On April 30 we reported that Texas State Board of Education members were appointing a social studies “expert” panel that includes unqualified ideologues who argue that the Constitution doesn’t protect church-state separation and want U.S. laws and public policies to be based on the Bible. We’ve also seen signs that anti-Muslim bigotry could play a big role […]
Education
Texas has an increasingly diverse public education system with a public school enrollment of more than 5 million. Unfortunately, that public education system is also the target of right-wing extremists seeking to privatize our neighborhood public schools and push a culture-war agenda in the classroom.
To that end, Texas Freedom Network tirelessly fights for Texas public school students at the Capitol — opposing private school voucher legislation, sticking up for students’ freedoms, advocating for truthful, censorship-free lessons and textbooks, and more. We’ve also conducted groundbreaking research into what is taught in classrooms on subjects like sex education and religion.
Resources
- Teach the Truth: Texans United Against Censorship in Education
- Can This Class Be Saved? The ‘Hobby Lobby’ Public School Bible Curriculum (2014 report)
- Reading, Writing & Religion II (2013 report)
- Sex Education in Public Schools: Progress in the Lone Star State (2011 report)
- Just Say Don’t Know: Sex Education in Texas Public Schools (2009 report)
- The State Board of Education: Dragging Texas Schools into the Culture Wars (2008 report)
- Reading Writing & Religion: Teaching the Bible in Texas Public Schools (2006 report)
- Broken Promises II (2001 report)
- Broken Promises: Charter Schools in Texas (2000 report)
House Rejects SBOE Sunset Bill
Will Republican legislators ever find the courage to get off their knees when they get pressure from far-right groups? Not today, it seems. Just yesterday the Texas House approved on second reading House Bill 710, which would have made the Texas State Board of Education subject to periodic review by the Sunset Advisory Commission. That vote was 74-68. […]
House Gives First OK on SBOE Sunset Bill
CORRECTION: The House approval of HB 710 this evening was on second reading. The House must pass it on third reading, probably tomorrow, to send it to the Senate. Even so, tonight was a very important step forward. Edited post follows: Defying far-right pressure groups that flooded Capitol offices with misleading calls and e-mails, the […]
Free Market Foundation Gets It Wrong Again
UPDATE: As Lee notes in his comment below, the House didn’t get to HB 710 on Monday. It’s on the House supplemental calendar for today (Tuesday, May 5). Here’s another of the apparently countless reasons why one shouldn’t rely on the far-right Free Market Foundation Focus on the Family-Texas for information. Free Market says it is […]
The Right Is Riled Up about SBOE Bills
Far-right groups are blasting out e-mails calling on their foot soldiers to contact legisators in opposition to bills that would rein in the Texas State Board of Education’s authority. We wonder: why aren’t mainstream conservative groups coming out in opposition to common-sense legislation that puts management of the Permanent School Fund in the hands of real […]
