AUSTIN – New curriculum standards for U.S. history and other social studies courses won tentative approval from the State Board of Education today, but not before a final skirmish over how to teach the Battle of the Alamo.

Board members approved the new standards 11-4 after three fractious days of debate that touched on civil rights, religion, politics, music and a host of other topics that will be covered in the new requirements for classroom instruction and textbooks.

Four of the five minority members on the board opposed the long list of standards, citing in particular the inadequate coverage of blacks and Hispanics in U.S. and Texas history.

All 10 Republicans and one Democrat, Rene Nunez of El Paso, voted in favor of the proposal.

"I cannot go back to my community and say I participated in perpetrating this fraud on the students of this state,” said board member Mavis Knight, D-Dallas, one of the four negative votes.

Knight charged that some board members – primarily social conservatives – “manipulated" the process to insert their own political and religious views into the document, “whether or not it was appropriate."

On the other side, board member Terri Leo, R-Spring, called the standards a “world class document" that will stand out across the nation.

She also took exception to complaints by minority members, saying the board “has included more minorities among the historical figures than ever before" in the standards.

Before the final vote, board members clashed over an amendment to include in the history standards a requirement that students learn about the Tejanos who died in the Battle of the Alamo.

"These people fought alongside Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie," said Mary Helen Berlanga, D-Corpus Christi. "They were there, yet we have ignored their names for a long time in our textbooks and schools.

"They deserve their place in history."

Pat Hardy, R-Fort Worth, questioned the need for the requirement, noting that no Hispanics were considered leaders at the Alamo.

"They were just among the other people who died at the Alamo. It would be awkward to say that teachers and students should identify people who died at the Alamo," she said.

That drew a quick retort from Berlanga: “What did James Bowie and Davy Crockett do that the Tejanos did not do?

"This is a disservice to the Hispanics who fought alongside the others at the Alamo, those who have long been recognized in our history."

In the end, Berlanga’s amendment was killed, and the board instead required students be taught “about the 189 heroes who gave their lives" in the famous battle.

Minority board members also attempted to add hip-hop music to a list of musical and cultural movements that have influenced U.S. history – but that motion failed by one vote.

Opponents cited the often graphic lyrics in hip-hop as making it inappropriate for Texas students.

A final public hearing and board vote on the social studies standards will occur in May.

Curriculum standards adopted by the board will remain in place for the next decade, dictating what is taught in all Texas schools and providing the basis for future textbooks and achievement tests.

Texas standards often wind up being taught in other states because national publishers tailor their materials to Texas, one of the biggest textbook purchasers in the nation.