next available SBOE board meeting. Please sign this petition.
If you live in District 15, we encourage you to write and call Chair Kinsey. Check here to see if you live in Chair Kinsey's District, which includes cities such as Lubbock, Abilene, Odessa, Midland, and others.
How did we get here?
In 2018, the Texas State Board of Education called for the creation of four specific Ethnic Studies courses. "Native American Studies" was among them. In the summer of 2019, course developers began discussing the creation of Native Studies course at an Ethnic Studies regional gathering held at TCU. In the Spring of 2020, a committee of native community members and allies hosted a conversation hosted by Grand Prairie ISD to gather community feedback for a 10-12th grade course in American Indian/Native Studies. Grand Prairie ISD began piloting the course in 2021 and the Texas Education Agency approved the Innovative Course in the summer of 2023. The AI/NS course has now been piloted for three years and has been adopted in Robstown ISD, Crowley ISD, and is being considered by some other districts. SBOE board members and the public has had since June of 2023 to review the TEA-approved course and its recommended course materials. These materials are not part of the official TEKS adoption process.
The AI/NS course was slated to be heard for “First Reading” in January of 2024, but the item was mysteriously absent when the agenda was released on January 19. We learned later that new SBOE Board Chair, Aaron Kinsey, who was appointed by Governor Abbott in December of 2023, decided to pull the item to have more time to review the course. On February 2, Chair Kinsey stated that he would discuss the course with fellow SBOE members in February. During this time, more than 200 community members throughout Texas sent a total of more than 3 thousand emails to SBOE members, including Chair Kinsey, asking him to put the course back on the SBOE agenda for April of this year.
As the April SBOE meeting approached, there was very little indication that Chair Kinsey had used the extra time to discuss the course details with fellow board members, instead using that time to focus on the course's recommended course materials, which are not part of the official TEKS adoption process. By the end of March, he stated that the course had never been put on the April agenda and that the course was already available to students as an innovative course. Unfortunately, the current AI/NS Innovative course, expires after 2025 (confirmed on the TEA website), and there is no guarantee that the course will be renewed. If the SBOE does not review the course this year, Kinsey and the board will oversee the renewal process next year, but, if approved, this would only extend its innovative pilot status temporarily. This will create confusion and uncertainty for many districts in Texas. The course is running out of time. The course should be reviewed and adopted as soon as possible so that districts can have time to incorporate the course into their Fall 2025 calendars.
We continue to call on all Texas parents, educators, students, and community members to help get the American Indian/Native Studies course back on track for review and approval this year.
While we advocate for the TEKS-based course review process to be completed this year, districts can and should continue to offer the course in current and future academic years.
Districts do not have to wait for the Texas SBOE to approve the course in order to offer it.
Why should you support this course?
The Texas SBOE was one of the first state boards to adopt high-school level courses in Mexican American Studies in 2018 and an African American Studies course in 2020. Since the 2020-2021 school year, course enrollment has grown from 6,500 students for both classes combined to nearly 21,000 students in 2023 and 2024. MAS and AAS make up 25% of all Social Studies course electives. Both courses have been among the top 3 most popular Social Studies electives for the past 3 years with MAS being the most popular in recent years. Simply put, Texas students want Ethnic Studies in their schools.
A total of 74 tribal councils, organizations, churches, and elected officials have called on bringing the AI/NS Innovative course into the Social Studies TEKS by the end of 2024.
The following 20 tribal councils, departments, cultural organizations, and officials have reviewed the AI/NS Innovative course standards and endorsed the course as written. See the letters here.The Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas
The Citizen Potawatomi Nation
The Comanche Nation
The Society for Native Nations
American Indians at the Spanish Colonial Missions
The Indigenous Cultures Institute
The Institute of Texan Cultures
Indigenous Peoples Caucus of the Texas Democratic Party
TCU's Native and Indigenous Student Association
UNT’s Native American Student Association
UTA’s Native American Student Association
Texas Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry (TXUUJM)
Lubbock Compact Foundation
NAACP Lubbock Branch
Mexican American Studies at Texas Tech University
Southwestern University’s Education Department
TCU’s Department of Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies
Vikki Goodwin, Texas State Representative, District 47
Salman Bhojani, Texas State Representative , District 92
Perla Bojorquez, Democratic Nominee, Texas House of Representatives, District 93
James Talarico, Texas State Representative, District 50
An additional 60 organizations have called on the Texas SBOE to review and adopt the AI/NS course in 2024. The Dallas Morning News Editorial Board has also called for the course to move forward.
