(CNN) Texas students may no longer have to learn about Hillary Clinton, Barry Goldwater and Helen Keller in social studies class.

Texas wants to delete some content from the required curriculum so that teachers can take deeper dives into certain topics, rather than emphasizing such things as the memorization of dates, Donna Bahorich, chairperson of the Texas State Board of Education said in a statement Monday.

Officials said teachers can still talk about the excised historical figures -- but it will not be mandatory. There won't be new textbooks under the plan, so the "cut" figures will remain on paper.

Bahorich said that the board realizes people will disagree on who is essential to include in the required curriculum.

"Texas simply has too many learning standards, required to be taught and assessed on state assessments, for educators to cover in a year," she said.

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