Texas’ State Board of Education recently passed a resolution to make all textbooks used in Texas public high schools more politically conservative. Because Texas has almost five million students in its public school system and the most streamlined education system in the country, major textbook companies typically cater to the standards of Texas’ education system. Therefore, many school districts across the country will now purchase the conservative, inexpensive and standardized textbooks for their high school students.
The majority of the changes will be seen in history textbooks, but in the past Texas has also been influential in limiting the teaching of evolution in biology classrooms both in and outside the region. In terms of history textbooks, the recent alterations include less emphasis on figures like Thomas Jefferson, who was one of the original proponents of separation of Church and State. Instead, Texas has chosen to teach the influence of the Judeo-Christian tradition on the Constitution and to refer to the United States as a “constitutional republic,” rather than a “democracy.” Conservative icons such as Ronald Reagan, Joe McCarthy and Phyllis Schlafly will now have much more prevalent roles in textbooks than liberals like Edward Kennedy and Harvey Milk. The Texas Board of Education passed the changes in a 10-5 vote with no members voting against party lines, underlining the partisanship of the move.
The Obama Administration and Secretary of Education of Arne Duncan have both been critical of the move, admonishing parents of students and other states that scholars, not politicians, should be trusted to set curriculum. California has already introduced legislation that would inhibit Texan textbooks from making their way into the Golden state’s education system. At South, a range of opinions is present; some ignorant, some apathetic and some concerned.
