Jeff's Lunchbreak

I haven't written about the Texas School Board in a while, but it's time to, again. On November 22nd, the school board will have the final vote to adopt the currently proposed textbooks and other instructional materials. Now so far, things appear to be going the right way for our students' educations. Despite some school board members appointing creationists and other idealogues to the textbook review panels, and those idealogues making recommendtions against sound science, the publishers haven't made any changes undermining science education. There's still full support for evolution and climate change, the two big controversial points for the extremists.

If the final vote approves the recommended materials without any last minute shenanigans, then our students will at least have good science textbooks. But, given the school board's past behavior, it doesn't hurt to send the members a gentle reminder to vote properly. If you would like to send such a reminder to your representative, the links below provide you the means to do so (and please remember to be polite).

Links to Take Action:

• TFN Stand Up for Science Petition
• TFN Form Letter to SBOE Members
• Who Represents Me (figure out who your SBOE representative is)
• SBOE Officers, Committees, and Members (Find your rep and their contact info)

Links for More Information:

• TFN Stand Up for Science Overview
• PUBLISHERS RESIST PRESSURE TO UNDERMINE EVOLUTION COVERAGE IN PROPOSED TEXAS SCIENCE TEXTBOOKS: Changes Submitted to Texas Education Agency Show No Retreat on Evolution
• TEXAS REVIEWERS PRESSURE PUBLISHERS ON EVOLUTION, CLIMATE CHANGE: Documents Show State Reviewers Want Publishers to Add 'Creation Science,' Discredited Arguments to Textbooks Submitted for Adoption

Links to Past Entries on This Site Related to SBOE or TEA:

• CSCOPE Conspiracy?
• 2012 Texas SBOE Election Results
• 2012 Texas SBOE Elections
• Texas Primary Results for SBOE
• Texas Education - Follow Up to the Follow Up to the Science Instructional Materials Debate
• Follow Up to Texas Education in the Budget Crisis
• Texas Education - Follow Up to Science Instructional Materials Debate
• Texas Education - Science Instructional Materials Debate
• Texas Education in the Budget Crisis
• McLeroy Out
• Texas Board of Education in NY Times Magazine
(Social Studies standards)
• Texas Board of Education - Bad Results for Science Standards
• Strengths and Limitations (Science Standards)
• Creationists Still on Texas Board of Education
• Teach 'Both' Sides
• Texas Science Standards Review Panel
• Shenanigans in the Texas State Board of Education (English Language Arts and Reading curriculum standards)
• Texas Education Agency - Chris Comer