Tag Archives: Barbara Cargill

A look at the other SBOE races of interest

Posted on February 9, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

There are three races in the State Board of Education that Democrats have a shot to flip based on recent election results. We are pretty familiar with SBOE6, so let’s take a look at districts 5 and 10. The Statesman … Continue reading →

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SBOE approves new evolution standard

Posted on April 21, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Shockingly, it doesn’t suck. The Texas State Board of Education tentatively voted to remove language in high school biology standards that would have required students to challenge evolutionary science. Currently, the curriculum requires students to “evaluate” scientific explanations for the … Continue reading →

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Some things never evolve

Posted on February 6, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

The SBOE, for instance. The Texas State Board of Education on Wednesday voted preliminarily for science standards that would keep in language that some say opens the door to creationism. The votes came a day after the board heard from … Continue reading →

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HISD board votes for Mexican-American studies class

Posted on April 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

You would think this wouldn’t be a big deal. The Houston school board, representing the largest district in Texas, threw its support Thursday behind the creation of a Mexican-American studies course in Texas public schools. The 9-0 vote followed some … Continue reading →

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Standing up for science

Posted on September 19, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Sure hope it did some good. A past Texas State Board of Education chairman and outspoken creationist urged his former colleagues on Tuesday to approve high school biology textbooks he said would “strike a final blow to the teaching of … Continue reading →

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CSCOPE still in scope

Posted on July 25, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Every once in awhile, whether they intend to or not, the SBOE does something worthwhile. The State Board of Education concluded its July meeting without providing further guidance as to whether Texas school districts continued to use lessons from CSCOPE, … Continue reading →

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SBOE passes anti-voucher resolution

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Good for them. The Texas State Board of Education voted 10-5 on Friday to urge the Legislature to reject proposals that would result in public funds being allocated for private educational institutions. The resolution, authored by Board of Education member … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Three for SBOE

Posted on May 26, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron finally crosses one redistricting-affected category off its list by issuing three endorsements in State Board of Education primaries. State Board of Education, Position 6, Democratic primary: This race has drawn a particularly strong slate of Democrats. (We are … Continue reading →

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The unhelpful SBOE overview

Posted on May 22, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The premise of this story is good and useful. Unfortunately, the execution falls short. Conservatives and moderates get a rare opportunity this year to try to stack the State Board of Education with members who will help shape public education … Continue reading →

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No calculators for you!

Posted on April 21, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I’m OK with this. Texas schoolchildren should not use calculators until they learn to work through math problems the old-fashioned way — on paper, State Board of Education members said Thursday. The board on Thursday tentatively approved new math curriculum … Continue reading →

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Grading Texas science classes

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

We get a C. Texas public school science courses “pay lip service” to critical content and largely ignore evolution in the middle grades, according to a national education foundation study that gives the state of Texas an overall “C” for … Continue reading →

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A look ahead to SBOE races

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Regardless of what happens with the other maps, the one map that was precleared and is set for the next decade is the SBOE. With all 15 members up for re-election (like the Senate, everyone has to run in the … Continue reading →

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Day One at the SBOE

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s your TFN Insider coverage of today’s SBOE science hearings. In Part I of the hearings, we find that the SBOE may not be such a major factor in school curriculum any more: 10:20  – Board members are quizzing the … Continue reading →

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Time to get it on again with the SBOE

Posted on July 20, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From an email from the National Center for Science Education: The Texas Board of Education is at it again, this time aiming to insert creationism into high school biology classes via textbook “supplements” (such as those from International Databases, LLC). … Continue reading →

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Perry appoints Forensic, SBOE Chairs

Posted on July 3, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The new SBOE Chair is not who I expected. State Board of Education member Barbara Cargill, R-The Woodlands, will take the helm as the board’s new chairwoman, Gov. Rick Perry announced Friday. She will follow Gail Lowe, who was appointed … Continue reading →

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House approves SBOE map

Posted on April 19, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

One down, three to go. A new map for the 15-member Texas State Board of Education became the first redistricting proposal to make its way through the Texas House Thursday afternoon, winning approval on a vote of 99-45. State Rep. … Continue reading →

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What kind of patriot are you, anyway?

Posted on July 24, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Contrarian reports on more SBOE follies. A reader passed along a link to this Nacogdoches Daily Sentinel story that shows just how much some members of the State Board of Education are trying to slant social studies classes in … Continue reading →

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Perry appoints Lowe chair of SBOE

Posted on July 10, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The good news is, he didn’t pick Cynthia Dunbar. The bad news is, it’s not clear how much better new State Board of Education Chair Gail Lowe will be. Lowe, co-publisher of the Lampasas Dispatch Record, was first elected to … Continue reading →

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The SBOE’s assault on history

Posted on July 8, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

In my earlier post about the virtues of a pro-science PAC, I mentioned that the State Board of Education had turned its attention towards doing to social studies what it had done to science. Vince gives a great rundown of … Continue reading →

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Chron coverage of yesterday’s SBOE actions

Posted on January 24, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the Chron story about yesterday’s happenings at the State Board of Education, in which the good news was that the anti-science “strengths and weaknesses” language had been removed from the curriculum, and the bad news was that a subsequent … Continue reading →

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