GOP wins District 2 seat on State Board of Education
The Republican Party successfully flipped the District 2 seat on the State Board of Education, where L.J. All 15 seats on the State Board of Education were open in the recently concluded midterm election because of redistricting that took place last year. The board is responsible for deciding what Texasโ 5 1/2 million students are required to learn in the stateโs public schools. The government and its political agenda should not decide our childrenโs future,โ Francis states on the website. โThe State Board of Education should be first and foremost prioritizing the needs of the 5 1/2 million students that we have in our Texas public schools.
myrgv.comGOP wins District 2 seat on State Board of Education
The Republican Party successfully flipped the District 2 seat on the State Board of Education, where L.J. Francis, an advocate for prohibiting the teaching of โCritical Race Theoryโ won a tight election over the Democratic candidate Victor Perez.
myrgv.comTexas education board moves to delay updates to social studies curriculum after conservative pushback
Opponents of the recommended changes, including Republican legislators, complained that they downplayed Texan and American exceptionalism and didn't present opposing views on the gay rights movement.
sacurrent.comTexas education board moves to delay updates to social studies curriculum after conservative pushback
Opponents of the recommended changes, including Republican legislators, complained that they downplayed Texan and American exceptionalism and didn't present opposing views on the gay rights movement.
Letters: Hiding history
Currently, as revealed by The Monitor on July 2, a group of very misguided Texas educators has proposed referring to slavery as โinvoluntary relocation.โWhy? Our Texas conservatives have proceeded to the point they think they have the right to censor and redefine the English language and history for their own purposes. Slavery was not just โinvoluntary relocation.โ Slavery was a business involving the pursuit, capture, imprisonment, sale and shipping of women, men, children, whole families. A little pride, a little discomfort, and a lot of history go a long way in preventing future problems. They feel compelled to follow the inspiring words of todayโs partisan leaders, even though history raises red flags.
myrgv.comAuthor of โcritical race theoryโ ban says Texas schools can still teach about racism
State Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, said his intention was never to gloss over American history or have negative effects on teachers and administrators. His comments to the State Board of Education come as members consider new social studies curriculum.
Texas GOP platform calls for ban on teaching โsexual matters,โ while requiring students to learn about โdignity of the preborn humanโ
The party planks specify what the Texas GOP believes students should and should not be taught in the classroom about gender and sex, signaling further shifts to the right. Critics say such policies would be harmful and discriminatory.
Texas State Board of Education rejects conservative-backed Heritage Classical Academy charter school for third time
Two Republicans joined Democrats to veto the charter school application, including a Republican board member who lost reelection to a candidate endorsed by a PAC with financial ties to Heritageโs board chair.
Perez defeats Garcia for State Board of Education
Victor Perez defeated Pete Garcia 57.8% to 43.2% in Tuesdayโs runoff for the Democratic nomination for the District 2 seat on the State Board of Education, according to unofficial returns. If the results hold up, Perez would win the nomination. Perez received 13,455 early votes, 56.8% of the total, to 10,235, and 43.2% for Garcia. With all 642 precincts reporting, including Cameron and Hidalgo counties, Perez was ahead 20,649 votes to 16,150 for Garcia. Voters from โโAransas, Calhoun, Cameron, Hidalgo, Jackson, Kenedy, Kleberg, Matagorda, Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio, Victoria, Wharton and Willacy Counties voted in the Democratic Party primary election runoff for State Board of Education, District 2.
myrgv.comGov. Greg Abbott tells state agencies to develop standards to block books with "overtly sexual" content in schools
Abbott targeted two books that have been removed by schools recently that center on LGBTQ characters. One of the books includes a graphic illustration and the other includes depictions of sex.
Gov. Greg Abbott signs off on Texasโ new political maps, which protect GOP majorities while diluting voices of voters of color
Texas lawmakers drew new maps for the state House and Senate, congressional delegation and State Board of Education. Hereโs what Texans should know about the 2021 redistricting outcomes.