For more than 40 years, Texas educators, parents, community members, and students have been calling on the Texas SBOE to create Ethnic Studies courses. In fact, the Texas SBOE has approved courses in Ethnic Studies since the late 1960s, only to fail to give them the needed support. Today, Texas students have voted with their feet and shown that they want Ethnic Studies in their high schools.
By approving the first American Indian/Native Studies course in Texas history, the Texas SBOE has the chance to not only make Texas proud. It has the chance to make history by acting differently than their predecessors have acted in the past.
If you would like to support the AI/NS course, please sign the petition below and share this petition with your family, friends, co-workers, and most active listservs.Who should sign this petition?
Texas communities need your help! Anyone in the US can sign this petition. Anyone who care about making native knowledge accessible to students in schools should sign the petition, including native people and allies from outside the US. If you are a member of a tribal community in the US or anywhere in the world, please note that when you sign the petition.What if I live in Texas or if Chair Kinsey is my SBOE Rep?
If you live in District 15 (Midland, Lubbock, etc.), WE NEED YOUR HELP to call and email Chair Kinsey! Visit this website to check if Chair Kinsey is your SBOE member.
If you live in Texas, you can also write and call Chair Kinsey. As a Texas tax-payer, the matter of what is included in the SBOE agenda impacts all Texans, including you.
Use this call and email tool to call and email Chair Kinsey.
Can organizations, associations, or academic units do anything to help?
If you are a member of or a leader in a community organization, educational or scholarly association, or academic program, please consider signing onto this organizational sign on letter.
Can tribal councils, community groups, or other elected officials do anything to help?
Absolutely! If you are a member of a tribal council, a community group, or are an elected official, you can review the course and draft an individual endorsement letter. Please email ethnicstudiesnetworkoftexas@gmail.com so that we can provide you with some support.
Additional links and information:Public Testimony at the Texas SBOE and Press Conferences:Course Development Committee Testimony at the Committee of Instruction (August 31, 2023)
Course Testimony at “First Discussion” before the Texas SBOE (November 15, 2023)
Public Testimony at the SBOE General Meeting (February 2, 2024)
Public Testimony at the SBOE General Meeting (April 12, 2024)
Public Testimony at the SBOE General Meeting (June 28, 2024)
Community Press Conference at the Texas SBOE (June 28, 2024)
Media Coverage and Community Posts:“A Brief History of the AINS Course” by the Indigenous Institute of the Americas (January 2024)
“Vote on Native studies class for Texas Schools postponed” (January 23, 2024)
“Abbot Appointee Slams Brakes on American Indian/Native Studies Course” (January 30, 2024)
“Advocates call on Texas education officials to approve AI/NS course” (February 1, 2024)
“Texas State Board of Education delays Native American course approval” (February 6, 2024)
“Texas’ Native American studies program should move forward” (March 6, 2024)
"‘We’re still here’: Native Americans push for native studies elective in Texas" (March 27, 2024)
"Texas Native American studies course further delayed, triggering frustration" (April 1, 2024)
"State Board of Education again delays discussion on whether to approve new Native studies course" (April 1, 2024)
"Decision on Native Studies course in Texas delayed" (April 3, 2024)
"KUT Morning News Cast" (April 12, 2024)
"State Board of Education delays vote on Native American studies course" (April 15, 2024)
“#WeAreStillHere: A Multi-city Hybrid Press Conference - Live from Lubbock” (June 10, 2024)
“Advocates for Native American studies push for new elective in Texas schools” (June 10, 2024)
“Lubbock community leaders, tribal members urge inclusion of American Indian/Native Studies course on SBOE agenda” (June 10, 2024)
"Coalition petitions Texas’ education board to adopt American Indian/Native studies course" (June 28, 2024)
Local Implementation:
Local school districts and community members should know that the AI/NS Innovative course can be implemented at the district level in 2024-2025. This will help course creators renew the innovative course in 2025, should that be necessary, but in no way is innovative course status enough. The AI/NS course deserves a more stable place in the Social Studies TEKS-approved elective course roster. Either way, we encourage you to begin the process of local adoption now.
