Month: <span>May 2010</span>

SBOE: Still debating the “Two Rs”

As expected, much of the public testimony this morning over the State Board of Education’s proposed changes to the social studies curriculum standards revolved around the two volatile Rs – race and religion. Early in the hearing, former U.S. Education Secretary (and former Houston ISD Superintendent) Rod Paige urged the board to delay final action […]

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Saving steroids testing

It depends on your viewpoint, I guess, but with all the other programs that were among the $1.2 billion in spending cuts announced by state leaders today, you may wonder why it was so important to save $750,000 for a steroid testing program for high school athletes. The program, after all, has randomly tested some […]

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More on the new face of Texas

In a welltimed story in the Houston Chronicle over the weekend, Austinbased reporter Gary Scharrer offered a good look at the changing, evermoreHispanic face of Texas’ public school classrooms. I say “welltimed” because this is the week the State Board of Education, most of whose members like to believe Texas’ schools are as Anglo as […]

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Attorney general strikes PAC deductions

Attorney General Greg Abbott today released an opinion prohibiting school districts from deducting contributions to political action committees from employees’ paychecks. TSTA views the ruling as an assault on teachers’ constitutional rights to political participation. The opinion halts a practice that has been going on for years without any noticeable problems. All the deductions have […]

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