Officials withhold school board salaries over mask mandates
Florida state education officials on Monday began to make good on threats to withhold funding from local school districts that defied Gov. Ron DeSantis' ban on mask mandates, despite a circuit judge last week ruling the ban unconstitutional. Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran announced that the Florida Department of Education has withheld an amount equal to monthly school board member salaries in Alachua and Broward counties, as directed by the State Board of Education.
news.yahoo.comFlorida Board of Education to consider sanctioning 2 mask-mandating school districts
The Florida Department of Education has scheduled an emergency meeting of the State Board of Education for Tuesday to consider funding cuts tor two school districts that have rebuffed Gov. Ron DeSantisโ executive order allowing parents to ignore mask mandates.
news.yahoo.comDeSantis threatens salaries of superintendents, school board members who support masking
Florida's board of education could withhold pay from superintendents and school board members who mandate face masks in schools, according to a statement from Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis' office Monday, reports CBS Miami. Why it matters: Florida is experiencing a spike in COVID-19 cases driven by the highly contagious Delta variant. Rising cases have triggered fierce debate around masking guidelines in schools.Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Sub
news.yahoo.comFlorida approves vouchers for parents who perceive โCOVID-19 harassmentโ in schools
Floridaโs State Board of Education on Friday approved an emergency rule hastily crafted by Gov. Ron DeSantisโ administration that will allow parents to use vouchers to move their children to another school if they perceive any type of โCOVID-19 harassmentโ against their child in connection to district rules on masking, testing and isolation due to exposure.
news.yahoo.comOklahoma board approves rules banning certain race theories
Public school teachers in Oklahoma could have their teaching licenses suspended for teaching certain concepts about race and racism under new rules approved Monday by the State Board of Education. With just one opposing vote, the board approved emergency rules to comply with a bill approved by the Republican-led Legislature this year that purports to ban so-called โcritical race theory." The Republican authors of the bill said it targeted critical race theory, which is a way of thinking about Americaโs history through the lens of racism, although there is no mention in the bill of critical race theory, which is not typically taught in K-12 schools.
news.yahoo.comโTsunamiโ of violence erupts, DeSantis pursues school rules over race, and cruise titans tiptoe around law
Itโs Monday, June 14. Happy Flag Day. Two hundred and forty four years ago in 1777, the Second Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia took a break from writing the Articles of Confederation and passed a resolution designating the stars and stripes as the official flag of the United States.
news.yahoo.comTexas education board approves new sex ed policy that does not cover LGBTQ students or consent
The State Board of Education took a preliminary vote on Wednesday to approve a new sex education policy for seventh and eighth grade students in Texas. Over the last several months, panels of educators and medical professionals formulated recommendations to overhaul the health and sex education policies. This marks the board's first thorough revision to its sex education policy since 1997, and will affect millions of students in the state. Experts including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association and the American Public Health Association oppose abstinence-only education and champion comprehensive sex education. This type of sex education prioritizes accurate and exhaustive information about contraception, human sexuality and sexually transmitted infections.
Texans urge state education board to expand sexual education standards and include LGBTQ information
At the board's first public hearing on the proposals, many current and former Texas public school students recalled their own experiences with sexual education teachers who emphasized shame instead of accuracy. Neither the draft revisions nor current health education standards, the minimum statewide requirement for what students learn, include sexual orientation or gender identity. Texas does not mandate that school districts teach sexual education, and high school students do not have to take health education to meet state graduation requirements. Advocates of abstinence-plus education told board members that teaching students comprehensive sex education would reduce teen pregnancies, infections and sexual violence among students. And without any information on LGBTQ sexual health, sexual orientation or gender identity, LGBTQ foster children also will lack that information, she said.
State Board of Education Republicans Endorse Lani Popp in District 5 Runoff
Every Republican on the State Board of Education is endorsing Lani Popp for an open seat now that she is in a runoff against notorious conspiracy theorist Robert Morrow. Popp, a Northside Independent School District speech language pathologist, came in second, getting 34 percent of the vote to 40 percent for Morrow. I fully support and endorse Lani Popp, the boards chairman, Keven Ellis, said as part of an announcement of the endorsements first shared with The Texas Tribune. I strongly believe she is unequivocally the best and only choice in the Republican primary race for District 5. This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune, a nonpartisan, nonprofit media organization that informs Texans and engages with them about public policy, politics, government, and statewide issues.
therivardreport.comCELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY MONTH WITH A VICTORY!
