Texas State Board of Education: The Final Round

9:05 am: The State Board of Education meeting begins this morning with the jazz choir from Bowie High School in Austin. This is probably the most pleasant thing I've heard in this room in the last several months.

9:23 am: Roll call and approving the agenda. Mary Helen Berlanga and Mavis Knight are participating at-a-distance from remote regional offices. Both are dealing with health-related issues as best I can gather from the comments of the other Board members

10:10 We are back form a recess, and the discussion of amendments is about to begin.

Dunbar has proposed an amendment for S&W in another form. She wants to insert into the 3a TEKS for all subject grade 3 and up:

"analyze, evaluate, and critique scientific explanations in all fields of science by using empirical evidence, logical reasoning and experimental and observational testing, by exmaining both scientific evidence that is supportive and not supportive of those explanations, so as to encourage critical thinking by the student."

Craig, also a lawyer and usually friendly to out side, has proposed amending this:

"analyze, evaluate, and critique scientific explanations in all fields of science by using empirical evidence, logical reasoning and experimental and observational testing, including examining all sides of scientific evidence of those scientific explanations so as to encourage critical thinking by the student."

The SBOE members have all confused each other by trying to amend and amendment. Because two members are not physically here, they are having a hard time keeping up with what happens.

10:33 - The discussion is now going on about this amendment. Dunbar has seconded Craig's amendment to her amendment. Although Genie and the TFN folks are quite disgusted, I think Craig's amendment is a marked improvement because it limits discussion of "all sides" (the language TFN and NCSE think is objectionable) to all sides of "scientific evidence".

Mary Helen Berlanga is not supporting either version of the amendment, but what will Craig and Agosto do? As my old boss would say, Cluster Foxtrot.