He said he plans to file legislation to get rid of the 15-member elected board when the Legislature returns to its regular session in January.

The panel currently has seven Republican social conservatives, three moderate-to-conservative Republicans and five Democrats.

They argued over the teaching of evolution last year when adopting new biology curriculum standards and now are hotly divided over new social studies and history standards.

Four of the Democrats, disgusted with the process, walked out of a board meeting two weeks ago.

Hinojosa took exception to the board's vote to limit or outright exclude mention of central figures in U.S., Texas and world history, including important figures in the 1960s civil rights movement.

The social conservatives on the board “seem to be more focused on cultural wars and on their own personal biases than they are on the education of our kids,” he said. “In one breath, this faction will speak of a need to return to a more fundamental understanding of freedoms based in, say, the Declaration of Independence. Then, they work to revise Thomas Jefferson's views on separation of church and state.”

15 earlier attempts

David Bradley, R-Beaumont, one of the board's social conservative leaders, noted that 15 bills aimed at stripping the board of its influence went nowhere in the Legislature last year. The only bill signed into law required State Board of Education meetings to be broadcast via the Internet.

“The Democrats never complained when the liberals ran the public education system into the ground over the last several decades,” Bradley said.

The board's actions have drawn national media attention.

“They are ridiculed and criticized, not only by Democrats, but also by Republicans,” Hinojosa said. “It's not a Democrat or Republican issue. It's an issue of what's best for our educational system.”

Legislative hearings will put a spotlight on the problem, he said, adding, “We really need to have hearings and have people come to testify.”

Board Chairwoman Gail Lowe said the board's work has been distorted by “far left” critics and said the board's recent votes corrected significant omissions by the experts it consulted, resulting in “the type of well-balanced history curriculum the majority of Texas parents want for their children.”

gscharrer@express-news.net