CYPRESS, Texas — Earlier this week, the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District school board voted to remove controversial topics from textbooks.
On Monday night, board member Natalie Blasingame made the motion to remove chapters that reference climate change, vaccines, diversity and human growth. It was approved by all but one member.
The classes that will be impacted include biology, environmental science, earth systems, principals of education and training and health science theory.
John Ogletree served on the Cy-Fair ISD board for 18 years. He told us if he was still there, he would have voted against the motion.
"It is bad, is tragic but is something that we have come to expect from them," Ogletree said. "We're in an age where our district is more diverse than it's ever been. And to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion is really going against the grain."
Ogletree's children attended the district and now his grandkids do too. He’s worried about how this will impact their education.
"We need to be appalled at these actions and take decisive action," Ogletree told us.
Dr. Audrey Young, a Republican who represents a portion of Cy-Fair ISD on the State Board of Education, defended the move.
"The local school board spoke the voice of the community. It is the example of how school boards should be taking care of the curriculum that they send down to the children in their districts," Young said.
She said there's nothing wrong with choosing to remove some material from textbooks.
"They actually can purchase any curriculum they choose to purchase," Young said. "If they take from that list and they receive curriculum that they want to modify, then local school districts have that opportunity to do so as well."
Young said the decision won't impact what's being taught in the classroom.
"There's no reason to have all of the additional material in there if it's not directly related to what the State of Texas feels like the children should be learning," Young said.
Here's a list of the books and chapters they're asking to be removed:
Biology course textbook (Texas, Miller & Levine Experience Biology by Savvas Learning Company)
- Investigation 13: The challenge of diseases (includes discussion about vaccinations)
- Investigation 16: human impact on the biosphere
Environmental Science: Sustaining Your World, Texas Edition
- Chapters 5: Species Interactions, Ecological Succession, and Population Control
- Chapter 7: Saving Species & Ecosystem Services
Earth Systems, Texas Edition
- Chapters 2: Earth Systems & Cycles
- Chapter 6: Mineral & Energy Resources
- Chapter 21: Climate & Climate Change
Principles of Education & Training course – Teaching
- Chapter 7: School & Society
- Chapter 12: Teaching Diverse Learners
- Chapter 15: Technology for Instruction
- Chapter 18: The Challenges of Teaching
Health Science Theories textbook – DHO Health Science
- Chapter 8: Human Growth & Development
- Chapter 10: Cultural Diversity
A concerned parent reached out to KHOU 11 News about the content removal.
"Parents need to know why these chapters are being removed and we need to be assured that comparable materials will be in whatever resources replace these texts," the parent said in an email.
They went on to question the ability of the district to remove the material without TEA approval.
We reached out to CFISD but haven't heard back. We also contacted the board and were told only the president can comment.