Texas education standards spark debate on slavery, politics - USATODAY.com: The Texas State Board of Education was set to vote Friday on changes to social studies standards that have angered and, in some cases, baffled critics, including President George W. Bush's first education secretary, who is protesting the politicization of the process.
Among the proposed changes: calling the USA's slave trade the 'Atlantic triangular trade' and minimizing the role of Thomas Jefferson, who espoused a strict separation of church and state.
The new standards set curriculum for millions of Texas school children and lay the groundwork for textbooks and standardized tests for a decade. But the changes could also carry outsized influence because Texas is a large state — textbooks sold to other states often carry content tailored to Texas specifications.
