Lawsuit brewing against Texas history standards

[marmar]

AUSTIN — The Texas social studies curriculum standards adopted along party lines by the State Board of Education last week are “illegitimate,” some board members say, and Democrats in the Legislature are contemplating legal action to try to kill the measure.

Bitter debate has continued after a yearlong process that generated more than 40,000 public comments and a document cheered by supporters for its underscoring of traditional history and the free enterprise system — and scorned by detractors, especially minority groups, as a distortion of reality.Opponents see an opening for a lawsuit in a Texas Education Code clause requiring the state board to develop curriculum standards “with the direct participation of educators, parents, and business and industry representatives.” The board considered hundreds of amendments after its appointed experts made their recommendations, and many more after the public weighed in on a draft of the document.

“When you do that, you are not working directly in conjunction with the community. You are working in opposition to the community,” said Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio. “This is specific and contrary to state law.”

Without changes, local school districts may have to develop their own curricula, said board member Rick Agosto, D-San Antonio, though even some of his allies on the board said that idea wouldn't fly. ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/lawsuit_brewing_against_history_standards_95145404.html

[Dr Morbius]

1. I've got a problem with states trying to micromanage education in the first place.

I hope the Texas legislature acts to modify the curriculum standards. I hope it isn't necessary to take this to the courts, the I would imagine largely very right-wing Texas courts.

This Patricia Hardy character is really something to. She claims the war was over "states rights" - can you believe that 150 years later they are clinging to the same lie?

[Bitwit1234]

2. Since they sell their books to other states can't those states

help Texass lawmakers who want to set these books to reflect the correct history. I would think so. California has already banned the buying of these text books.

[Lint Head]

3. As long as Texas harbors a torturing war criminal like GWB I have

no use for them.

[yowzayowzayowza]

8. This life-long Texas liberal thanks you for your support.

:hi:

Drive Texas Friendly!!!

[KittyWampus]

4. can we all agree in this context, standards should be in quotation marks?

[LiberalFighter]

5. Any standards decided should be made by those competent in the field.

Not by dentists and fundamentalists. The dentist should provide his assistance to the Texas Board of Dentistry if they have one. And the fundamentalists should provide their expertise to the crackpot parochial schools but only in the area pertaining to the teaching of the bible.

[starroute]

6. How does the paper get away with calling this "traditional history"

The phrase in the article, "a document cheered by supporters for its underscoring of traditional history," is massively inaccurate.

Far from being traditional history, this is revisionist history. It turns everything that has been in standard textbooks for the last century on its head. It turns villains into heroes and heroes into also-rans and trashes the fundamental shared concepts of American democracy.

The extreme right has far too often gotten away with passing its radical and unprecedented notions off as "traditional" -- and too many lazy people like this newspaper reporter are ready to buy it without a moment's critical examination.

I'm even starting to think we've made a mistake by letting the right get away with calling itself "conservative." They haven't been about conserving much of anything for the last 40 years. It's getting to the point where the progressives are carrying the burden of being the only real "conservatives" as well.

[UTUSN]

7. K&R #9 n/t