concerned that it would further blur the line between church and state.
The material proposes new standards for elementary school reading and language arts – infusing more religious, mainly Christian, beliefs and teachings into the courses. Bell-Metereau and the rest of the SBOE will vote to approve or reject the TEA materials this summer. Right now, they are going through the process of suggesting changes and revisions."It's against our Constitution. We have separation of church and state for a reason," she said. "If they want to include religious materials, they need to offer a variety and certainly represent the world religions.
"I'm really concerned that our school curriculum and our students are being drawn into a fight that the state is setting up to challenge the separation of church and state," Capo said. "I have some doubts as to whether this is about children, whether this is about the best interest of our learning in our curriculum, or if this is just another political ploy by a state bent on potentially challenging the separation.