by William Lutz LoneStarReport.org
The Conference Committee on the state budget voted to restore 85 percent of the funding for Proclamation 2010. It also removed the rider directing the elected State Board of Education not to issue proclamation 2011 and 2012. What this means is the English Language Arts and Reading curriculum based on the new standards will likely enter Texas classrooms. It also means science books can be ordered that comply with the new standards.
The original rider had drawn opposition from 20 members of the State Republican Executive Committee who noted that de-funding textbooks is a back-door way to reduce the State Board of Educations authority over textbooks and the curriculum.
Still pending before the Senate Education Committee however is HB 4294 by Rep. Dan Branch (R-Dallas). As it cleared the House the bill takes approval authority away from the elected State Board of Education over electronic instructional materials and gives it to the appointed Commissioner of Education.
In the past the elected State Board of Education has used its authority to insist that elementary reading books have enough decodable words to use phonics as the method of reading instruction. It has rejected environmental science books that bash the Texas oil and gas industry. It has insisted that elementary students learn their multiplication tables and opposed the Fuzzy Math" theory of math instruction. But removing SBOE-approval authority would likely result in fuzzy math American history materials that bash America in the name of multiculturalism" whole language reading instruction and industry-bashing science" books.
The Senate Education Committee in considering the bill will have to decide whether it supports the elected State Board of Education and will honor the Republican platform or whether it will back the Houses attack on the elected board.
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