“I disagree with these experts. Somebody’s gotta stand up to experts that are… I don’t know why they’re doing it. They’re wonderful people.” During today’s Texas State Board of Education debate over new public school science standards, board chairman Don McLeroy defended a measure challenging evolution and the concept of common descent specifically. Here’s the […]
Textbook Censorship
The Texas State Board of Education decides what every student in Texas public schools will learn from kindergarten through high school. The board does so by adopting curriculum standards and textbooks for public schools in the state.
For decades, far-right politicians on the State Board of Education and their extremist allies have taken advantage of this flawed system to dismiss the advice of experts and scholars. They have instead worked to inject their personal views into textbooks on everything from evolution and climate change to the history of slavery, civil rights, and separation of church and state.
Resources
- Report Reveals Serious Flaws in Social Studies Textbooks
- The State Board of Education: Dragging Texas Schools into the Culture Wars (2008 report)
- Evolution, Creationism & Public Schools: Surveying Texas Scientists (2008 report)
- Culture Wars and the Classroom (2010 report)
- Senate Bill 6: Changes in the Textbook Adoption Process (2011 report)
- Texas Science Curriculum Standards: Challenges (2012 report)
- Science Textbook Review (2013 report)
- Social Studies Textbook Review (2014 report)
Science Takes Hit in Texas
The Texas Freedom Network has released the following statement on the final adoption of science curriculum standards by the State Board of Education today: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 27, 2009 TFN President Kathy Miller: Texas State Board of Education Adopts Flawed Science Standards The word “weaknesses” no longer appears in the science standards. But the document […]
Live Blogging the Final Science Vote in Texas II
11:10 – The board moves on to amendments at other grade levels. 11:14 – The amendment with “on all sides” applies to all science classes in third grade and up. 11:58 – Board members have moved off of evolution over the past hour, but we expect them to bring up amendments after an extended break. […]
Live Blogging the Final Science Vote in Texas
A link to the audio of today’s State Board of Education meeting is here. 9:00 – Today the Texas State Board of Education finally decides what the next generation of Texas students will learn about evolution in their public school science classrooms. The morning preliminaries are ceremonial, but we expect debate on the science curriculum […]
McLeroy Lets the Cat Out of the Bag
Watch this short clip of State Board of Education chairman Don McLeroy explaining the true motivation behind his two amendments to proposed Texas science standards dealing with common descent and natural selection: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKw-odMIKjU&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Etfn%2Eorg%2Fsite%2FPageServer&feature=player_embedded] We’ll say this for McLeroy – he’s not trying to hide his intent. The purpose of his amendments is to cause kids to question […]
