Standards Debate Puts Texas Board in Hot Seat

Mary Helen Berlanga, a Democrat on the Texas school board, shows her frustration at the volume of amendments during a meeting last month.

—Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman/AP

Some Lawmakers Seeking to Rein In Texas Board

By Erik W. Robelen

You don’t have to be an education policy wonk to have heard a little about the goings-on at the Texas board of education lately.

The 15-member elected body drew national attention as a bloc of staunch conservatives largely succeeded in putting its stamp on a revised set of social studies standards. The debate was marked by tussles over such matters as the separation of church and state, the representation of minority figures and the role of discrimination in U.S. history, and, more broadly, whether the school board’s conservatives were seeking to infuse the standards with a particular political ideology.

The voting may be over, but the debate continues, and questions remain about the future of the standards, and...