As Texas education officials predicted when objecting to federal Race to the Top grant rules, the feds may now be moving to tie billions more in federal funds to the adoption of national curriculum standards, according to an Education Week report.

Forget about Don McLeroy vs. Thomas Ratliff. The most interesting fight for a State Board of Education seat may be in San Antonio, where well-funded lawyer-lobbyist Tim Tuggey is challenging incumbent Ken Mercer — and the big question being asked is, 'How conservative is conservative enough?'

The Obama administration — which is one of the ways Mark Sanford and Rick Perry are not alike.

State school leaders from across the West are complaining of too much federal intrusion into local curriculum decisions, along with inflexible rules – including that national standards be adopted “word for word.”

Teachers quit Texas charter schools at nearly three times the rate of traditional public school districts, according to state data. Dozens of individual schools lost well over half their teachers in the latest year.

The president announced he would ask Congress for an additional $1.35 billion for the Race to the Top education grant program — which Gov. Perry spurned last week — along with more flexibility in doling it out to individual districts. He also took a swipe at Texas.

When the State Board of Education finally got to amending the social studies curriculum, members burrowed deeply into the weeds, holding extended debates over the parsing of seemingly innocuous phrases, like "citizens" vs. "good citizens."

As the SBOE grinded through testimony on Wednesday over its controversial social studies standards, much of the debate teetered on two basic fulcrums: teaching vs. indoctrination and patriotism vs. realism.

Remember those kids who would do extra homework assignments — without turning them in? Apparently Gov. Rick Perry and Education Commissioner Robert Scott might have just such students.

"Not even Jesus could save everybody," one teacher laments.

Was America ordained by God to lead the world? Are our public school students taught enough about the African American and Hispanic experiences? Was Joseph McCarthy an American hero? The always controversial State Board of Education meets this week to take up such questions as it revises Texas' social studies standards.

The venerable D.C. magazine takes on the State Board of Education — and its former chair.

After much hand-wringing by public officials and business leaders over the dropout crisis, a patchwork of last-resort schools and programs has emerged statewide. Gauging their performance is tricky, but there's no question that the students they serve might otherwise be on the street or in jail.

When public schools fail, students are allowed to transfer to better campuses. But only a tiny fraction ever do.

Mindful of the down economy, more public school districts are paying their superintendents bonuses rather than giving them raises.

One education model — with unproven results — serves almost a third of pre-kindergarteners in Texas. Its grade? Incomplete.

The El Paso school board this week dumped a controversial policy requiring teachers to give automatic grades of 50 to students who didn't earn them. But teachers are still allowed to do so at their discretion.

The pro-charter National Center for Education Reform cites state's lack of financial support for facilities, a cap on the number of charters and a restrictive regulatory environment.