Texas Braces for Debate on U.S. History Standards

Texas educators have drafted new K-12 social studies standards for the state, and they—and the state education board members who will vote on them—expect that the U.S. history strand could be contentious.

Texas board members have a reputation for being polarized ideologically. Revisions of standards for both science and English-language arts in recent years have proved to be fractious. ( "Texas Board Feud Stirs Up Legislators," April 29, 2009.)

What the state incorporates into its standards can have nationwide significance because publishers often look to Texas, as well as California—the two biggest...