Last week two Texas legislative committees on higher education took testimony on HB 3263 by state Rep. Mark Strama, D-Austin, and SB 1348 by state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio. The bills would created higher education review teams, made up of highly-qualified scholars from Texas universities who would review curriculum changes and advise […]
State Board of Education
Inventing ‘Facts’ Fails in Hearing on SBOE
When fanatics don’t have facts to back up their arguments, they invent them. We saw that during the Texas Senate Higher Education Committee’s hearing Wednesday on SB 1348. That bill and companion HB 3263 call for the appointment of teams of highly qualified scholars from Texas colleges and universities to review proposed public school curriculum […]
The Final 48 Hours
It’s astonishing how much mischief can be done in just 48 hours. Today Texas legislators have a chance to help put a stop to some of it, at least when it comes to the State Board of Education. More about that below. Teachers and scholars spent nearly a year — more than two years in […]
Did Slavery Cause the Civil War?
Who would even ask such a ridiculous question in the 21st century? Apparently lots of people. From a recent story in the Washington Post entitled “Five myths about why the South seceded”: One hundred fifty years after the Civil War began, we’re still fighting it — or at least fighting over its history. I’ve polled […]
Give Us ONE Good Reason
Why wouldn’t you want a state entity to operate more efficiently and transparently? That is a question that no one had a good answer for Tuesday evening as the House Committee on Public Education took up HB 862, legislation sponsored by state Rep. Diane Patrick, R-Arlington, that would place the Texas State Board of Education […]
