Pressure mounts for redo on Texas social studies curriculum Pressure mounts for Texas curriculum redo

GOP legislators urge state board to revisit social studies standards

House Appropriations Chairman Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie, Public Education Chairman Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands, and House Administration Chairman Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, each criticized the new curriculum standards, which civil rights organizations oppose.

The standards also were the target of a harsh review last month by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a conservative-leaning education think tank that said the guidelines offer "misrepresentations at every turn."

Eissler questioned the board's process, which influenced the Fordham Institute to call the new Texas standards "a politicized distortion of history."

The institute cited the standards' failure to adequately address racial segregation, their suggestion that the House Un-American Activities Committee's work had been vindicated and their urging of students to condemn federal entitlement programs and to mistrust international treaties.

Eissler said he does not favor the board starting over but believes it's appropriate to "look at what the perceived weaknesses are and address them," noting that the Legislature often must revisit legislation from previous sessions and make changes due to unexpected consequences.

Flood of amendments

Critics fault the State Board of Education for considering nearly 200, last-hour amendments before taking a final vote last year. Board members debated amendments that could not be vetted by experts or scrutinized by the public.

"These standards and the way they were developed just don't pass the common-sense test," Geren said. "The law has a process laid out for how to write our state's curriculum, and they thumbed their nose at it and wrote standards themselves. They need to use good common sense and not a lot of emotion when they come up with our curriculum."

Board member David Bradley, R-Beaumont, a leader of the education panel's social conservatives who championed the new curriculum standards, said he doubted a majority of the 15-member board would be willing to reopen the process — although some have expressed support for doing so.

The board has started the curriculum rewrite for math standards, with health education to follow. Rewriting curriculum standards typically takes about 18 months, Bradley said.

"The board does not have the time in its schedule to deal with (redoing social studies)," Bradley said, noting the Texas Education Agency recently laid off 101 employees. "They cannot accommodate the workload."

Board Chair Gail Lowe, R-Lampasas, said the new social studies standards "are strongly supported by Texas classroom teachers. I am happy to walk through the standards and our board process with any House or Senate member who may have questions."

She declined to elaborate when asked about the possibility of reviewing some of the more contentious standards.

Bipartisan appeal

However, the willingness of House GOP leaders to speak out creates a bipartisan appeal for the board to reopen the process, said Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, chairman of the House Mexican American Legislative Caucus.

"It's not about who's right. It's about what's right," he said. "When it comes to our public education, politics should be our last consideration."

Pitts, the House budget chairman hinted that lawmakers can't afford $900 million to pay for controversial social studies textbooks.

"It's just not realistic," said Pitts, who favors the board reopening the social studies curriculum-writing process.

Civil rights groups, including the GI Forum, LULAC and the NAACP, complained throughout the curriculum writing process.

Texas chapters of LULAC and the NAACP filed a formal complaint with the civil rights division of the U.S. Department of Education in late December. That complaint is being evaluated, agency spokesman Jim Bradshaw said.

Minorities in majority

More than 68 percent of the 4.9 million Texas schoolchildren this year are minorities.

The percentage of minority children affected by new curriculum standards will continue to increase during the 10 years the curriculum normally stays in place.

The board adopted the curriculum standards 10-5. Only the five minority members opposed them.

"It raises an enormous question. It's very compelling when you have every minority member of the State Board of Education voting against these standards," Martinez Fischer said.

With minority children soon to fill 75 percent of Texas classrooms, state leaders "need to get this right," he said.

The board faces "a credibility crisis," said Sen. Kirk Watson, the senior Democratic member of the Senate Nominations Committee.

The Austin legislator doubted that keeping Lowe as leader of the board would solve "the leadership issues" even if she agreed to reopen the social studies curriculum.

"I'm not sure you solve that by doing something that probably ought to be done to help alleviate some of the credibility crisis," Watson said.

gscharrer@expressnews.net