In which we go to the standing-room only State Board of Education meeting and the many rallies for and against proposed history curriculum standards. The board (and the numerous stakeholders in this debate) argued all week long.
A Day at SBOE in 127 Seconds
Posted in
Energy
TribBlog: Room at the Top, and Then Some
Jan Newton — who chairs the board of directors at the state’s electric utility grid operator — is stepping down from that post, leaving the agency with interim officeholders and holes in key positions at the top of its organization chart.
Posted inState Government
Kirk Watson: Bill White’s A Nerd
State Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, sizes up the Democratic gubernatorial nominee at the TribLive event on Wednesday. Watch to see why Watson argues being a nerd is a good thing this election year.
Posted in
Demographics
TribBlog: Cattle, Catfish and Cartels
Nearly two months after border-area cattle inspection stations in Mexico ceased operations amid security concerns, the sites have reopened on the Texas side of the border. A popular South Texas lake, however, is now on the radar.
Posted in
Public Education
TribBlog: History Paige
Former U.S. Secretary of Education and Houston Superintendent Rod Paige this morning asked the State Board of Education to delay adopting its standards, saying they had “swung too far” to the ideological right and diminished the importance of civil rights and slavery. Asked if the board should delay a final vote expected Friday, he said, “Absolutely.”
Posted inState Government
Ads Infinitum: Perry Calls White “Tax Hiker”
Gov. Rick Perry’s campaign thinks there’s something funny about Bill White’s position on taxes.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Defenseless
Before adopting the Fair Defense Act in 2001, Texas was considered abysmal in legal circles when it came to providing representation for the poor. Proponents and critics of the current system agree the situation has improved since lawmakers started requiring counties to implement minimum representation standards. But has it improved enough?
Posted in
Public Education
Lame Ducks Unlimited
Four members of the State Board of Education who are exiting their seats in January are preparing to cast decisive votes this week on controversial curriculum revisions that will alter social studies textbooks for 4.7 million public school children in Texas. But, just maybe, not so fast: Two Republicans who’ll likely win election to the SBOE this fall, and a Democrat who is vying for another soon-to-be-vacated seat, said in interviews that they’d support reopening the standards process if consensus emerged on the newly constituted board.
