Texas parents should welcome a more conservative school board
Nine Texas board seats are on the Nov. 3 ballot as the board prepares to rewrite math standards and approve social studies textbooks.
Texas parents should welcome a more conservative State Board of Education. Will Hickman told The Texas Tribune, “If a board member is trying to score political points one way or the other, it kind of distracts from the work of the board.”1
In its Oct. 22 report, “Four key November races could push Texas education board further right,” The Texas Tribune warned that the board could move further right. According to the Texas Tribune, Republicans hold an 11-4 majority. The Texas Tribune reports that the 15-member board decides what Texas public schools must teach, approves learning materials, oversees the Permanent School Fund and decides which charter schools can operate. The board will next rewrite math standards and decide which social studies textbooks to approve.” The Texas Tribune reports that Republicans Will Hickman, Evelyn Brooks and Keven Ellis are not seeking reelection; the Tribune describes them as “consensus-minded.”
Parents need a voice in curriculum
Parents have heard what consensus costs from inside the board. Evelyn Brooks, a Frisco Republican on the board since 2023, told the Tribune that "some members focus more on fulfilling the desires of donors and political groups than on making decisions in the best interest of children1."
The consensus bloc has a record of its own. In a social studies debate, Hickman moved to strike the word "brutal" from the description of one military campaign, arguing that other wars were not described that way. The board rejected him 8–4. The Tribune names two other splits from conservative colleagues: one over learning materials that teach Bible stories and one over renewing a Native Studies course1. Families did not elect a Republican supermajority to watch it hand Democrats the swing votes.
Nelson and Bumgarner put parents first
Tiffany Nelson, the Republican running for Hickman's seat, served on the Conroe school board, where the Tribune reports she fought library materials she called inappropriate and opposed letting students use restrooms that do not match their sex1. Her campaign says she passed a policy against "Radical Gender Ideology," removed sexually explicit materials from libraries and classrooms, and led the charge to protect female students under Title IX. Her campaign also says she brought phonics-based reading and classical literature into Conroe classrooms and rejected the Texas Association of School Boards, the lobbying group it calls liberal and taxpayer-funded2.
Mindy Bumgarner is running in District 14. She wants schools to "keep education focused on reading, math, and real-life skills, and give families a voice in the process," and she backs school choice and public charter schools. Gov. Greg Abbott tops her list of endorsers3.
Kason Huddleston, another Republican nominee, said on a podcast that Islam, socialists and leftists "have weeded their way into the curriculum," and he urged voters to back the conservative ticket1.
Disagreement cannot replace parental accountability
Huddleston has named the problem: on the votes that mattered, a handful of Republicans sided with Democrats1. The Tribune describes the departing Republicans as “consensus-minded.”
Democrats have their own answer. Ericka Ledferd, a Democratic candidate, says the board needs people with an educational background "instead of ideologues who are acting on behalf of a party or a religion1." Is a mother who asks to read her child's curriculum an ideologue? The ideology that needs answering is the one that put those books on the shelves.
Vote for candidates who answer to parents
Parents should vote for candidates who respect their role in their children’s education. Ask every candidate on your ballot two questions: will you let parents see what their children are taught, and will you keep sexually explicit material out of Texas classrooms? Vote for the candidates who answer yes to both.
Sources
FAMILY BRIEF The news and network for the American family.