Contact information:
For questions about this petition or if you would like to write a letter of endorsement or support in other ways, please email the Ethnic Studies Network of Texas at ethnicstudiesnetworkoftexas@gmail.com.
Sponsored by Ethnic Studies Network of Texas
To: The Texas State Board of Education
From: [Your Name]
I stand in strong support of the American Indian/Native Studies innovative course as approved by the Texas Education Agency in the summer of 2023. I call on the Texas State Board of Education to place the AI/NS innovative course on the next available agenda so that it can be reviewed by SBOE members and adopted into the Social Studies TEKS by the end of 2024.
The AI/NS course is fair, rigorous, and balanced. The course standards are “high-quality” and are more than ready for the TEKS review process. The course is also “age-appropriate” as it would be available to students from 10th to 12th grade.
Native and Ethnic Studies communities in Texas strongly support the AI/NS innovative course as approved by the TEA in the summer of 2023. The course has gone through rigorous review and revision, including, two years under development at GPISD, a summer with the TEA’s own Social Studies TEKS Review Work Group E, two and a half years of a pilot at GPISD, and six months working with the TEA to arrive at the innovative course that is available for public view. In addition, Robstown ISD and Crowley ISD have adopted the innovative course, and Fort Worth ISD and several other districts are in the process of adopting the course as well. In August of 2023, the Curriculum of Instruction reviewed the course and voted to bring it to the full board for review. In November of 2023, then SBOE Board Chair Ellis expressed his intent to bring the course for review the following year without any objection.
The new SBOE Chair, Aaron Kinsey, appointed by Governor Abbott in December of 2023, did not bring the AI/NS course for review in January as expected. Instead, he asked for more time to review the course himself, a step that replicates the work already done by the Curriculum of Instruction in August of 2023. Additionally, SBOE reps have had since June of 2023 to review the course if they had any concerns.
The AI/NS course was not added to the April or June 2024 SBOE agenda. For this reason, we call for the following:
1) We call on SBOE Chair Kinsey to bring the AI/NS innovative course for “First Reading” at the next available SBOE board meeting. The course is fair, balanced, and of "high quality." It is ready to review.
2) We call on SBOE board members to engage in a good faith review of the course that honors the field and tradition of American Indian/Native Studies and engages with Native scholars and knowledge-keepers. AI/NS scholars, educators, and community members stand at the ready to help address any concerns that may arise during the review process. For this to be possible, however, the course has to be brought to “First Reading.”
3) We call on the Texas SBOE to work together to complete the review and adoption process in time for the course to be added to the Social Studies TEKS-based catalogue by the end of 2024.
The Texas State Board of Education has a history of leadership when it comes to Ethnic Studies. The Texas SBOE made Texas the first state in the nation to adopt a secondary level Mexican American Studies (MAS) course in 2018 and, in 2020, unanimously approved an African American Studies (AAS) course. Since then, course enrollment for MAS and AAS grew to nearly 6,500 students during the 2020-2021 school year. Just two years later, and despite going through a major pandemic, Ethnic Studies course enrollment is up nearly 300%, with close to 18,000 students enrolled in a TEKS-based MAS or AAS course during the 2022-2023 school year (Source: TEA).
Simply put, Texas students want Ethnic Studies in their schools.
Students take and complete these courses for good reason. Academic and empirical studies have shown that Ethnic Studies courses can improve school attendance, raise academic interest, and elevate academic achievement across multiple subject areas (Cabrera et tal 2012; Penner and Dee 2017).
Thousands of hours of volunteer and TEA staff time have gone into developing the AI/NS innovative course. More than 1000 Texans want this course to be available to their students.
Let’s make Texas proud. Let’s honor our history. Let’s honor the history of American Indian and Native people in Texas. Let’s make American Indian/Native Studies available to all Texas high school students who would like the opportunity to take the course.
Sincerely,By signing this petition, you are agreeing to be added to the ESNTX email supporter list so that you can receive further information about this campaign and future matters related to Ethnic Studies in Texas. Once subscribed, you can edit your preferences.
