From the Texas Tribune: Several Texas Republicans against “critical race theory” advance in State Board of Education primary races

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Several Republican State Board of Education candidates who ran in opposition of so-called critical race theory in public schools advanced in Tuesday’s GOP primary election.

All 15 seats of the State Board of Education are up for grabs in November, and there were more than 50 candidates vying for their parties’ nominations. There were 31 Republicans and 25 Democrats on the ballot. Currently, the board is made up of nine Republicans and six Democrats.

Usually, voters pay little attention to races for the body that sets the state’s public school curriculum. But this year, how Texas schools operate has been a particularly hot topic. The pandemic’s impacts on school closings and mask mandates — as well as a new law restricting how students should learn about America’s history of racism — have made the state board races much more visible.

Because the state board is responsible for curriculum standards, the critical race dilemma may open the door for more censorship in schools even though Texas already has its so-called critical race theory law, said Chloe Latham Sikes, deputy director of policy at the Intercultural Development Research Association.

The law is vague, Sikes said, and leaves the door open for interpretation, so state board officials who are trying to oust such teaching from schools could potentially censor materials that are inclusive of people of color and the LGBTQ community.

This has already happened with book bans around the state, she said.

The general election will take place Nov. 8. Board members serve four-year terms and set policies and curriculum standards for more than 1,200 Texas school districts and nearly 5.5 million students.