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Hi John,
The State Board of Education held a public hearing on proposed new science textbooks on Tuesday. The Texas Freedom Network and other education advocates sent a clear message: Teach the truth about climate change and evolution.
Meeting Recap
TFN and other testifiers pointed to the overwhelming scientific consensus on both topics, which climate deniers and other far-right activists have tried to censor for decades. While the proposed textbooks would improve with more robust coverage of climate change, they provide a foundation teachers can build on when teaching about the crisis.
Climate deniers on the board pushed back, insisting that instruction focus on the benefits of fossil fuels. One, an attorney for a major oil and gas company, even seemed to dismiss the growing use of renewable energy resources. He also bizarrely argued that science classrooms aren’t the place for students to learn about ways to address the crisis.
Educators, former teachers, and science advocates countered these misleading arguments in their testimony and pointed to the importance of ensuring students learn the factual information they need to deal with the consequences of the crisis they are inheriting.
The public hearing followed the release of our new report with the National Center for Science Education: Grading the Textbooks: How Proposed Science Textbooks in Texas Address Climate Change and Evolution [[link removed]] .
What’s Next?
The SBOE should vote in November on which textbooks to adopt. Stay tuned for ways to take action. In the meantime, you can stay updated by joining our Teach the Truth movement [[link removed]] fighting censorship in public education.
Children must be able to learn science accurately, honestly, and thoroughly so they can take the steps needed to lessen the effects of climate change. TFN and our partners will remain focused on defending science education, and we’ll continue monitoring efforts by special interests — particularly the fossil fuel industry — to censor what students learn in their textbooks and science classrooms. Thank you for supporting public education with us!
In the fight,
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Emerald Belmarez (she/her)
TFN Organizing Strategist
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TFN is a statewide non-partisan, grassroots organization that is building an informed and effective movement working toward equality and social justice.
Texas Freedom Network
P.O. Box 1624
Austin, TX 78767
United States
Phone: (512) 322-0545
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