Social studies curriculum: the eyes of America are on Texas.

Social studies curriculum: the eyes of America are on Texas. IN MAY, THE TEXAS STATE BOARD of Education (SBOE SBOE Salary Based on ExperienceSBOE State Board of EducationSBOE State Board of ElectionsSBOE Santa Barbara Orchid Estate (California)) will hold a finalvote on a new social studies curriculum to be used for the next seven toI0 years by Texas' 4.7 million K12 students. Because its textbooksare standardized at the state level rather than by individual schooldistricts, Texas has the second-largest market in the nation, andpublishers scramble to get their books chosen. The high cost of creatingdifferent editions for other states prevents publishers from formingalternate editions; thus, Texas' standards are often replicated foruse in other states. The SBOE could, therefore, be deciding whathistorical names and dates teachers across the country will be focusingon starting in three years. But that would also depend on if the otherstates don't adopt upcoming common core standards. Over the past year, a panel of history experts, teachers andpoliticians appointed by the SBOE developed the curriculum standardsthat were brought before the board in January. The 10 Republican andfive Democratic members of the board then reviewed the material andproposed both additions and removals. Some of these changes are asradical as wanting "students to know George Washington was saved bya divine miracle," says Dan Quinn Daniel Peter Quinn (born 1 June, 1965 in Ottawa, Ontario) is a retired professional ice hockey centre who played in the NHL for 14 seasons. Playing careerQuinn was drafted 13th overall by the Calgary Flames in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft while he was playing for the , communications director of theTexas Freedom Network. At a public hearing in January, over 130 members of the Texascommunity voiced their concerns and proposed alterations of content.Groups such as the Texas Freedom Network and Americans United for theSeparation of Church and State See also: . Separation of church and state is a political and legal doctrine which states that government and religious institutions are to be kept separate and independent of one another. advocated for balanced standards free ofreligious bias. "The eyes of Texas are on this process, and the eyes ofAmerica are on Texas," says Lawrence Allen, SBOE member andrepresentative of the Houston Independent School District The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the largest public school system in Texas and the seventh-largest in the United States.[1] Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the city of Houston and several nearby and insular municipalities. , the largestdistrict in Texas and seventh-largest in the country. The Texas Freedom Network is concerned that the changes being madeare not being adequately thought out. "Over the course of less thantwo days, the School Board of Education made changes that experts havebeen creating for years and did it without any further input fromexperts," says Quinn. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The number of amendments being proposed has many left-wing Texansconcerned that a conservative agenda is being pushed. Republican boardmember Pat Hardy criticized some other members for their proposedamendments, saying, "Guys, you're rewriting re��write?v. re��wrote , re��writ��ten , re��writ��ing, re��writesv.tr.1. To write again, especially in a different or improved form; revise.2. history now!" A final vote approving the curriculum will take place in May. Thepublishers will use the approved social studies curriculum to write thetextbooks, which will be submitted in 2012 to the state. The books wouldappear in classrooms in 2013.