Round Rock ISD Caught Pushing Politics in the Classroom

A Central Texas school district is in hot water after its staff allegedly “creat[ed] a Mexican-American lesson plan teaching that immigration law amounts to the oppression of minorities.”

The shocking incident occurred at Round Rock ISD, a relatively large ISD north of Austin with a history of controversy, and was exposed by a watchdog group, Parents Defending Education (PDE), using the Public Information Act. As PDE notes about the divisive content:

Parents Defending Education recently obtained documents via public records request that detail the development of Round Rock Independent School District’s Mexican-American Studies curriculum. According to Round Rock ISD’s course catalog, the course, called “Advanced Ethnic Studies: Mexican American Studies” was offered as an elective to 9-12^th grade students throughout the district in the 2023-2024 school year. It is currently listed in the course catalog for the 2024-2025 school year as well. [emphasis mine]

A unit guide for a unit entitled “Systems of Power and Oppression: Mexican American Studies” says that one of the learning outcomes for students is “I can describe how significant events from 1975 to present have strengthened systems of oppression against Mexican Americans, such as the strengthened immigration laws that made immigration from Mexico harder.”

PDE’s investigation of Round Rock ISD’s curriculum raises several important questions, the most obvious of which is this: Is this an isolated incident or are Marxist-friendly lesson plans common in the district? This is a question that ought to haunt every liberty-minded parent in Round Rock and, hopefully, spur further inquiries into the district using the state’s transparency laws.

Another question that comes to mind is this: Why are government-run school districts, like Round Rock ISD, allowed to offer this type of instruction, especially when they are doing so poorly? Consider the district’s most recent STAAR test performance scores, which are available at TXschools.gov. What those scores suggest is that nearly 4 in 10 students today cannot read, write, and do math at grade level. With such lackluster outcomes, why is the district not dedicating every dollar, every staff member, every available resource toward improving their students’ grasp of the basics?

Source: TXschools.gov

Of course, even if 100% of the district’s student population were able to read, write, and do math at grade level, it would still be problematic to teach students that immigration laws are racist. This perspective is neither rooted in truth nor is it consonant with the Texas ethos. Furthermore, the classroom is not a place for politics, even if leftwing activists wish otherwise.

Parents Defending Education deserves a lot of kudos for exposing this indoctrination. Now, Round Rock ISD must fix this mistake and enact safeguards to make sure it doesn’t happen again.