IMPORTANT UPDATE: SBOE Chair Kinsey did not add the AI/NS course to the June agenda. However, we still want him to add the course at the next available SBOE board meeting. Please sign this petition.
If you live in District 15, we encourage you to write and call Chair Kinsey. Check here to see if you live in Chair Kinsey's District, which includes cities such as Lubbock, Abilene, Odessa, Midland, and others.
How did we get here?
In 2018, the Texas State Board of Education called for the creation of four specific Ethnic Studies courses. "Native American Studies" was among them. In the summer of 2019, course developers began discussing the creation of Native Studies course at an Ethnic Studies regional gathering held at TCU. In the Spring of 2020, a committee of native community members and allies hosted a conversation hosted by Grand Prairie ISD to gather community feedback for a 10-12th grade course in American Indian/Native Studies. Grand Prairie ISD began piloting the course in 2021 and the Texas Education Agency approved the Innovative Course in the summer of 2023. The AI/NS course has now been piloted for three years and has been adopted in Robstown ISD, Crowley ISD, and is being considered by some other districts. SBOE board members and the public has had since June of 2023 to review the TEA-approved course and its recommended course materials. These materials are not part of the official TEKS adoption process.
The AI/NS course was slated to be heard for “First Reading” in January of 2024, but the item was mysteriously absent when the agenda was released on January 19. We learned later that new SBOE Board Chair, Aaron Kinsey, who was appointed by Governor Abbott in December of 2023, decided to pull the item to have more time to review the course. On February 2, Chair Kinsey stated that he would discuss the course with fellow SBOE members in February. During this time, more than 200 community members throughout Texas sent a total of more than 3 thousand emails to SBOE members, including Chair Kinsey, asking him to put the course back on the SBOE agenda for April of this year.
As the April SBOE meeting approached, there was very little indication that Chair Kinsey had used the extra time to discuss the course details with fellow board members, instead using that time to focus on the course's recommended course materials, which are not part of the official TEKS adoption process. By the end of March, he stated that the course had never been put on the April agenda and that the course was already available to students as an innovative course. Unfortunately, the current AI/NS Innovative course, expires after 2025 (confirmed on the TEA website), and there is no guarantee that the course will be renewed. If the SBOE does not review the course this year, Kinsey and the board will oversee the renewal process next year, but, if approved, this would only extend its innovative pilot status temporarily. This will create confusion and uncertainty for many districts in Texas. The course is running out of time. The course should be reviewed and adopted as soon as possible so that districts can have time to incorporate the course into their Fall 2025 calendars.
We continue to call on all Texas parents, educators, students, and community members to help get the American Indian/Native Studies course back on track for review and approval this year.
While we advocate for the TEKS-based course review process to be completed this year, districts can and should continue to offer the course in current and future academic years.
Districts do not have to wait for the Texas SBOE to approve the course in order to offer it.
Why should you support this course?
The Texas SBOE was one of the first state boards to adopt high-school level courses in Mexican American Studies in 2018 and an African American Studies course in 2020. Since the 2020-2021 school year, course enrollment has grown from 6,500 students for both classes combined to nearly 21,000 students in 2023 and 2024. MAS and AAS make up 25% of all Social Studies course electives. Both courses have been among the top 3 most popular Social Studies electives for the past 3 years with MAS being the most popular in recent years. Simply put, Texas students want Ethnic Studies in their schools.
A total of 74 tribal councils, organizations, churches, and elected officials have called on bringing the AI/NS Innovative course into the Social Studies TEKS by the end of 2024.
The following 20 tribal councils, departments, cultural organizations, and officials have reviewed the AI/NS Innovative course standards and endorsed the course as written. See the letters here.The Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas
The Citizen Potawatomi Nation
The Comanche Nation
The Society for Native Nations
American Indians at the Spanish Colonial Missions
The Indigenous Cultures Institute
The Institute of Texan Cultures
Indigenous Peoples Caucus of the Texas Democratic Party
TCU's Native and Indigenous Student Association
UNT’s Native American Student Association
UTA’s Native American Student Association
Texas Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry (TXUUJM)
Lubbock Compact Foundation
NAACP Lubbock Branch
Mexican American Studies at Texas Tech University
Southwestern University’s Education Department
TCU’s Department of Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies
Vikki Goodwin, Texas State Representative, District 47
Salman Bhojani, Texas State Representative , District 92
Perla Bojorquez, Democratic Nominee, Texas House of Representatives, District 93
James Talarico, Texas State Representative, District 50
An additional 60 organizations have called on the Texas SBOE to review and adopt the AI/NS course in 2024. The Dallas Morning News Editorial Board has also called for the course to move forward.
