Graduation requirements, changes to the social studies curriculum, language arts electives and electronic textbook purchasing are all on this week’s agenda of the Texas State Board of Education.
The 15-member elected body will meet today through Friday in the William B. Travis building, 1701 N. Congress Ave., in Austin.
At the forefront of this week’s meetings are possible changes to the social studies Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, or TEKS. TEKS are written as teaching guidelines for each subject. Adherence is required statewide.
In September, the State Board of Education heard from an appointed review panel on what historical figures should be added to or dropped from both the TEKS and textbooks.
According to published recommendations from members of the review panel, César Chávez, Thurgood Marshall, Amelia Earhart and Benjamin Franklin were suggested for removal from some grade levels or a reduction in their mention.
Because textbooks are approved statewide instead of solely by local district, Texas is the largest single market for textbooks, according to the Texas Education Agency Web site.
Suzanne Marchman, a spokesperson for the Texas Education Agency, said that, as of Monday, 22 people are signed up for the public hearing portion of the meeting that will address the social studies curriculum, and another 23 are signed up to discuss graduation requirements.
The current chair of the state board, Gail Lowe (R-Lampasas), said the board is not trying to add or take anyone away from history textbooks. Rather, board members want to examine the frequency of some historical figures.
“For instance, Chavez, (Thurgood) Marshall and Benjamin Franklin are mentioned three or four times,” she said, adding that Henry Ford is not mentioned at all. Board members have created a “historical figure chart” they used to keep a tally of how often figures are used.
