Texas Board Ok's Textbooks Promoting Faith Heritage

After a bitter ideological fight, the Texas Board of Education has approved new history textbooks that students will use beginning next fall.

In a partisan move, all 10 Republicans on the board voted to sanction 89 books and classroom software packages and all five Democrats on the board opposed the move.

Chairwoman Barbara Cargill told CBN News she is pleased with the final vote.

"The publishers stood strong against those who wanted excellent content about our country's rich religious heritage not only revised but eliminated," she said.

Cargill cited key passages that were retained, including one that explains the concept of a biblical idea of a covenant and how it contributed to our Constitution. Another describes the influence of Moses and the 10 Commandments on legal systems throughout the world.

Liberal activists and a group of 52 university professors protested the emphasis.

In a Nov. 13 letter to major textbook publishers vying for the board's stamp of approval the professors said "your textbooks exaggerate and even invent claims about the influence of Moses and the 'Judeo-Christian' tradition on our nation's founding and on Western political traditions."

A group of citizens that founded the non-profit Truth in Texas Textbooks Coalition (TTT) said it plans to publish a "report card" on all the textbooks to help parents and school boards identify which are the most accurate.

Local school boards in Texas are not required to purchase textbooks approved by the state althought they often do.

Lt. Col (ret) Roy White, founder of the coalition, said individuals from eight other states have contacted TTT for information on its protocols regarding textbook review.