The board of trustees voted 5-2 in favor of ordering a sample of the curriculum for grades kindergarten through fifth grade at the March 24 board meeting. Trustees Shirley Rose-Gilliam and Angie Hanan voted against the decision to review the curriculum.
While many trustees acknowledged some community members’ concerns of curriculum’s quality—including what some advocacy organizations have deemed a "disparity" in religious references that favored Christianity—board President Kristin Tassin said it was the board’s responsibility to allow administration to manage the ongoing curriculum audit.
“[The administration is] not making a recommendation for us to adopt Bluebonnet, and we are not voting on that tonight,” Tassin said. “If we didn't [review the Bluebonnet curriculum], then [the administration] can't say that they looked at everything and that they're making an informed decision.”
The background
FBISD’s curriculum audit began in mid-March and is meant to address any gaps, particularly surrounding literacy, in the current academic curriculum, Jaretha Jordan, deputy superintendent of teaching and learning, said at the March 17 agenda review meeting.
However, some community members expressed concerns during the meeting that have been echoed across the state. Concerns included that other religions in the Fort Bend County community were not equally represented in the curriculum and the decision of other districts, including Spring Branch, Denton and Frisco ISDs to reject the curriculum.
Conroe ISD recently approved the curriculum for use in the 2025-26 school year, citing over $8 million in savings by 2029, Community Impact reported. Meanwhile, Lubbock ISD has seen standardized testing growth that coincides with adopting the curriculum in the 2021-22 school year.
One more thing
A survey of FBISD’s curriculum and instructional staff leadership showed no one had participated in the Texas Education Agency’s 2023 review process of the curriculum, Chief Academic Officer Adam Stephens said. However, district officials haven’t received confirmation if any teachers participated in the review process.
What’s next?
Reviewing the Bluebonnet curriculum materials will likely extend past the anticipated six weeks required to review the existing curriculum, because the curriculum samples still need to be delivered, Jordan said.
While there are no current plans to adopt the curriculum, Hanan mentioned that the curriculum would be evaluated against the standards outlined in the district’s 2023 curriculum management plan, which requires FBISD’s collaboration with teachers, parents and students to receive feedback on any proposed materials.
The district’s curriculum plan aligns with the state’s requirements to authorize any curriculum purchases through the board of trustees, Jordan said.
