Texas Legislature Passes Sweeping Restrictions on Teaching About Race | Diane Ravitch's blog

Texas Legislature Passes Sweeping Restrictions on Teaching About Race | Diane Ravitch's blog

Texas Legislature Passes Sweeping Restrictions on Teaching About Race

In the GOP’s race to the bottom on teaching about racism, Texas takes the lead. The legislature passed a bill limiting what teachers can teach in history and social studies about race. Rightwing Governor Greg Abbott will sign it.

Here’s a description of the legislation from the Texas Tribune, written before it was passed by the Senate:

The Senate-approved version revives specific essential curriculum standards that students are required to understand, including the Declaration of Independence and the Federalist Papers. But it stripped more than two dozen requirements to study the writings or stories of multiple women and people of color that were also previously approved by the House, despite attempts by Democratic senators to reinstate some of those materials in the bill.

The Senate did vote to include the Federal Civil Rights CONTINUE READING: Texas Legislature Passes Sweeping Restrictions on Teaching About Race | Diane Ravitch's blog

CURMUDGUCATION: TX: Governor Still Holding On To Education Relief Funds

CURMUDGUCATION: TX: Governor Still Holding On To Education Relief Funds

TX: Governor Still Holding On To Education Relief Funds

Texas Democrats have been reduced to tattling to the US Department of Education, as Governor Abbott continues to sit on $17.9 billion-with-a-b in aid that is supposed to be going to public schools.

That huge pile of money that has been allocated by Congress through various packages. Texas school districts are trying to get budgets written for next year. But the money is just sitting there.

Why? Abbott really hasn't explained himself much, but local coverage suggests a couple of issues.

One is a requirement that the state invest a billion dollars in higher education. That would also be the equivalent of the one billion from the first relief package that Texas spent on fixing budget "shortfalls" instead of using it to add to public education funding. Not clear whether state officials object to spending money on higher education, or if they just don't want to spend one billion to get $17.9 billion, which doesn't seem like a really tough math problem.

Abbott's only real comment on this is that the state needs "more guidance" on how the money is CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: TX: Governor Still Holding On To Education Relief Funds