Archive for April, 2009

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SBOE Sunset Bill on the Move

April 30, 2009

UPDATE: The House has postponed consideration of HB 710 until Monday.

Another bill designed to rein in the Texas State Board of Education is moving in the Legislature. State Rep. Patrick Rose’s House Bill 710, which would put the state board under periodic “Sunset review,” is headed to the House floor. The bill, which easily passed the House Public Education Committee on March 26, is on the General State Calendar for Saturday.

Sunset review essentially forces a state agency to justify its existence. From the Sunset Advisory Commission’s Web site:

In 1977, the Texas Legislature created the Sunset Advisory Commission to identify and eliminate waste, duplication, and inefficiency in government agencies. The 12-member Commission is a legislative body that reviews the policies and programs of more than 150 government agencies every 12 years. The Commission questions the need for each agency, looks for potential duplication of other public services or programs, and considers new and innovative changes to improve each agency’s operations and activities. The Commission seeks public input through hearings on every agency under Sunset review and recommends actions on each agency to the full Legislature. In most cases, agencies under Sunset review are automatically abolished unless legislation is enacted to continue them.

The Sunset review process would give the Legislature the opportunity to decide, after the commission’s recommendation, whether to make any changes to the state board’s authority. If during this session lawmakers don’t strip the board of its authority over curriculum and textbooks, for example, they could do so when the board comes up for Sunset review.

If it passes the House, HB 710 will head to the Senate. Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, is carrying the companion bill, Senate Bill 513.

Posted in State Board of Education, Texas politics | 2 Comments »

Ed Board Extremists Target Social Studies

April 30, 2009

Having done what they could to muck up the state’s science curriculum standards, fringe right-wingers on the Texas State Board of Education are now moving to politicize the social studies curriculum for public schools. Texas Freedom Network just sent out the following press release:

The Texas State Board of Education is set to appoint a social studies curriculum “expert” panel that includes absurdly unqualified ideologues who are hostile to public education and argue that laws and public policies should be based on their narrow interpretations of the Bible.

TFN has obtained the names of “experts” appointed by far-right state board members. Those panelists will guide the revision of social studies curriculum standards for Texas public schools. They include David Barton of the fundamentalist, Texas-based group WallBuilders, whose degree is in religious education, not the social sciences, and the Rev. Peter Marshall of Peter Marshall Ministries in Massachusetts, who suggests that California wildfires and Hurricane Katrina were divine punishments for tolerance of homosexuality.

It gets worse.

(more…)

Posted in Daniel Dreisbach, David Barton, Peter Marshall | 83 Comments »

McLeroy Confirmation Chances Get Slimmer

April 29, 2009

The Texas Senate Nominations Committee this evening approved all nominees considered at last week’s hearing — except for Don McLeroy as chairman of the State Board of Education. Far-right pressure groups have targeted Senate offices with calls and e-mails in support of McLeroy’s confirmation, but opponents in that chamber still appear to have the votes to reject it on the floor. As a result, committee Chairman Mike Jackson, R-La Porte, seems prepared to leave McLeroy’s confirmation pending for now. Without Senate confirmation, the nomination will be considered rejected at the end of the session on June 1.

UPDATE: As noted by one of our eagle-eyed readers, Austin American-Statesman reporter Kate Alexander had an update on McLeroy’s confirmation chances today:

The confirmation of State Board of Education Chairman Don McLeroy is dead in the water, Sen. Mike Jackson, R-La Porte, said Thursday.

Jackson, chairman of the Senate Nominations Committee, said McLeroy will be left pending in committee because there is enough opposition on the floor of the Senate to block his confirmation, which requires approval of two-thirds of the senators.

Posted in Don McLeroy, Texas politics | 24 Comments »

Sundays of Solidarity

April 29, 2009

Our friends at Soulforce and Atticus Circle have launched an innovative — and much-needed – project to foster thoughtful discussion between faith communities and activists for gay and lesbian civil rights.

