Last September, Arturo Rodriguez, president of the United Farmworkers of America (UFW), contacted my office regarding recommendations by board members of the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) to remove César Chávez from the fifth-grade textbooks.

In researching the issue, we discovered that not only was this a recommendation, the board was also in the process of eliminating important Mexican-Americans, African-Americans, Native Americans and women historical figures from being taught and included in Texas textbooks for the next decade.

After informing the UFW that the deletion had been recommended, the union issued a national alert that produced 12,000 letters in a two-week period in support of César Chávez.

Approximately 8,000 letters were presented to the board on Sept. 17, in opposition to Social Studies Expert Reviewers recommendations.

In addition, these reviewers recommended the exclusion of Justice Thurgood Marshall, even though he transformed our public education system after the historic 1954 U.S. high-court case outlawed racial desegregation in public schools.

At the November meeting, the board continued the whitewashing of American history. The Historical Figures in Social Studies TEKS draft proposal changes included César Chávez as "may be taught."

In further reviewing the document, the issue was no longer about the inclusion of Chávez, it was about ensuring the inclusion of a cross-section of historical figures and historical events.

The

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initial draft proposal included bizarre recommendations such as the deletion of Susan B. Anthony and Rosa Parks and the inclusion of Oprah Winfrey and Mary Kay Ash. Ann Richards was required to be taught in fourth grade; Hillary Clinton was not recommended.

High-school students are required to understand the effects of political scandal including the impeachment of Bill Clinton and Watergate but not required to review Richard Nixon.

LULAC is required to be taught in seventh grade, but the NAACP is not required to be taught at all. And the civil-rights movement was denoted as having "detrimental social consequences."

At subsequent meetings in January and March, the board took action. In March they shut the public comment period early, leaving dozens of people from across the state including GI Forum members, veterans, professors and LULAC leaders (who signed in at 9 or online) without the opportunity to comment because they were put at the end of the list.

The next day, board members stayed late offering and voting on amendments on individual historical figures, the conservative bloc controlling most of the votes.

Dolores Huerta was deleted from fourth grade; Juan Oñate was added. Fortunately, many more additions were made.

Last month, the Mexican American Legislative Caucus (MALC) held a public hearing with invited testimony from historians, Latino leaders, university history professors, and teacher associations. At the hearing, two colleagues from Houston asked if President Barack Obama was included in Texas textbooks.

The response: The draft proposal includes that the United States of America elected the first African-American President, but to date he is not named.

Finally, in reviewing the most recent draft, Texas Native American tribes to be taught include Apache, Karankawa, Caddo and Comanche Indians but to date, the three federally recognized tribes — Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo/Tigua Indians, Alabama-Coushatta and the Kickapoo — are not included in the recommendations.

The Mexican American Legislative Caucus will provide the Texas State Board of Education with suggestions for final amendments to be discussed and voted on Monday. Parents, educators and the community at large should voice their concerns.

The process is flawed. History is relevant, and we should care who writes it!

Norma Chávez represents District 76 in the Texas House of Representatives.