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Katy ISD heard a presentation from a member of the State Board of Education on the Bluebonnet Curriculum last week. Now they're facing backlash due to some of the curriculum's religious references. Opponents of the curriculum have called it religious indoctrination and say it forces Christianity on students.
Katy ISD board of trustees member Morgan Calhoun says she doesn't buy that claim. She told KTRH, "I'm confused by it, because I have the curriculum sitting in front of me, and I have yet to find anything in there that does what is being claimed."
She says the curriculum was developed by numerous educators within the State Board of Education, and they are now offering it as just another option for ISDs to adopt. She went on to add that, "If someone can show me where in this curriculum there is anything that is what they're saying it is, I would love to see it. I just haven't seen it yet."
Rather than being the religious extremism that its opponents claim it is, Calhoun says Bluebonnet simply makes references to principles like the golden rule that many religions all share. She said, "Do unto others as you would have them do to you. I fail to see how that is something that you would not want to have your children learning."
She pointed to examples of violence at public schools, such as the recent tragic murder of Austin Metcalf at a track meet in Frisco, Texas, and the recent viral video of a school fight in Katy ISD. These incidents, she argued, demonstrate why students should be learning principles like the golden rule.
Calhoun also pointed to practical benefits of the curriculum, saying that it could not only save districts money but also protect teachers' planning time.