A growing chorus of complaints about Tennessee’s proposed new social studies standards has led a state panel to extend the period for receiving public input on the draft.
The state’s Standards Recommendation Committee voted Wednesday to lengthen the timeline for public comment from Oct. 28 to Dec. 15.
“… We want to be absolutely sure that all Tennesseans have had a chance to be heard,” said Jason Roach, chairman of the appointed 10-member panel, inviting the public to give feedback at the state’s online review site.
The new timeline comes after state leaders began receiving pushback about proposed changes designed to streamline the standards at the expense of numerous historical events and people. Gov. Bill Haslam expressed concern about taking too much history out of the K-12 teaching requirements, as have the legislature’s black caucus and state historian Carroll Van West.
Items moved to other grade levels or left out include major milestones in civil rights movements for minorities and women, the Cherokee origins of the state’s name, why Tennessee is known as the Volunteer State, and several Civil War battles fought in Tennessee. Several of those standards were moved to a new high school elective course in Tennessee history.
The winnowing of the standards was by and large a response to teachers’ concerns that the current set is cumbersome and overly prescriptive. Those standards are only two years old. But the State Board of Education hastened another revamp this year in the wake of concerns from parents and activists about how Islam is being taught to middle schoolers in world history.
An initial online public review was held last winter, generating comments from more than 1,400 reviewers, mainly teachers. This summer, a panel of teachers from across the state used the feedback to make revisions.
The Standards Recommendation Committee is appointed by the governor, lieutenant governor and speaker of the House and confirmed by the legislature as part of Tennessee’s process for reviewing academic standards. The panel will send its final draft to the State Board to vote on next April.
“The State Board of Education wants to make sure this is a very thoughtful and inclusive review process,” said Executive Director Sara Heyburn in a statement. “We have heard from many Tennesseans that there is real interest and commitment to ensuring the best possible standards for the students and teachers of our state. Therefore, it makes sense to slow down and extend the review period to ensure all voices are able to be heard and considered before anything goes to the State Board for their consideration.”
The new standards are to reach Tennessee classrooms in the 2019-20 school year.