Education

Is Odessa the Next Dover?

West Texas school board adopts controversial Bible curriculum denounced by legal and Biblical scholars

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 21, 2005

AUSTIN On the same day a federal judge ruled that the attempt by the Dover school board to inject their own religious faith into public school classrooms was unconstitutional, an Ector County school board decision may have repeated the same error.

The Ector County ISD was repeatedly warned by legal experts and Biblical scholars about flaws in the curriculum produced by the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools (NCBCPS). Despite those warnings, and over the objections of parents, clergy and local curriculum experts, the Board voted (4-2) last night to adopt the NCBCPS curriculum for use in Ector County schools beginning next fall.

“For those who don’t know how this story will end, the federal judge in the Dover case provided a preview, “said TFN President Kathy Miller. “The NCBCPS curriculum clearly promotes one religious viewpoint over all others. By adopting this curriculum, the Ector County school board decided it is their responsibility to interpret the Bible for kids, a role we believe is best left to parents and… Read More

Prepared by Dr. Mark Chancey, a religious studies professor at SMU, this report reveals that the country’s most aggressively marketed – and perhaps most widely used – Bible curriculum advocates a sectarian perspective and is taught with materials plagued by shoddy research, blatant factual errors and plagiarized sources.

Read the Report: The Bible and Public Schools: Report on the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools (PDF)… Read More

Texas Lawmakers Ponder the ‘Culture War’ at Sept. 30 Event Conference Explores the Role of ‘Moral Values’ in Contemporary Political Debate

September 28, 2005 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AUSTIN A bipartisan panel of current and former lawmakers will reflect on the nation’s raging “culture war” at an Austin conference this week sponsored by the Texas Faith Network.

The panel discussion which includes state Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio; state Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston; and former U.S. Rep. Max Sandlin, D-Marshall is part of a day-long exploration of the role of “moral values” in contemporary American politics.

The conference is 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Sept. 30, at the Palmer Events Center (900 Barton Springs Road) in Austin. It is part of a weekend of events marking the 10th anniversary of the Texas Freedom Network. The conference sponsor, the Texas Faith Network, is a project of the Texas Freedom Network Education Fund and includes more than 600 mainstream clergy from around the state. Other conference highlights include: Read More

Turning Public Schools into Sunday Schools TFN and Clergy Call on Education Officials to Warn Parents, Public Schools about Inappropriate Bible Curriculum August 1, 2005 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AUSTIN – The Texas Freedom Network and an interfaith group of clergy today called on education officials to alert parents and public schools about an error-filled, sectarian Bible curriculum being aggressively marketed across the country.

“This curriculum is simply an attempt to use public schools to interfere with the freedom of families to practice their own faiths and pass on their own religious values to their children,” said TFN President Kathy Miller. “The curriculum’s supporters are demonstrating a fundamental misunderstanding of what religious freedom really means.”… Read More

Read the Report (PDF)… Read More