North Texas ISD Clarifies Misunderstandings of Arabic Classes
A program to teach Arabic language and culture in the Mansfield ISD schools is on hold for now, and it may not happen at all.
The school district near Dallas was planning to use a federal grant to pay for classes in Arabic language and culture, but it wasn't announced publicly until this week's school board meeting.
It was widely reported that Arabic would be a required class at two Mansfield elementary schools, and an elective class at the middle and high school level.
This caused a storm of criticism from parents who accused the Mansfield school board of working secretly to apply for the grant and set up the program.
The Mansfield ISD has released a statement that defends teaching Arabic language and culture.
The statement says "some have raised questions and concerns about the district’s implementation of the grant. Therefore, Mansfield ISD is slowing the implementation process and will be seeking input from parents in a variety of ways."
It goes on to say that "Parents will have full access to the written curriculum and will have opportunities for input prior to the district moving forward with this program."
Here's a link to the full statement.
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