Despite complaints from anti-evolution activists, state-appointed citizen reviewers are now giving a top rating to most of the high school biology textbooks proposed for adoption in Texas this year — but the adoption of those textbooks still faces a big political obstacle at the State Board of Education. State reviewers in August gave a top […]
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)
Help Us Spread the Message: Stand Up for Science in Texas
Last week we brought you the good news that publishers are, thus far, refusing to cave to demands by anti-evolution activists and climate change deniers to water down the science in proposed textbooks for Texas public schools. Now that we have convinced publishers not to mess with science, we have to convince the State Board […]
More Than 6,000 Tell Publishers: 'Thank You for Standing Up for Science'
Last week we reported that publishers are resisting pressure to dumb down instruction on evolution in the new science textbooks they are proposing for Texas public schools. And we asked you to send publishers an email thanking them for standing up for science despite the efforts of anti-evolution activists on and off the State Board […]
Important News: Publishers Are Resisting Pressure to Dumb Down Their Biology Textbooks for Texas
We have now had our first look at changes publishers have submitted in response to objections — many of them attacks on evolution and climate change science — raised by official state review teams evaluating new science textbooks for Texas. And we have very encouraging news: All 14 publishers are refusing to water down or compromise instruction […]
TFN Is Featured in New Radio Documentary about the Public Education Culture Wars in Texas
Austin public radio station KUT is airing and streaming online a new documentary about the right’s long-running culture war over public education in Texas. “The Long Game: Texas’ Ongoing Battle for the Direction of the Classroom,” by award-winning producer Trey Kay, looks at the ongoing political witch hunt over CSCOPE as well as the divisive […]