What will Texas children learn about climate change, evolution?

What Texas children will learn about climate change and evolution is up for debate yet again. The State Board of Education is meeting this week in Austin to discuss proposed science textbooks. They will take public testimony before an expected vote on Friday. Conservative groups and politicians already are attacking the books for how they address evolution and climate change. Public education advocacy groups, meanwhile, say they are concerned political interference will derail students’ access to accurate science lessons with high-stakes. These fights are not new in Texas, instead rearing whenever state officials choose new instructional materials. The SBOE decides which textbooks will be on the state’s adoption list; local districts can then decide which materials to use with their students. Evolution proponents, critics clash at Texas school board’s textbook hearing Texas Values, a religious advocacy organization, put out an alert urging people to speak out against classroom materials that emphasize evolution. The group believes creationism should be “given just as much attention as the theories of Evolution, and the Big Bang Theory.” “Unfortunately, some of the textbooks submitted present Evolution as the predominant or only explanation for how the world began and how life came into existence,” the group wrote.“Furthermore, the idea of humans evolving from monkeys is inconsistent with our Christian belief of God creating male and female.” Earlier this month, Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian sent a letter to the SBOE saying the Texas textbooks don’t need a “woke environmentalist agenda.” His letter encouraged the board members to choose materials that promote the importance of fossil fuels and reject the promotion of green energy. The railroad commission has primary regulatory jurisdiction over the oil and natural gas industry. An analysis from the Texas Freedom Network Education Fund and the National Center for Science Education found that almost all proposed textbooks met state’s standards. The Texas Freedom Network keeps tabs on moves that impact what’s taught in schools. The groups asked a panel of scientists and educators to evaluate the proposed textbooks and how they addressed climate change and evolution. “Almost all of the textbooks submitted by publishers conform to requirements set out by the board in the state science standards (TEKS) and other rules. In addition, they correctly do not give credence to junk science and scientifically unsupported critiques of evolution and anthropogenic climate change,” the report reads. The reviewers did, however, want to see additional information about “the reality of human activity behind present climate change, as well as about the seriousness of the problem, ways to mitigate the consequences, and strategies for students to identify disinformation on the topic.” The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas. The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Garrett and Cecilia Boone, The Meadows Foundation, The Murrell Foundation, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University, Sydney Smith Hicks and the University of Texas at Dallas. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Lab’s journalism.