EDUCATION

State Board of Education Vice Chair Thomas Ratliff leafs through binders at the meeting listing proposed changes to Texas textbooks in a SBOE meeting in Austin on Monday, October 20, 2014 .Textbook publishers were invited to meeting where public concerns regarding their textbooks were discussed.
Enlarge photo by: Martin do Nascimento
State Board of Education Vice Chair Thomas Ratliff leafs through binders at the meeting listing proposed changes to Texas textbooks in a SBOE meeting in Austin on Monday, October 20, 2014 .Textbook publishers were invited to meeting where public concerns regarding their textbooks were discussed.

Texas Approves New Social Studies Texts — With Changes

The State Board of Education voted to adopt a new list of social studies textbooks Friday morning, following a week of intense debate and hundreds of pages of updates and corrections.

Texas Approves New Social Studies Texts — With Changes

State Board of Education Vice Chair Thomas Ratliff leafs through binders at the meeting listing proposed changes to Texas textbooks in a SBOE meeting in Austin on Monday, October 20, 2014 .Textbook publishers were invited to meeting where public concerns regarding their textbooks were discussed.
Enlarge photo by: Martin do Nascimento
State Board of Education Vice Chair Thomas Ratliff leafs through binders at the meeting listing proposed changes to Texas textbooks in a SBOE meeting in Austin on Monday, October 20, 2014 .Textbook publishers were invited to meeting where public concerns regarding their textbooks were discussed.

The State Board of Education voted to adopt a new list of social studies textbooks Friday morning, following a week of intense debate and hundreds of pages of updates and corrections.

Featured Data

Texas Tribune Public Schools Explorer

  • by Noah Seger
Enlarge

Publisher Pulls Textbook From SBOE Consideration

The new U.S. history framework is the first of what will be updates to all 34 AP subjects offered as a result of a redesign effort launched by the College Board in 2006.
Enlarge photo illustration by: Todd Wiseman
The new U.S. history framework is the first of what will be updates to all 34 AP subjects offered as a result of a redesign effort launched by the College Board in 2006.

A major publisher has decided to withdraw a social studies textbook under consideration for approval in Texas amid ongoing controversy over last-minute content changes.

 

The Brief: Nov. 19, 2014

House Speaker Joe Straus is shown on Sept. 20, 2014, during an interview at The Texas Tribune Festival.
Enlarge photo by: Bob Daemmrich
House Speaker Joe Straus is shown on Sept. 20, 2014, during an interview at The Texas Tribune Festival.

Despite his challenger's vow to take a speaker vote to the floor on the first day of session, backers of House Speaker Joe Straus spent Tuesday trying to demonstrate the race is already a foregone conclusion.

The Brief: Nov. 13, 2014

Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Sen. Wendy Davis shows her book "Forgetting to be Afraid" at Book People on September 11th, 2014
Enlarge photo by: Marjorie Kamys Cotera
Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Sen. Wendy Davis shows her book "Forgetting to be Afraid" at Book People on September 11th, 2014

Wendy Davis' rout was foretold by a couple of Democratic strategists who despaired nearly a year ago over the direction in which the Democratic gubernatorial candidate was taking her campaign.

Appeals Court Denies Request to Rehear Fisher v. UT

University of Texas at Austin President Bill Powers spoke on June 24, 2013, about the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the case of Fisher v. UT-Austin.
Enlarge photo by: Marjorie Kamys Cotera
University of Texas at Austin President Bill Powers spoke on June 24, 2013, about the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the case of Fisher v. UT-Austin.

Abigail Fisher's case against the University of Texas at Austin over the consideration of race in admissions for students not admitted through the state's top 10 percent law was dealt another blow on Wednesday.

The Brief: Nov. 11, 2014

Newly-elected state Rep. David Simpson at the head of the line to prefile bills on Nov. 8, 2010.
Enlarge photo by: Elise Hu
Newly-elected state Rep. David Simpson at the head of the line to prefile bills on Nov. 8, 2010.

Lawmakers filed 365 bills and joint resolutions on Monday, the first day they could pre-file legislation for the upcoming legislative session.

The Houston Endowment Inc., the Lumina Foundation, and the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation have supported higher education coverage at The Texas Tribune. The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, Sid W. Richardson Foundation, RGK Foundation, Burdine Johnson Foundation, and Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation have supported public education coverage at The Texas Tribune.

Featured Video

TribLive: Demographic Change and the Digital Divide

Enlarge

Common Core Stymies Vote on New Textbooks

State Board of Education Chair Barbara Cargill questions textbook publishers on the contents of their publications at a meeting in Austin on Monday, October 20, 2014.
Enlarge photo by: Martin do Nascimento
State Board of Education Chair Barbara Cargill questions textbook publishers on the contents of their publications at a meeting in Austin on Monday, October 20, 2014.

After wrangling over the proper definition of jihad and the influence of Moses on the Founding Fathers, the State Board of Education’s initial vote on new social studies textbooks was ultimately derailed by Common Core. 

The Brief: Nov. 18, 2014

State Board of Education Vice Chair Thomas Ratliff leafs through binders at the meeting listing proposed changes to Texas textbooks in a SBOE meeting in Austin on Monday, October 20, 2014 .Textbook publishers were invited to meeting where public concerns regarding their textbooks were discussed.
Enlarge photo by: Martin do Nascimento
State Board of Education Vice Chair Thomas Ratliff leafs through binders at the meeting listing proposed changes to Texas textbooks in a SBOE meeting in Austin on Monday, October 20, 2014 .Textbook publishers were invited to meeting where public concerns regarding their textbooks were discussed.

A new controversy could crop up this week as the State Board of Education is expected to adopt new social studies textbooks.

The Brief: Nov. 17, 2014

Enlarge photo by: Michael Stravato

As authorities arrive in LaPorte to find what caused the methyl mercaptan gas leak that killed four DuPont plant workers on Saturday, information is emerging about the safety record of the plant.

Giroir Prepping State for Ebola or Next Virus

Texas Sen. Charles Schwertner, Dr. Brett Giroir and Gov. Rick Perry at an Ebola press conference at the Texas Capitol on Oct. 6, 2014.
Enlarge photo by: Bob Daemmrich
Texas Sen. Charles Schwertner, Dr. Brett Giroir and Gov. Rick Perry at an Ebola press conference at the Texas Capitol on Oct. 6, 2014.

Though Texas has weathered its first Ebola crisis, the virus is expected to return, said the new head of a state task force on infectious diseases. Brett Giroir is calling upon his unique background to prepare the state for when that happens.