You might think that all of the candidates seeking election to the body that oversees the public education system in Texas would actually support public education. But candidate answers in a religious-right group’s voter guide this month suggest you would be wrong. At least three Republican candidates — including one incumbent — in this year’s […]
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)
'Intelligent Design' Advocates Acknowledge the Truth: It Really Is About Religion
Have they finally stopped pretending otherwise? Leaders in the “intelligent design”/creationism movement are promoting a Texas conference next month that explicitly ties “intelligent design” to “essential Christian doctrines.” Supporters of “intelligent design” — or ID, the deceptive, pseudo-scientific “alternative” to evolutionary science — have long insisted that they aren’t promoting a religious concept like straight-up creationism. […]
Creationist Former SBOE Chair Endorses Challenger in Key Texas Ed Board Race
Don McLeroy, who infamously declared that “somebody’s gotta stand up to experts” in the debate over teaching evolution in public school science classrooms, has waded into a key Texas State Board of Election (SBOE) election contest. Eric Mahroum announced on Jan. 29 that the creationist former SBOE chair is backing his challenge to incumbent Pat Hardy […]
Challenger Outspending Far-Right Incumbent in Texas SBOE Primary Race
With just a month go before the March 4 primary elections, challenger Rita Ashley is outspending — by far — incumbent David Bradley in the Republican primary race for the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) District 7 seat in Southeast Texas. Ashley lost to Bradley in the 2012 GOP primary. She is a former […]
TFN's Cameo in Tuesday Night's Bill Nye-Ken Ham 'Debate'
We were pleased to hear the Texas Freedom Network come up in Tuesday night’s “debate” between science advocate Bill Nye and creationist Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis. Ham brings TFN into the discussion in the clip above, but the full debate video is here. Here’s what Ham had to say about TFN: “Kathy Miller […]
