At a public hearing today, the State Board of Education’s social conservative bloc is expected to launch attacks on the church-state “wall” as part of hundreds of changes to the social studies curriculum standards, which could provide the outline for tests and textbooks years into the future. The board expects to take a final vote on the entire curriculum on Friday.
State Board of Education
Posted inState Government
The SBOE Gets an Earful
Members of the State Board of Education, meeting in Austin this week, are scheduled to take a final vote on new social studies curriculum standards that will remain in place for a decade. Outside the meeting room at the William B. Travis Building, there is no shortage of opinions about the board’s work. Nathan Bernier of KUT News reports.
Posted in
Public Education
HuTube: Inside the SBOE Hearing
The show outside this week’s State Board of Education meeting is almost as interesting as the show inside.
Posted inState Government
A Day at SBOE in 127 Seconds
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.
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 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.
Posted in
Public Education
TribBlog: The Church Board of Education
When they meet in Austin next week, social conservatives on the State Board of Education — some now lame ducks — may be going even further with amendments challenging the separation of church and state, entitlements such as Social Security and Medicare, landmark desegregation cases and the work of muckraking journalists such as Susan B. Anthony and W.E.B. Du Bois. Another amendment amplifies a long-running effort to resuscitate the reputation of communist-hunting Sen. Joseph McCarthy.
Posted inState Government
Minority Retort
The State Board of Education is set to take a final vote on controversial social studies standards next month — but not if members of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus and the Legislative Black Caucus can help it.
Posted in
Public Education
TribBlog: A Hearing on History Hearings
The Mexican American Legislative Caucus, the Senate Hispanic Caucus and the House Black Caucus are throwing a “special hearing” to stoke backlash to the State Board of Education’s recasting of American history.
Posted in
Public Education
TribBlog: Don McLeroy on Al Jazeera
From the Department of You Can’t Make This Stuff Up: The Arab world’s favorite news source takes on the State Board of Education.