For more than 40 years, Texas educators, parents, community members, and students have been calling on the Texas SBOE to create Ethnic Studies courses. In fact, the Texas SBOE has approved courses in Ethnic Studies since the late 1960s, only to fail to give them the needed support. Today, Texas students have voted with their feet and shown that they want Ethnic Studies in their high schools.
By approving the first American Indian/Native Studies course in Texas history, the Texas SBOE has the chance to not only make Texas proud. It has the chance to make history by acting differently than their predecessors have acted in the past.
If you would like to support the AI/NS course, please sign the petition below and share this petition with your family, friends, co-workers, and most active listservs.Who should sign this petition?
Texas communities need your help! Anyone in the US can sign this petition. Anyone who care about making native knowledge accessible to students in schools should sign the petition, including native people and allies from outside the US. If you are a member of a tribal community in the US or anywhere in the world, please note that when you sign the petition.What if I live in Texas or if Chair Kinsey is my SBOE Rep?
If you live in District 15 (Midland, Lubbock, etc.), WE NEED YOUR HELP to call and email Chair Kinsey! Visit this website to check if Chair Kinsey is your SBOE member.
If you live in Texas, you can also write and call Chair Kinsey. As a Texas tax-payer, the matter of what is included in the SBOE agenda impacts all Texans, including you.
Use this call and email tool to call and email Chair Kinsey.
Can organizations, associations, or academic units do anything to help?
If you are a member of or a leader in a community organization, educational or scholarly association, or academic program, please consider signing onto this organizational sign on letter.
Can tribal councils, community groups, or other elected officials do anything to help?
Absolutely! If you are a member of a tribal council, a community group, or are an elected official, you can review the course and draft an individual endorsement letter. Please email ethnicstudiesnetworkoftexas@gmail.com so that we can provide you with some support.
Additional links and information:Public Testimony at the Texas SBOE and Press Conferences:Course Development Committee Testimony at the Committee of Instruction (August 31, 2023)
Course Testimony at “First Discussion” before the Texas SBOE (November 15, 2023)
Public Testimony at the SBOE General Meeting (February 2, 2024)
Public Testimony at the SBOE General Meeting (April 12, 2024)
Public Testimony at the SBOE General Meeting (June 28, 2024)
Community Press Conference at the Texas SBOE (June 28, 2024)
Media Coverage and Community Posts:“A Brief History of the AINS Course” by the Indigenous Institute of the Americas (January 2024)
“Vote on Native studies class for Texas Schools postponed” (January 23, 2024)
“Abbot Appointee Slams Brakes on American Indian/Native Studies Course” (January 30, 2024)
“Advocates call on Texas education officials to approve AI/NS course” (February 1, 2024)
“Texas State Board of Education delays Native American course approval” (February 6, 2024)
“Texas’ Native American studies program should move forward” (March 6, 2024)
"‘We’re still here’: Native Americans push for native studies elective in Texas" (March 27, 2024)
"Texas Native American studies course further delayed, triggering frustration" (April 1, 2024)
"State Board of Education again delays discussion on whether to approve new Native studies course" (April 1, 2024)
"Decision on Native Studies course in Texas delayed" (April 3, 2024)
"KUT Morning News Cast" (April 12, 2024)
"State Board of Education delays vote on Native American studies course" (April 15, 2024)
“#WeAreStillHere: A Multi-city Hybrid Press Conference - Live from Lubbock” (June 10, 2024)
“Advocates for Native American studies push for new elective in Texas schools” (June 10, 2024)
“Lubbock community leaders, tribal members urge inclusion of American Indian/Native Studies course on SBOE agenda” (June 10, 2024)
"Coalition petitions Texas’ education board to adopt American Indian/Native studies course" (June 28, 2024)
Local Implementation:
Local school districts and community members should know that the AI/NS Innovative course can be implemented at the district level in 2024-2025. This will help course creators renew the innovative course in 2025, should that be necessary, but in no way is innovative course status enough. The AI/NS course deserves a more stable place in the Social Studies TEKS-approved elective course roster. Either way, we encourage you to begin the process of local adoption now.
