We have seen over the past year more public interest in the State Board of Education than at any time since Texas Freedom Network’s founding in 1995. As the board has lurched from one “culture war” battle to another, more and more people have stepped forward to demand that the board stop putting politics ahead of the […]
State Board of Education
What’s Next for the State Board of Education?
With the Senate failing Thursday to confirm the appointment of Don McLeroy as chairman of the Texas State Board of Education, what happens next? Here’s what Article 4, Section 12, of the Texas Constitution says about gubernatorial appointments: (f) If an appointee is rejected, the office shall immediately become vacant, and the Governor shall, without delay, […]
SBOE Webcast Bill Signed into Law
Texas Gov. Rick Perry has signed the only State Board of Education bill to make it out of the Legislature this session. House Bill 772 by state Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, requires video and audio Webcasts of state board meetings. The bill takes effect in September of this year. It’s good that Texas voters will […]
Why Are GOP Leaders Blocking SBOE Reform?
A renewed effort by Texas legislators to put the State Board of Education under Sunset review fizzled this past weekend under pressure from Senate leaders. It appears that Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, had rounded up enough Democratic and Republican votes to add the requirement to House Bill 1959 (which deals with various other agencies under Sunset […]
SBOE vs. Texas Social Studies Teachers
Earlier this spring teachers serving as members of writing teams working on new social studies curriculum standards were blind-sided when someone leaked an unfinished, preliminary draft of their working document to the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF). At the public State Board of Education meeting in March, TPPF ripped into these writing teams, claiming that they had “removed or […]
