A State Board of Education member is threatening to sue colleagues after tensions over how to teach history and Bible stories in public schools spilled over onto social media.
Democrat Marisa B. Pérez-Díaz sent cease-and-desist letters to GOP board members Julie Pickren and Brandon Hall last week after they called her a “Marxist” who does not view America as “exceptional” and blamed her for “gender confusion, parent’s rights being trampled on, indoctrination over education, and boys in girls sports & restrooms.”
The two Republicans’ statements “caused or may foreseeably cause substantial personal, professional, and reputational harm,” Pérez-Díaz’s letter states, noting that the posts could encourage harassment from others.
“Nevertheless, you have continued this conduct yourself in a way that is not only unprofessional and uncalled for but that appears intended to incite harm and violence,” her letter reads.
If the two fail to stop what she described as harassment, the San Antonio Democrat said she is prepared to pursue “all available legal remedies.”
Neither Pickren nor Hall has stopped their criticism. They described Pérez-Díaz’s claims as “meritless” and an attack on political speech.
“There’s a cost to serving in state office, and there’s a cost for serving children, unfortunately, now that it has become so polarizing,” Pickren said. “That goes with the territory. You have to have a thick skin to serve as a Texas elected official.”
Hall defended his actions, saying his North Texas constituents “elected me with more than 500,000 votes to fight the Marxist critical theory agenda shared by you and the Democrat Party, and I intend to continue doing so.”
The dispute between the members materialized as the majority-Republican State Board of Education rewrote Texas’ K-8 social studies lessons and passed a mandatory reading list for millions of public school children that includes Bible passages.
Conservative leaders and activists champion the new lessons, which they view as “the final battle” in a push to rid Texas schools of instruction they say paints America in a negative light and trains students to hate the country.
Democrats, teachers and historians point to the whitewashing of American history, an overemphasis on Christianity, and factual errors as reasons why the new lessons will fail the state’s students.
Democrats found allies among several of the 10 Republican board members in pushing for some changes they hoped would make the lessons more inclusive of people of color and non-Christians. However, the members farthest to the political right used social media to gather support for history and reading lessons that depict America and Christianity as exceptional compared to other countries and religions.
During the meetings, those members — including Pickren and Hall — voted against suggestions that sought to expand upon dark aspects of U.S. history, such as race-based slavery and segregation.
The adopted lessons mention such historical events, but critics argue that they lack the same depth given to America’s perceived bright spots. Meanwhile, Republicans like Pickren and Hall prioritized opposing the suggestions from Democrats seeking improvements.
Pérez-Díaz, who has served on the board since 2013, sent her letters to fellow board members on June 23.
Pickren’s lawyer — Republican state Rep. Briscoe Cain — wrote in a response letter to Pérez-Díaz, “Only a Marxist — or someone who thinks like one — would attempt to use lawfare to muzzle their political opponents.”
Pickren told The Texas Tribune it was never her intent to involve lawyers in a dispute involving another board member. “I was forced into this,” she added.
Hall called Pérez-Díaz’s accusations of bullying and harassment “ridiculous,” saying his criticism of her focused on why he disagrees with her perspective on how the state should teach social studies.
“There’s no validity to that whatsoever,” he said. “We should be professional, and we should be civil. But my voters also expect me politically to push back, and this back and forth between Marisa Pérez-Díaz and I has never — on my side — has never gone personal.”
Pérez-Díaz said she is used to civil disagreements with other members during her time on the board. But name-calling and social media bullying can lead to threats or worse, she said, tearing up.
“My tears are not tears of fear or hurt. They don’t do anything to me. It doesn’t hurt me. I don’t care. They’re not people who matter to me,” she added. “But what does matter to me? We can’t do the right thing by kids because our focus is not where it needs to be. And that’s what this was about. I knew a letter like that wasn’t gonna get anywhere with people who don’t care to learn or who don’t care to hear.”
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