Politics & Policy

Sure, FOX News will tell you this was a brilliant triumph for The Faction. The other news outlets will all agree. But I maintain there's a number of missing (and larger) stories here, that should provide a glimmer of hope to those who feel grumpy about last week...

Now that social studies is all over, they can move on to everything else.

Graduation requirements grandfather clause passes.

Proclamation 2012 Science: Postponed indefinitely. Vote confirmed.

SBOE needs to establish timeline for supplemental science materials
Request May 31, 2010
March 2011 Samples due
April 2011 Review Panels
May 2011 Board Adoption
Vote confirmed.

Final adoption of high school social studies, as amended is proposed. Mary Helen Berlanga objects to the whole process of 300+ amendments and such piece-mealing. "In my 27 years on this board, I've never seen anything like this." A lengthy speech follows on the failure to come to terms with the past of discrimination by everyone from the Klan to the Texas Rangers, none of which are mentioned in the history books.

2:10 pm
World Geography amendments from Pat Hardy:
11b) "identify the factors affecting the location of different types of economic activiites, including subsistence and commercial agriculture, manufacturing and service industries," passes without objection
16a) return to original wording, no objections
16b) no objection to going to revising definition of culture
21b) "analyze and evaluate the validity and utility of multiple sources of geographic information, such as primary and secondary sources, aerial photographs, and maps..." no objection
strike 21c); no objection

11:05 am Time to continue with Amendments to high school social studies

Pat Hardy (R-Weatherford) strikes "and MesoAmerican civilization" in World History, because it is now in another section.

9:15 am Hurst-Euless-Bedford's Trinity High School Show Choir led off with a performance a la the TV show "Glee" of "The Lullaby of Broadway" and other tunes. Too bad they can't inspire the Board to work together as in "The Music Man," in which barbershop singing inspires a fractious local school board to work together...

David Bradley (R-The Faction, Beaumont) moves to postpone issuance of Proclamation 2012 (Science Adoption). This would be moving it off until the next meeting, as has been done since July of 2009.

Bob Craig (R-Lubbock) opposes this, because it amounts to taking no action. Wants Agency to investigate costs for supplemental products.

Bradley withdraws motion, and suggests another motion: Postpone Proclamation 2012 (Science Adoption) INDEFINITELY. Plans subsequent motion to ask Agency and Board to develop request for supplemental materials instead.

After David Bradley (R-The Faction, Beaumont), carefully counts noses to be sure there's a quorum, Chair Lowe gavels a start at 1:15. No update on lawsuit over denial of charter school application, so there's no executive session. First up: Graduation requirement for PE: should it be satisfied by certain Career and Technology Education classes (firefighter academy, etc.) for the next year as a grandfather-clause issue. Vote on Friday, but doesn't seem to be any opposition.

It's an election year, and the Faction of ultra-conservatives on the Texas Board of Education could be poised to tumble from a near-majority-with-several-likely-swing-votes to a small minority. While the New York Times and others have picked up this story, a quieter but far more epic change is already shifting the ground beneath the educational publishing industry and the Texas adoption game.

As of 6:55 AM Central Time Wednesday 3 March...

Most of the action is in the Republican primaries:

Former Board Chairman Don "The Dentist" McLeroy is in a squeaker with his primary challenger, Tom Ratliff--at this point, Ratliff is holding a slender 700-vote lead in unofficial returns. If McLeroy goes down, it will be a huge blow to The Faction--they will need even more swing votes (which will be harder to find) to get their agenda passed.