Contact information:
For questions about this petition or if you would like to write a letter of endorsement or support in other ways, please email the Ethnic Studies Network of Texas at ethnicstudiesnetworkoftexas@gmail.com.
Sponsored by Ethnic Studies Network of Texas
To: The Texas State Board of Education
From: [Your Name]
I stand in strong support of the American Indian/Native Studies innovative course as approved by the Texas Education Agency in the summer of 2023. I call on the Texas State Board of Education to place the AI/NS innovative course on the next available agenda so that it can be reviewed by SBOE members and adopted into the Social Studies TEKS by the end of 2024.
The AI/NS course is fair, rigorous, and balanced. The course standards are “high-quality” and are more than ready for the TEKS review process. The course is also “age-appropriate” as it would be available to students from 10th to 12th grade.
Native and Ethnic Studies communities in Texas strongly support the AI/NS innovative course as approved by the TEA in the summer of 2023. The course has gone through rigorous review and revision, including, two years under development at GPISD, a summer with the TEA’s own Social Studies TEKS Review Work Group E, two and a half years of a pilot at GPISD, and six months working with the TEA to arrive at the innovative course that is available for public view. In addition, Robstown ISD and Crowley ISD have adopted the innovative course, and Fort Worth ISD and several other districts are in the process of adopting the course as well. In August of 2023, the Curriculum of Instruction reviewed the course and voted to bring it to the full board for review. In November of 2023, then SBOE Board Chair Ellis expressed his intent to bring the course for review the following year without any objection.
The new SBOE Chair, Aaron Kinsey, appointed by Governor Abbott in December of 2023, did not bring the AI/NS course for review in January as expected. Instead, he asked for more time to review the course himself, a step that replicates the work already done by the Curriculum of Instruction in August of 2023. Additionally, SBOE reps have had since June of 2023 to review the course if they had any concerns.
The AI/NS course was not added to the April or June 2024 SBOE agenda. For this reason, we call for the following:
1) We call on SBOE Chair Kinsey to bring the AI/NS innovative course for “First Reading” at the next available SBOE board meeting. The course is fair, balanced, and of "high quality." It is ready to review.
2) We call on SBOE board members to engage in a good faith review of the course that honors the field and tradition of American Indian/Native Studies and engages with Native scholars and knowledge-keepers. AI/NS scholars, educators, and community members stand at the ready to help address any concerns that may arise during the review process. For this to be possible, however, the course has to be brought to “First Reading.”
3) We call on the Texas SBOE to work together to complete the review and adoption process in time for the course to be added to the Social Studies TEKS-based catalogue by the end of 2024.
The Texas State Board of Education has a history of leadership when it comes to Ethnic Studies. The Texas SBOE made Texas the first state in the nation to adopt a secondary level Mexican American Studies (MAS) course in 2018 and, in 2020, unanimously approved an African American Studies (AAS) course. Since then, course enrollment for MAS and AAS grew to nearly 6,500 students during the 2020-2021 school year. Just two years later, and despite going through a major pandemic, Ethnic Studies course enrollment is up nearly 300%, with close to 18,000 students enrolled in a TEKS-based MAS or AAS course during the 2022-2023 school year (Source: TEA).
Simply put, Texas students want Ethnic Studies in their schools.
Students take and complete these courses for good reason. Academic and empirical studies have shown that Ethnic Studies courses can improve school attendance, raise academic interest, and elevate academic achievement across multiple subject areas (Cabrera et tal 2012; Penner and Dee 2017).
Thousands of hours of volunteer and TEA staff time have gone into developing the AI/NS innovative course. More than 1000 Texans want this course to be available to their students.
Let’s make Texas proud. Let’s honor our history. Let’s honor the history of American Indian and Native people in Texas. Let’s make American Indian/Native Studies available to all Texas high school students who would like the opportunity to take the course.
Sincerely,By signing this petition, you are agreeing to be added to the ESNTX email supporter list so that you can receive further information about this campaign and future matters related to Ethnic Studies in Texas. Once subscribed, you can edit your preferences.
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