Social Studies News in Brief

Texas Board Approves Most Contested Texts

By Liana Loewus — December 02, 2014 1 min read
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Nearly all the social studies textbooks that were being considered by the Texas school board have been approved for use next school year.

Of the 96 books reviewed, 89 were approved by the GOP-controlled board last month, the Associated Press reported. Six were rejected, and one publisher, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, withdrew a government text.

Groups from both sides of the political spectrum argued against the textbooks’ approval, alleging they contained distortions. The Texas Freedom Network Education Fund, for instance, said some books exaggerated Moses’ influence on the founding of the United States. The National Center for Science Education, which took issue with the way Pearson and McGraw-Hill presented climate change, said those publishers revised their books “to eliminate misrepresentations.”

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A version of this article appeared in the December 03, 2014 edition of Education Week as Texas Board Approves Most Contested Texts

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