Science textbooks have been the battleground for decades in Texas, Kansas and other conservative states over evolution and Charles Darwin. “Creationism” and “Intelligent Design” became code words for replacing or “balancing” accepted science with Christian doctrine in the classroom. Now, the spotlight is on the Texas State Board of Education once again – this time with their review and revision of standards for history, sociology and economics textbooks.

Twenty states require that their boards of education adopt textbooks to be used in all the classrooms, elementary through high school. Texas reviews standards and textbooks every decade. A group of teachers and social science scholars spent a year working through the challenging project, resulting in a 120-page report that was submitted to the State Board of Education in January. The 15 members of the elected board then passed more than 100 amendments emphasizing conservative ideas and movements, as well as the importance of Christianity in the founding of the nation. The board did not consult any historians, sociologists or economists at their meetings. On March 12, the 10-to-5 vote for adoption of the new curriculum standards followed party lines with all the Republicans voting in favor.

Dr. Don McLeroy, a dentist who is the leader of the conservative seven-member faction on the board, said after the vote, “We are adding balance. History has already been skewed. Academia is skewed too far to the left.” Dr. McLeroy was successful in changing the treatment of the civil rights movement in the textbooks to shift emphasis from the nonviolent approach of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King and its significance in the movement. His amendments cited violent ideas and actions of the Black Panthers as well as including Republican votes in Congress for the Civil Rights laws. “Republicans need a little credit for that,” he said. “I think it’s going to surprise some students.”

Another board member, David Bradley who works in real estate, was instrumental in revising the concept that the founding fathers wanted a secular government. “I reject the notion by the left of a Constitutional separation of church and state. I have $1,000 for the charity of your choice if you can find it in the Constitution.” Other amendments eliminated Thomas Jefferson from a list of men whose writings inspired revolutions in the late l8th century. Jefferson and the Enlightenment were replaced with St. Thomas Aquinas, John Calvin and William Blackstone. Cynthia Dunbar, a board member who is a lawyer and a strict Constitutionalist, believes the nation was founded on Christian beliefs. She stated vehemently, “The Enlightenment was not the only philosophy on which these revolutions were based.” One wonders if Jefferson’s authorship of the Declaration of Independence was to remain in the appropriate textbook chapter or be relegated to a footnote.

On the losing side of the vote, Mavis Knight, a Democrat from Dallas, introduced an amendment requiring that students study the reasons “the founding fathers protected religious freedom in America by barring the government from promoting or disfavoring any particular religion above all others.” After the amendment was defeated along party lines, she said, “The social conservatives have perverted accurate history to follow their own agenda.” Hispanic board members’ efforts to include more Latino figures as role models for the state’s large Hispanic population were routinely defeated. Mary Helen Berlanga, left the last meeting angrily declaring, “They are going overboard, they are not experts, they are not historians. They are rewriting history, not only of Texas but of the United States and the world.”

The term “capitalism” is to be replaced throughout the economics textbooks by “free enterprise system.” Terri Lee, a member of the conservative bloc, gave the rationale for the change when she said, “Let’s face it, capitalism does have a negative connotation. You know, ‘capitalist pig!’ “ Other revisions in the economics textbooks add Milton Friedman and Friedrich von Hayek who favor free-market theory to Adam Smith, Karl Marx and John Maynard Keynes. History books for high school students would now include a new section on the “causes, key organizations and individuals in the conservative resurgence of the l980s and 1990s including Phyllis Schlafly, the Contract with America, the Heritage Foundation, the Moral Majority, and the National Rifle Association.”

Among our presidents: “Richard M. Nixon’s ‘role’ is changed to ‘leadership’ in the normalization of relations with China and the policy of detente.” Students are to describe Ronald Reagan’s leadership in domestic and international policies including Reagonomics and Peace Through Strength. David Bradley, who rejected the separation of church and state, also won approval for an amendment for the study of “the unintended consequences of the Great Society legislation, affirmative action and Title IX legislation.” Another amendment required that the history of McCarthyism include “how the later release of the Venona papers confirmed suspicions of Communist infiltration in the U. S. government.” Daniel Czitrom, professor of listory at Mount Holyoke College, is the co-author of “Out of Many: The History of the American People.” He described the actions of the Texas Board, “They want an American history that ignores or marginalizes African- Americans, women, Latinos, immigrants and popular culture. They prefer a pseudo-patriotic history that denies the fundamental conflicts that shaped our past.”

Texas is one of the largest buyers of textbooks in the nation. In the past, this has meant that what Texas decided became the textbooks used by students in classrooms across the country. The good news is that in the digital age, technological advances have made it possible for publishers to meet standards decided upon by individual states. However, the bad news hits the students in Texas who will be learning history – rewritten by the State Board of Education.

Joyce S. Anderson is the author of “Courage in High Heels,” “Flaw in the Tapestry,” “If Winter Comes” and “The Mermaids Singing.” She can be reached at JSAWrite@aol.com.