Constitutional Law

Fight the Texas Textbook Takeover!

By Suzanne Ito, ACLU

Last week, we told you about the Texas State Board of Education's (SBOE) plan to amend the state's social studies curriculum so it comports with the personal ideological and religious beliefs of some members of the board.

Because Texas purchases tens of millions of textbooks every year, it has a huge influence on the content of textbooks used all over the country. In fact, between 45 and 47 states use textbooks based on Texas' curriculum. So these board members' ideologically narrow view of the world won't just harm Texas public school kids, it has the potential to harm kids nationwide.

Among the actions taken by the SBOE:

• voted down an amendment that would have required students to examine why our Founding Fathers insisted on the separation of church and state,
• downplayed the role slavery played as a contributing factor to the cause of the Civil War
• emphasized the contributions of members of the Confederate States of America

A 30-day comment period is underway—and everyone in America is invited to give their input. First, take our quiz to learn how much you know about the Texas Textbook Takeover. Then click here to read more about the proposed changes, and send a comment to the SBOE to let them know what you think of this rewriting of history.

Full post as published by Blog of Rights on April 22, 2010 (boomark / email).