The school district wanted students at selected schools to take Arabic language and culture classes as part of a federally funded grant. Parents say they were caught off-guard by the program and only just found out. Some parents had concerns over religion. “The school doesn’t teach Christianity, so I don’t want them teaching Islam,” said parent Baron Kane.
At issue is Mansfield Independent School District's decision to force students at a few of its schools to learn Arabic. It's not an elective; Arabic will be a required language. Parents are also upset at the way the district notified them of the new requirement. The Foreign Language Assistance Program (FLAP) grant was awarded to Mansfield ISD last summer by the U.S. Department of Education.