The House of Representatives chamber of the Kansas Statehouse is pictured July 23, 2014 in Topeka.

Topeka ? Kansas House members rejected a bill Monday to create an ethnic studies curriculum for grades 7-12, after having given it initial approval.

The measure called for the state to develop curriculum and materials to teach about the experiences of African, Asian, Latino and Native Americans and would have been optional for districts. It was part of a larger bill that would mandate teaching financial literacy in public schools. Legislators ultimately voted 43-81 against the bill.

Rep. John Alcala, a Democrat from Topeka who is Mexican-American, said he had proposed the measure after noticing that the state’s social studies curriculum lacked diversity. Alcala told legislators that an ethnic studies program offers students “the tools they need to become academically successful, socially conscious and good citizens of the United States.”

He referenced a Stanford study released last month that found high school ethnic studies courses improved students’ attendance and grade point average.

Several proponents spoke about the measure, including Shawnee Republican Rep. John Rubin, who said the amendment hit close to home because he has African-American grandchildren.

“They don’t live in Kansas, but if they did I would want them to have an opportunity to know about their history,” Rubin said.

Critics said the bill was too far-reaching and it should be discussed separately from the financial literacy bill.

Republican Rep. Don Hineman of Dighton opposed the bill. “It usurps the authority of the state board of education, which is constitutionally authorized and its members are duly elected by the people of Kansas,” Hineman told the Associated Press after the debate. “Instead, we should let them do their jobs.”

Another House bill that would encourage the teaching of ethnic studies is scheduled to be debated on Tuesday.