SBOE seeks textbooks without voting on Mexican-American course
Published 4:13 pm, Wednesday, April 9, 2014
AUSTIN – The State Board of Education ducked a vote on a controversial optional Mexican-American studies course Wednesday and instead asked publishers to develop textbooks for several ethnic studies courses supported by the state's curriculum.
By an 11-3 vote, a board committee put out a call to publishers for instructional materials in Mexican-American studies, African American studies, Native American studies and Asian American studies, which will go through the state's instructional materials approval process.
Instead of developing a stand-alone Mexican American studies course, districts can offer the course under the "special topics in social studies" portion of the state curriculum, said member Ruben Cortez, D-Brownsville, the course's main proponent on the board.
The content of those courses will be developed jointly by the state and school districts, he said.
Proponents of the stand-alone course present at Wednesday's meeting called the new plan a "win."