Between May 17 and June 28, 2009, groups of LGBT and allied people around the country will attend worship services at a church of their choice – a church that is not welcoming and affirming of openly LGBT members and guests. Each group will wear a lapel button that reads “gay? fine by me.”

Details about upcoming training sessions and how to participate in a  “Sundays of Solidarity” event are available here. Listen to Rev. Paul Dodd of Austin explain the need for more honest, civil dialogue between the gay and lesbian community and congregants in churches that oppose LGBT rights.

Posted in LGBT issues | 2 Comments »

Tincy Strikes Back

April 28, 2009

The brewing Republican civil war between religious extremists and traditional conservatives is heating up. Now Texas State Board of Education member Geraldine “Tincy” Miller of Dallas is sharply criticizing extremists who attacked her and fellow conservative Republicans during the recent debate over public school science curriculum standards.

Ms. Miller is denouncing “ultra-religious extremists” who attacked board members for voting against a requirement that students learn phony “weaknesses” of evolution in their science classrooms:

The three Reagan Republicans on the board, myself, Bob Craig & Pat Hardy, became targets of a particularly false smear campaign from a group of anti-science Republican fundamentalists sending threatening calls and e-mails.

In a clever and misleading “sound bite” argument, the Intelligent Design/Creationists were determined to insert religious discussion into the science curriculum of millions of Texas schoolchildren by forcing educators to teach “weaknesses of Evolution” … which deliberately confuses “hypothesis” with scientific theory.

You can read Ms. Miller’s full column here.

Ms. Miller’s anger at the smear campaign that targeted her, Craig and Hardy is understandable. As TFN Insider has noted, creationist pressure groups viciously attacked the three, even calling their religious faith and personal morals into question. See here and here for examples.

Now bring in the children and latch the door. This could get ugly.

Posted in Bob Craig, evolution, Pat Hardy, science and religion, Tincy Miller | 22 Comments »

Kooky Conspiracy Theories

April 28, 2009

Worried about the spread of swine flu? Wendy Wright from the far-right group Concerned Women for America thinks the alarm is all just part of a conspiracy by the Obama administration. Wright charges that the administration declared a “state of emergency” not to make it easier for the government to respond to outbreaks of swine flu in this country. No, she says, the real reason is to promote the nomination of Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Some people think that declaring a state of emergency about the flu was a political thing to push the Sebelius nomination through. If there’s even a hint that [Department of Homeland Security] is manipulating the health situation to push a political appointee through, well, it almost defies imagination that they’d be willing to that.

If Wright wants to hear something that “defies imagination,” perhaps she should listen to her own whacked-out drivel. Far-right groups like CWA have been mounting a huge attack opposing the Senate confirmation of Sebelius, whose pro-choice views have made her the right’s newest devil. But the Obama administration is using concerns about swine flu to get her confirmed? Good heavens. Talk about paranoia.

Even more weird, perhaps, is a press release sent out through Christian Newswire asking “Has the Antichrist Arrived?” The not-very-subtle press release promotes a new book apparently about President Obama while discussing signs of the arrival of the antichrist.

According to the prophets, most will flock to this remarkable man as the proverbial moths to the flame. They will be drawn to his warmth and light only to be destroyed by his fire. Has this epoch moment arrived? Is the greatest conspiracy of all time unfolding before our eyes?

Nah, we think the bigger “conspiracy” is actually the rabid kookiness spreading throughout the land these days. Of course, we know much about that here in Texas. After all, State Board of Education member Cynthia Dunbar, R-Richmond, worries that President Obama’s supposed terrorist buddies will make it easier for him to declare martial law and tear up the Constitution. Well, at least that’s what she’s worrying about when she’s not attacking public schools as “tools of perversion,” tyrannical and unconstitutional.

