More than two-thirds of Texans say their confidence in the state’s public schools ranges from shaky to nonexistent, according to the new University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll. A majority of Texans believe that crime, low academic standards, lack of parental involvement and not enough funding are “major” problems that public schools face — but two-thirds say “too much religion in the schools” is not a problem.
State Board of Education
Posted in
Health care
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Thevenot on the ideological backbiting at the internationally famous State Board of Education; Stiles, Narioka and Hamilton plumb employee salary data in Texas colleges and universities; Grissom looks at the problem of insufficient indigent defense; Cervantes on the push for “veterans courts” emphasizing treatment and counseling over punishment; Aguilar finds border congressmen asking the governor for a fair break on federal homeland security dollars; M. Smith on another BP rig in the Gulf; Ramshaw reports on nurse practitioners trying to get permission slips from doctors; Hu follows up with lawmakers poking at whistleblower allegations of trouble in the state’s workers’ compensation regulation; Hamilton stops in on Luke Hayes and his efforts to turn Texas into a political powerhouse for Obama; and Ramsey writes on generation changes at the Capitol and on political pranksters: The best of our best from May 17 to 21, 2010.
Posted in
Public Education
TribBlog: SBOE’s Last Laugh
You know that prayer that before today’s State Board of Education meeting, which some found so inappropriate? It was read by arch-conservative Cynthia Dunbar, R-Richmond — but not written by her. In a gag on her detractors, she lifted the text from U.S. Supreme Court Justice and liberal icon Earl Warren.
Posted in
Public Education
TribBlog: History Standards in the Books
After a series of bombastic speeches, the State Board of Education just approved the social studies curriculum on a party line vote of 9-5, with Geraldine Miller, R-Dallas, absent.
Posted in
Public Education
TribBlog: SBOE Pierces Church-State Wall
The State Board of Education instructs students to “contrast” the intent of the Founding Fathers with the modern legal interpretation of the separation of church and state.
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Public Education
TribBlog: Jefferson and the SBOE’s Enlightenment
At long last, Thomas Jefferson returns to the State Board of Education’s world history standards, where he had been excised to great controversy earlier.
Posted in
Public Education
TribBlog: Praying for Church and State [Updated]
In a morning prayer to open the State Board of Education meeting, social conservative member Cynthia Dunbar, R-Richmond, mixed worship with a constitutional argument against the separation of church and state — previewing the politically charged debate to come later today, as conservatives tackle their last big agenda item before approving the state social studies standards.
Posted in
Public Education
The Brief: May 21, 2010
The SBOE’s last day, Dallas could turn all “wet,” El Paso ranked one of the safest cities in the U.S. and the truth behind the BP oil spill.
Posted in
Public Education
Hussein in the Membrane
A member of the State Board of Education’s internationally notorious conservative wing trotted out Barack Obama’s middle name late in a marathon meeting Thursday, a fitting end to a debate over social studies curriculum standards that was marked by irritable outbursts and inane dialogue. Members fought over slavery, Jefferson Davis, Joseph McCarthy — even over when they could finally adjourn.
Posted in
State Government
The Brief: May 20, 2010
Calderon and Obama talk immigration and cartels, fun times with the SBOE, Bill White’s cheat sheet and the smoking ban that wasn’t in San Antonio.
