The State Board of Education today took a step toward ensuring that public school students learn the full story of our nation’s history and all of the people who have contributed to it. The board decided not to create a special stand-alone course in Mexican-American Studies for Texas public schools, but board members did vote […]
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Texas Ed Board Begins Debate over Proposed Mexican-American Studies Course
The State Board of Education on Tuesday heard from several dozen supporters of a new elective course on Mexican-American Studies for Texas public schools. The board will begin a formal discussion of the proposal, as well as other possible new courses, today. A final vote on the issue is scheduled for Friday. The Texas Freedom […]
A Teachable Moment for the Texas State Board of Education
Four American presidents are coming to Austin this week for the Civil Rights Summit at the LBJ Presidential Library on the University of Texas campus. The event, which lasts from Tuesday to Thursday, celebrates the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This anniversary year is, as educators say, a […]
Hobby Lobby Hypocrisy and the War on Birth Control
When Hobby Lobby sued the Obama administration over the requirement that it provide coverage for birth control in its employees’ health insurance plans, the company and religious-right groups billed the lawsuit as a defense of religious freedom. But there are some big problems with that claim — not the least of which is the attempt […]
Texas RR Group Says 'Homosexual Advocates' Are 'Persecuting Christians'
As LGBT families gain marriage equality in state after state, the opposition is becoming increasingly desperate and vicious. Today, for example, a Texas religious-right group launched a new hate-filled and almost unhinged attack on supporters of marriage equality. In a fundraising email to far-right activists, Texas Values, the lobby arm of Plano-based Liberty Institute, claims […]