Curriculum News in Brief

Texas State Board Rejects Ethnic-Studies Textbook

By The Associated Press — November 29, 2016 1 min read
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The Texas board of education has unanimously rejected a Mexican-American-studies textbook that experts say is rife with factual errors and anti-Hispanic bias.

Two years ago, the Republican-controlled board refused to create a full Mexican-American-studies course for the state. Instead, it asked publishers to submit proposed ethnic-studies textbooks that high schools could use to create their own courses. The only Mexican-American studies book submitted, Mexican American Heritage, was the one rejected. Academics and activists highlighted dozens of inaccuracies and stereotypes in the book, including that Mexican immigrants were “lazy.”

Cynthia Dunbar, a former conservative board member whose company published the book, threatened that legal action could follow.

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