The school trustees\u2019 6-3 decision late Tuesday night came after Molinar laid out why Bluebonnet was the best choice for students and a debate among the board over religion.<\/p>\n
Trustees Wallace Bridges, Quinton Phillips and Camille Rodriguez voted against.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Phillips said he understood why the superintendent recommended Bluebonnet. However, he said he cannot force students to learn about a religion their families may or may not follow, even if it is approved by the state.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAll that is saying is state-sanctioned indoctrination,\u201d Phillips said.<\/p>\n
Trustee Michael Ryan said he attended Fort Worth schools that had students play Christian music. His friends who were Jewish talked to their parents about the music. That will happen again with the new lessons, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBe sure you talk to them. Be sure you set them on the way that you want your family\u2019s path to go,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
At 67,705 students, Fort Worth ISD is one of the largest districts to adopt the reading lessons. Conroe ISD, which has nearly 73,000 students, is the largest.<\/p>\n
District estimates show Bluebonnet will cost nearly $2.4 million; however, FWISD is expected to get about $4 million in funding for using the lessons. Districts that use it receive $60 per student enrolled.<\/p>\n
Effectively, the district is getting the lessons for free, Molinar said.<\/p>\n
Molinar characterized Bluebonnet as a one-stop shop for teachers. Lessons, which will start rolling out in classrooms in the last six weeks of the spring semester, touch on other subjects like history, science and literature. Lesson plans, calendars and support are baked in. Current reading lessons from Amplify require staff to create the content taking time away from focusing on students, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf there are resources that not only help my teachers, my parents and my students, then I need to take advantage of that,\u201d Molinar said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roughly 2% of lessons include biblical references<\/p>\n
Natalie Norton, a campus monitor at North Hi Mount Elementary and a FWISD mother, told trustees that adopting Bluebonnet would step on students\u2019 constitutional rights and be a direct violation of the First Amendment\u2019s prohibition of the government from favoring one religion.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur schools are a safe space for all students, not just one religion,\u201d Norton said.<\/p>\n
However, Texas already requires public schools to teach some religious literature<\/a>, including the Old Testament and New Testament, and their impact on history and other compositions.<\/p>\n Bluebonnet\u2019s reading lessons are a continuation of that, Keisha Russell, a senior counsel focusing on religious liberty and First Amendment rights at the First Liberty Institute, told the Fort Worth Report before the meeting.<\/p>\n The First Amendment allows instructional materials such as Bluebonnet Learning because students are learning about the nation\u2019s religious history, Russell said.<\/p>\n For example, Bluebonnet features a fifth-grade reading lesson centered on the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.\u2019s \u201cLetter from Birmingham Jail\u201d and how the Bible influenced the civil rights leader.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou just can\u2019t provide comprehensive answers without giving them a background in Christianity and showing them how Christianity has shaped American culture, for better or worse, in some people\u2019s opinion,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Roughly 2% of lessons include biblical references, according to a FWISD document. Teachers are directed to treat them similarly to any other literature, such as historical speeches and fictional or nonfictional texts, according to the district document.<\/p>\n During Tuesday\u2019s debate, trustee Tobi Jackson said she trusted Molinar\u2019s judgment on Bluebonnet because the superintendent has met the school board\u2019s charges of focusing on literacy, math and beginning to turn around Fort Worth ISD. The focus should be on the reading proficiency of students, not on a sliver of lessons, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause I\u2019m a numbers person, I want our kids reading at 100%. I want to see them go from being proficient in the third grade to being exceptional in the fourth and fifth grade,\u201d Jackson said.<\/p>\n Local vs. state control<\/p>\n The Rev. Mary Spradlin of Pastors for Texas Children and other speakers told trustees that adopting Bluebonnet appeared to be district leaders\u2019 way of placating Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath as he considers removing the superintendent and trustees.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you feel like you must adopt it to avoid a takeover, we\u2019ve already lost control,\u201d Spradlin said.<\/p>\n Reed Bilz, governance chair of the League of Women Voters of Tarrant County, said her organization opposed the adoption because doing so amounts to taking a bribe from the Texas Education Agency.<\/p>\n \u201cThe league opposes threats to basic constitutional rights,\u201d Bilz said.<\/p>\n In January, the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and other groups issued a letter to public school leaders<\/a> calling on them to refuse Bluebonnet because the lessons \u201camount to proselytizing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut when state officials use public schools to usurp parents\u2019 rights to teach about religion, it sows distrust in our schools and divides our communities,\u201d the letter reads.<\/p>\n Transparency for families<\/p>\n Trenace Dorsey-Hollins, executive director of parental advocacy nonprofit Parent Shield, said she understands some parents\u2019 concerns about religion, but Bluebonnet offers transparency for families.<\/p>\n Bluebonnet details for parents what content is in the lessons and how they can help their children engage with reading. Fort Worth ISD plans to translate the parent materials in the next five most-spoken languages after English and Spanish.<\/p>\n Parents who Dorsey-Hollins talks to demand one thing, she said: \u201cWe just want our kids to read.\u201d<\/p>\n Fort Worth ISD teachers already use Bluebonnet Learning for math and phonics<\/a> as part of an instruction shift<\/a> that Molinar said would give educators more time to focus on teaching than planning.<\/p>\n The State Board of Education approved Bluebonnet Learning in November after the Legislature called for it as a solution to boost lagging reading proficiency rates. However, the lessons quickly drew criticism over the inclusion of biblical stories<\/a>.<\/p>\n Republican Pat Hardy was on the State Board of Education and voted against Bluebonnet over what she saw as deficiencies in how it teaches reading. The former teacher supported the inclusion of biblical principles.<\/p>\n Her opinions on the lessons haven\u2019t changed, she told the Report before the FWISD board meeting. She expected Fort Worth school trustees to adopt Bluebonnet because of two factors: extra money and the potential takeover.<\/p>\n \u201cFort Worth ISD is in between a rock and a hard place,\u201d Hardy said. \u201cI empathize with them a great deal because they\u2019re in an impossible situation.\u201d<\/p>\n Jacob Sanchez is education editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at jacob.sanchez@fortworthreport.org<\/a> or @_jacob_sanchez<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n Fort Worth Report is certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative<\/a> for adhering to standards for ethical journalism.<\/p>\n Republish This Story<\/p>\n
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