AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- The Texas Board of Education, in a party-line vote, approved social studies textbooks that include some disputed material.
Democrats urged the board to postpone the vote until Dec. 1 because of last-minute changes. After that lost 9-5, the books were approved 10-5.
Kathy Miller, president of the Texas Freedom Network, said the refusal to give members time to review changes showed the process is a "sham."
"This board adopted textbooks with numerous late changes that the public had little opportunity to review and comment on and that even board members themselves admitted they had not read," she said. "They can't honestly say they know what's in these textbooks, which could be in classrooms for a decade."
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Tom Maynard, a Republican board member who holds a teaching certificate from Texas Tech, defended the decision to move forward.
"I've heard a lot of comments calling this a funky process -- but I would just remind those around the circle that we adopted that process," Maynard said. "If any of you have gone through a home-improvement project that got a little out of hand, those things never go quite like you expect."
The board rejected material produced by Worldview Software with members saying they found factual mistakes. Another publisher, Houghton Mifflin, withdrew its textbooks from consideration.
Some of the more controversial material included in textbooks was eliminated, including a cartoon that made fun of people helped by affirmative action. But Moses is still described as a major influence on the men who drafted the Declaration of Independence and Constitution, a claim many scholars dispute.
During a hearing Tuesday, speakers from the Texas Freedom Network did battle with those from the Truth in Texas Textbooks Coalition, who wanted more information on President Ronald Reagan and a description of Islam as a violent religion. Others said the textbooks included Communist propaganda.
Some also accused officials of trying to sneak Common Core standards into Texas schools through the backdoor. The Common Core curriculum has been banned in the state.