Posted in religious right | 8 Comments »

Breaking News: House Passes SBOE Measures

April 27, 2009

Big news from the Texas Capitol: the Texas House of Representatives has just passed a constitutional amendment (HJR 77) and enabling legislation (HB 2037) that would transfer authority over the Permanent School Fund from the State Board of Education to an appointed Permanent School Fund Management Council. The author of both is state Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin. This is another indication of lawmakers’ growing dissatisfaction with the state board. TFN President Kathy Miller has released the following statement:

This was an overwhelming, bipartisan vote for competence and common sense. Taxpayers have a right to expect that people who manage billions of their dollars for our kids’ education actually know what they’re doing. We hope the Senate will join the House in approving these critical measures for transparency and responsibility.

Both measures now go to the Senate. If HJR 77 passes the Senate, voters must approve the constitutional amendment.

Posted in State Board of Education, Texas politics | 18 Comments »

Is Gov. Perry Abandoning McLeroy?

April 23, 2009

Is Gov. Rick Perry abandoning Don McLeroy? The Houston Chronicle’s R.G. Ratcliffe asked the governor today whether he’s worried that the Senate would reject his reappointment of the controversial Bryan dentist as chairman of the Texas State Board of Education. The governor hardly offered a ringing endorsement of the man he first appointed to the post in July 2007:

“I’ll leave that up to the Senate. They have lots of people go through. The Senate will work that out.”

Ratcliffe then asked if the governor has been contacting senators and urging them to confirm McLeroy’s nomination. Gov. Perry’s answer seems to indicate that he’s not:

“I have 1,500 different appointees a year. We appoint them. They go through the process. That’s the way it’s always worked.”

You can see Ratcliffe’s post, along with video of his interview with Gov. Perry, here.

It looks like the chances that McLeroy will win Senate confirmation are beginning to crumble. Well, if so, then what? The question will be whether the governor appoints a new chairman who puts the education of Texas children ahead of personal agendas and divisive politics.

Posted in Don McLeroy, Rick Perry, Texas politics | 53 Comments »

What’s Next on McLeroy Confirmation?

April 23, 2009

Opposition to Senate confirmation for Don McLeroy as chairman of the Texas State Board of Education appears to be hardening. Yesterday, Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso, and Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, grilled McLeroy during a grueling hearing that lasted more than two hours. Both senators deserve hearty thanks from parents and other supporters of strong public schools for their efforts to expose the extremism that has turned the state board into a dysfunctional, deeply politicized mess.

According to the Houston Chronicle, Senate Nominations Committee chairman Mike Jackson, R-La Porte, thinks it could be difficult to get the necessary 21 votes (of 31 senators) for confirming McLeroy. Says Jackson:

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Posted in Don McLeroy, Texas politics | 13 Comments »

Is McLeroy’s Confirmation in Trouble?

April 22, 2009

From political reporter Kate Alexander’s post at the Austin American-Statesman’s blog, following today’s grilling of Don McLeroy, whom Gov. Rick Perry has renominated as chairman of the Texas State Board of Education:

(Senate Nominations Committee) Chairman Mike Jackson, R-La Porte, said McLeroy’s nomination is on shaky ground because he might not be able to get the required two-thirds vote from the Senate.

Democratic senators Kirk Watson of Austin and Eliot Shapleigh of El Paso challenged McLeroy over his leadership during a number of controversial Board of Education decisions, including the recent adoption of new science curriculum standards that critics say undermine the teaching of evolution.

Shapleigh said he plans to have McLeroy separated from the others when his nomination comes up on the Senate floor so that it could be debated and voted on individually.

Read the full post here. Here’s coverage from KVUE (Austin). Check out TFN Insider’s live blogging from the confirmation hearing here.

Posted in Don McLeroy, Texas politics | 1 Comment »

Live Blogging the McLeroy Hearing

April 22, 2009

The Senate Nominations Committee is considering Don McLeroy’s appointment as chairman of the Texas State Board of Education. Gov. Rick Perry appointed McLeroy as chairman in July 2007, after the last legislative session. The Senate now has the chance to confirm or reject McLeroy’s appointment.

