Jun
19
Written by:
William Lutz
6/19/2009 7:47 PM
Hate Crimes. HPV. And now HB 4294. These are all bills or actions where Gov. Rick Perry took his socially conservative base for granted.
That said, this time, he is at least trying to look like he cares about the concerns of social conservatives, even though the bill -- which he signed -- benefits primarily computer hardware manufacturers.
His executive order -- which can be changed or revoked at anytime and is not a TEA rule or law -- requires the commissioner to let the elected State Board of Education (SBOE) participate in the adoption process set up for electronic textbooks under HB 4294. The entire order can be read
here.
Specifically, it requires that the SBOE appoint the review panels set up in the bill and that the SBOE be given the opportunity to advise the commissioner before he makes a final decision on a book. It also prohibits adoption of any book previously rejected. (There aren't many of those, because the board rarely rejects a book. Rather the public review process the board conducted was designed to improve books, rather than weed them out.)
In other words, the executive order ensures the SBOE has input, though -- by signing the bill -- the governor has stripped them of the authority over electronic textbooks.