Students write in notebooks in a Texas classroom. (FOX 7 Austin)
AUSTIN, Texas - The Texas Education Agency got approval Wednesday night to make more than 4,200 updates and corrections to its Bible-infused Bluebonnet curriculum.
The board voted 9-6 Wednesday night to approve the changes after delaying the vote in January. Board members on Wednesday called the volume of fixes evidence of "sloppy publishing" and questioned the cost of the fix.
What they're saying:
"I'm very concerned that, as a board, we have set a precedent for sloppy publishing," Board Vice Chair Pam Little said. "So next year, if a publisher comes to us, and they have 3,000 errors, what are we going to say?"
Little said some publishers in the past have been fined up to $200,000 for errors.
"They were fined," Little said. "And many times they weren't approved on the list because of the number of errors that they had."
Members also shared concern about the cost of fixing the materials in question and who would be responsible for paying those costs. The costs inevitably fall on Texas taxpayers because the education agency used state funding to develop the materials.
"Because this is the agency's product, that means the taxpayers will cover that expense and that's concerning to me," Little said.
Colin Dempsey, who helps organize the instructional material review process, said those costs would be figured out after the vote passed.
Some members raised concerns that the errors were failing districts that implemented Bluebonnet and the students that could be impacted by the errors.
"I want to see Bluebonnet succeed long term. And I know there's also a lot of controversy that's kind of unnecessarily spiraled around Bluebonnet," Board Member Brandon Hall said. "And I think that when we have mistakes, that kind of undercuts the trust that we're building with our local trustees and our local administrators, and it kind of puts pressure on them as well. So I just want to see us really tighten up the process."
Member Tiffany Clark's concern came from teachers using the materials containing errors to teach students.
My concern is just that we have failed students this year who have been utilizing this product," Clark said. "If we've been teaching incorrectly, this is going to have an impact."
Dempsey said more reviewers have been hired at the agency to catch errors.
"It is part of our review to look for errors. Yes. Do we request that publishers submit them to the best seller knowledge error free? Also, yes," Dempsey said.
The education agency will update the online materials within 30 days and begin to replace physical books and teacher guides.
The state's board of education first approved the Bluebonnet curriculum in 2024.
The Source: Information in this article comes from the Feb. 25 meeting of the Texas State Board of Education.