Dive Brief:
- The Texas Board of Ed voted 8-7 to reject a proposal that would have allowed a panel of Texas state university professors to fact-check textbooks after its latest controversy with books containing inaccurate information.
- McGraw-Hill Education has already decided to publish corrected versions of the geography book involved in the latest scandal, which saw slaves referred to simply as "workers," and will offer both free textbooks and cultural competency training to teachers, according to Think Progress.
- "... At issue is whether the board should continue to rely on publishers and the public to flag errors," the Dallas Morning News reports.
Dive Insight:
Eight Republicans on the board voted against the measure, which would have gathered a panel of professors solely from Texas state institutions of higher learning to give the books a second read, following their inspection by a board-selected citizen review panel.
The citizen review panels, however, don't necessarily review the textbooks for accuracy. They're tasked with making sure that books "fit" into Texas' curriculum standards. And at least one board member has argued that their appointment by board members often leads to the appointment of politcal ideologues "instead of people who can think for themselves and not be told what to think."
The vote, which was expected to be contentious, is the latest part of a long saga involving textbook revisions by the Texas Board of Education.
"Although school districts in Texas are free to choose whatever books they want to use," the Dallas Morning News reported, "most stay with the list adopted by the state board because it tracks the curriculum standards as well as questions asked on state achievement tests."
The Texas State Board of Education currently consists of 10 Republicans and five Democrats.