4:55 – Dr. McLeroy, a Bryan dentist, is now before the Senate Nominations Committee. The committee will ask him questions about his role as Texas State Board of Education chairman and then take testimony from others wanting to speak out his appointment.

5:01 – Dr. McLeroy is defending the state board’s role in the curriculum and textbook adoption process. The Legislature is considering a slew of bills — including Senate Bill 2275 — that would strip the board of that authority. Dr. McLeroy argues that the state board has ensured that Texas has better curriculum standards.

5:05 – “We have much better textbooks because of the process of going through the State Board of Education.” Really, Dr. McLeroy? Will we have better science textbooks if they teach junk science because you reject evolution and want publishers to do the same?

5:07 – Dr. McLeroy calls the science curriculum revision “phenomenal” and praises the “compromise” standards adopted.

5:16 – Dr. McLeroy is crowing about the state board’s rejection of a mathematics textbook in 2007. The board, in fact, violated state law in rejecting the textbook. The law requires the board to approve textbooks that meet curriculum standards, are free of factual errors and meet manufacturing standards. The textbook met all of those, but the McLeroy majority rejected it without giving a reason. Dr. McLeroy later said the vote “set a precedent” for how the board could pressure publishers on other textbooks.

5:31 – Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso, is now asking Dr. McLeroy questions. “Is it your mission on this board to take all students in the state of Texas down the path of your religious beliefs?”

5:33 – McLeroy: My purpose has never been religious indoctrination.

5:34 – Sen. Shapleigh asks about a previous statement by McLeroy that only “orthodox” Christians — like him — on the state board had opposed biology textbooks that didn’t challenge evolution.

5:34 – McLeroy: I also complimented other board members as fine Christians. He’s missing the point of the question: if McLeroy’s opposition to evolution in science classrooms has nothing to do with religion, then why would he say only “orthodox” Christians oppose biology textbooks that challenge evolution?

5:36 – Sen. Shapleigh asks about McLeroy’s beliefs about evolution. McLeroy acknowledges that is is his personal belief that Earth is only 6,000 years old.

(more…)

Posted in Don McLeroy, live blog, Texas politics | 33 Comments »

Questioning SBOE Chairman McLeroy

April 22, 2009

The Senate Nominations Committee considers the appointment of Don McLeroy as chairman of the Texas State Board of Education today, probably late this afternoon or early evening. Here are some questions we would love to see members of the committee ask Chairman McLeroy.

1. Please explain why you think, as you have been quoted saying, “scientific consensus means nothing.”

2. You have been quoted saying, “I disagree with all these experts. Somebody has to stand up to these experts.” Do you think you understand science better than scientists? Better than the Nobel laureates who addressed their concerns about the board’s action?

3. Earlier this year, you endorsed a new book,  Sowing Atheism: The National Academy of Sciences’ Sinister Scheme to Teach Our Children They’re Descended from Reptiles, by Robert Bowie Johnson, Jr. Do you agree, as the book’s author argues, that all scientists are atheists, parents who want to teach their children about evolution are monsters and clergy who believe there is no conflict between faith and science are morons?

4. During the recent adoption of new science curriculum standards, why did you refuse to allow science experts to review and advise the full board about the wisdom (or lack thereof) of amendments that challenged the broad, mainstream scientific consensus on evolution, global warming and the age of the universe?

5. Do you think challenging established, mainstream science in Texas public school classrooms will help or hurt the ability of Texas to attract science-related industries that would bring high-paying jobs to this state? If not, why not? Will it help or hurt the ability of children to get admitted into and succeed in the nation’s best colleges and universities? If no, why not?

6. Why did you vote last year for a language arts standards document that your board allies patched together the night before the board’s final vote and then slipped under hotel room doors of other board members? Why did you vote to throw out nearly three years of work by teachers and education specialists?

We wonder what Chairman McLeroy’s answers to these questions might be. Do you? What questions would you like senators to ask?

