At least six San Antonio-area school districts adopted some portion of the state-developed instructional materials known as Bluebonnet Learning.<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cWhat a waste of taxpayer dollars!\u201d read one complaint to the Texas Education Agency. \u201cThis disaster has doubled the workload on my teachers, and as an administrator who saw the value in an aligned curriculum, I am embarrassed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Republican board member Audrey Young, who chairs the board\u2019s instruction committee, said Friday that her committee has seen a high number of corrections before, but not \u201cin the 1,000s, plural,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Four other publishers that submitted correction requests, for comparison, reported a combined 16 errors.<\/p>\n
Colin Dempsey, the education agency\u2019s director of district operations, technology and sustainability supports, told board members the roughly 4,200 edits span more than 2,100 components of the curriculum. Bluebonnet, developed by the education agency, includes math and reading language arts in English and Spanish.<\/p>\n
The corrections, Dempsey said, include fixes to relatively minor errors present across multiple units. Bluebonnet also has a significantly higher number of components than other publishers do, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there\u2019s going to be corrections,\u201d Dempsey said. \u201cThat\u2019s why we have this process.\u201d<\/p>\n
Little, the vice chair, agreed on the minor nature of some edits but said she still considers them \u201cpretty sloppy publishing.\u201d The need to replace images concerns her most, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that they have requested licensing changes and the fact that they have these items in here leaves us open to lawsuits for a violation of copyright laws,\u201d said Little, who formerly served as regional vice president for Houghton Mifflin Publishers.<\/p>\n
Historically in Texas, learning materials rife with errors have drawn scrutiny across the political spectrum. Two Democratic members, Gustavo Reveles and Marisa B. P\u00e9rez-D\u00edaz, noted that Texas publishers sign affidavits prior to submitting their materials for approval. Those affidavits indicate that the authors checked for errors.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I want to ensure is that all publishers are being held to the same standard,\u201d P\u00e9rez-D\u00edaz said. \u201cIt\u2019s quite alarming to hear and to learn of all of these errors, especially licensure errors, at this late an hour.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bluebonnet\u2019s reading portion attracted national attention in 2024 for its references to the Bible and Christianity. Roughly a third of Texans follow other faiths or no faith at all.<\/p>\n
The education agency has said the religious references make up only a fraction of the overall product. Multiple analyses have found that the curriculum skews heavily in favor of Christianity compared to other religions. Parents and historians have also expressed concerns about the materials downplaying America\u2019s history of racism and slavery.<\/p>\n
The State Board of Education narrowly approved Bluebonnet, often touted by state leaders as high-quality instructional material, in November 2024. Roughly 1 in 4 school districts have indicated that they\u2019re using at least some portions of the reading curriculum, covering about 400,000 students. The materials come with a $60 per-student incentive for school districts.<\/p>\n
The board voted Friday to postpone its decision on the education agency\u2019s correction request until its next meeting.<\/p>\n
The board\u2019s next official meeting is scheduled for April. However, Chair Aaron Kinsey, a Republican, said Friday he plans to call a special meeting at an undisclosed date to address some of the board\u2019s unfinished business from the week.<\/p>\n
Until the board approves the request, the current materials will remain in place.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 4,200-plus changes, for me, is unprecedented,\u201d said Republican board member Will Hickman. \u201cI just saw the list yesterday, and I just need more time for myself to consider those before I\u2019m able to approve these changes.\u201d<\/p>\n
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