Victory in Austin: African American Studies Course PassesRecently a group of educators and historians gathered together to develop an African American Studies course for high school students across the entire State of Texas. This involved hours of curriculum development from the experts in the area of black history from before slavery, during slavery, and after chattel slavery. Supporters included activists, students, and educators from Dallas, Houston, Austin, and other areas of the state. The contributions to science by Blacks will be taught and include Henrietta Lacks, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Katherine Johnson, George Washington Carver, and many others. Indeed, this is a major historical victory in the State of Texas to finally educate our children about their past and develop ideas for the future.
saobserver.comSan Antonios Education Commissioner Traffics in Fake News
Few social conservatives in Texas can equal Ken Mercer, San Antonios elected representative on the State Board of Education, when it comes to embracing disinformation and fake news as fact. That was most recently evident in a Jan. 20 commentary titled First the Christmas Tree, then the Cenotaph, and now a Statue to Santa Anna that Mercer published on the right-wing Education Views website. Its a ridiculous falsehood promoted by the wackier elements of nativist, open carry Texans who have gathered in San Antonio to protest the removal of the Confederate soldier monument in Travis Park and, more recently, redevelopment plans for the Alamo Plaza, which include moving the Cenotaph. Better to hope the former state representatives recently announced plans to retire after a long tenure on the SBOE are true. He and others on the states school board have consistently stood more for promoting their extreme political views than elevating the quality of public education in Texas.
therivardreport.comLocal State Education Board Member Traffics in Fake News
Few social conservatives in Texas can equal Ken Mercer, District 5s elected representative on the State Board of Education, when it comes to embracing disinformation and fake news as fact. Mercer is a former Republican state representative elected in 2006 to the SBOE to represent a district that includes the northern and eastern portions of Bexar County. Better to hope the former state representatives recently announced plans to retire after a long tenure on the SBOE are true. He and others on the states school board have consistently stood more for promoting their extreme political views than elevating the quality of public education in Texas. This article has been updated to clarify that Mercer is the State Board of Education member for District 5, which includes the northern and eastern portions of Bexar County.
therivardreport.comOLLU Launches National Institute of Mexican American History of Civil Rights
As statewide advocates fought in the last several years for a Mexican American Studies course to gain State Board of Education approval, retired educator Paul Ruiz worked on his own project focused on educating the community about Mexican American history and its role in the civil rights movement. It took three years for Ruiz to prepare the National Institute of Mexican American History of Civil Rights, and on Tuesday morning, city, county, and education leaders gathered at Our Lady of the Lake University, the institutes home, to announce the facility was ready to open its doors. The [Mexican American] community doesnt see the world as theirs, it belongs to somebody else, Ruiz said. Pea is an OLLU associate professor and director of the schools Center for Mexican American Studies and Research. With the startup funds from City Council, the institute plans to hire scholars to study certain buckets of history, Ruiz said.
therivardreport.comSAISD Asks State to Approve New Classes in User Experience, Court Reporting
San Antonio Independent School District trustees asked state education officials Monday night to approve four new class offerings for the 2020-21 school year: court reporting and user experience, or UX. The court reporting classes would be offered at Fox Tech High School while students at CAST Tech High School would be able to take two user experience courses. State education officials allow districts to offer innovative courses, or classes that teach students skills and information not included in state-approved curriculum. Last year, SAISD received State approval to offer a fundamental user experience class at CAST Tech high school, Vahalik said. In the past, SBOE members have used innovative courses as the starting point in creating other state-approved courses.
therivardreport.comโNames are importantโ: Texas activists protest the renaming of โMexican-American Studiesโ course to โEthnic Studiesโ
Republican State Board of Education member David Bradley proposed the new course title in April, saying he found "hyphenated Americanism to be divisive.โ On Tuesday, another board member, Democrat Ruben Cortez, called Bradley โthe most mean-spiritedโ person on the board.
Texas education board approves course formerly known as Mexican-American studies
After years of debate, the State Board of Education voted preliminarily to create curriculum standards for a Mexican-American studies class. But thanks to the objections of one member, it'll now be called โEthnic Studies: An Overview of Americans of Mexican Descent.โ