Posted in Don McLeroy, Texas politics | 2 Comments »

Gov. Perry: Using Faith as a Political Weapon

April 21, 2009

It is obvious now that Texas Gov. Rick Perry is basing his hopes for re-election next year mostly on winning over the far-right wing of the Republican Party. (That’s the same wing that wrote the 2008 state party platform. You can read that classic example of extremism here.)  If Gov. Perry can win the GOP nomination, he figures he’ll win the general election fairly easily in a Republican-leaning state.

So with an expected challenge for his party’s nomination from U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, the governor has raced to the extremist fringes. In addition to sharpening his attacks on reproductive rights for women, Gov. Perry has rejected federal aid for the unemployed, revived the racially poisoned “states rights” rhetoric of the segregationist right from the 1950s, and even suggested that Texas could and might one day secede. And this week he’s once again pow-wowing with fundamenalist pastors at a closed-door confab in Austin.

(more…)

Posted in Dave Welch, Rick Perry | 17 Comments »

Should the Texas Senate ‘Fire’ McLeroy?

April 20, 2009

Don McLeroy’s appointment as chairman of the Texas State Board of Education finally gets a hearing in the Senate Nominations Committee on Wednesday (April 22). Gov. Rick Perry appointed McLeroy chairman in July 2007, after the last legislative session. So the Senate still has to confirm his appointment.

It’s unusual for the Senate to reject a governor’s appointment. Even so, state lawmakers aren’t happy with a state board that has become increasingly dysfunctional (and embarrassing) since the Bryan dentist’s elevation to chairman. The board has disregarded established procedures, ignored state law, defied the Legislature and lurched from one “culture war” battle to the next. Most recently, of course, Chairman McLeroy led the board in opening the state’s science curriculum to creationist attacks on evolution, wildly declaring: “I disagree with all these experts! Somebody has to stand up to these experts!”

The Nominations Committee will meet 30 minutes after the Senate adjourns for the day on Wednesday. The hearing, which will include testimony on other nominations as well, will be in the Senate chamber at the Capitol. Those who want to testify can register at the hearing.

Want to share your opinion about Chairman McLeroy with the committee but can’t come to Austin to testify? Click here for the committee’s Web page. Then click on each member’s name for contact information.

Posted in Don McLeroy, Texas politics | 7 Comments »

Liberals Are Hiding the Planets from Kids!

April 20, 2009

Texas State Board of Education member Barbara Cargill, R-The Woodlands, is crowing about the state’s new science standards in her April edition of The Cargill Connection (an e-mail newsletter). Ms. Cargill is thrilled that the standards require that students learn “all sides” of scientific evidence regarding evolution. She and other creationists on the board have made it clear they will use that standard to pressure publishers to include phony, long-discredited arguments against evolution in new science textbooks up for adoption in Texas in 2011.

Then Ms. Cargill notes a series of her amendments to the standards that the board approved:

I labored for months seeking input from science educators and experts before offering over twenty amendments for the elementary TEKS.  All of these passed!  Our young students will study the planets (they had been omitted), experiment with simple machines like pulleys, and make predictions using weather maps.

What?!? Those evil, liberal, education-establishment heathens! Why, they were even trying to HIDE THE EXISTENCE OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM’S PLANETS FROM OUR KIDS!

Good grief. Did Ms. Cargill honestly think students wouldn’t be learning about the planets in their science classrooms? Really? Yes, we can almost hear the publishers: “Teaching about the planets is just sooo boring. You’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. A lot of them are just gassy blobs anyway. What else is there to say? So we figured science teachers wouldn’t notice or particularly care if we left them out of the textbooks.”

Thankfully, Ms. Cargill rode to the rescue. Of course, she also succeeded in eliminating from the standards the scientific consensus that the universe is nearly 14 billion years old. So kids will learn about the planets but better not ask how old they are.

Posted in Barbara Cargill, science | 42 Comments »

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