Houston-area school district receives angry calls over Trump-related assignment
(FOX 26) - A Houston-area school district received multiple angry phone calls, some of them said to be threatening, over an essay students were assigned to read and review that was apparently critical of President Donald Trump.
Texas Representative Briscoe Cain shared a picture of the assignment from a parent on Facebook with an essay titled, “Trump Against American Values”. Part of the passage reads, “From the beginning of his presidency, we have witnessed insensitive remarks toward other racial and cultural groups.”
One of the questions in the picture asks which conclusion the author of the passage would most likely agree with and the answer choice, “Donald Trump should not be president” is circled. Other answer choices included, “Americas future is in great danger”, “American leaders should promote equality”, and “Donald Trump will not be able to change”.
The district told FOX 26 that they received several phone calls, some of them threatening.
Goose Creek CISD says the passage was part of a practice lesson for the STAAR test that came from an outside source. The district says in a statement that the passage was “part of a series of 10 passages designed to help students practice inference and point of view, both of which are part of the STAAR test.”
The statement goes one to say, “Clearly the teacher did not use good judgment or did not review the materials that she received from an outside source thoroughly. The matter was addressed with the teacher and the materials will no longer be used. The matter has been settled at the campus level, as appropriate.”