This is a great time to start following Texas' State Board of Education, the institution responsible for setting K-12 policy in the state.
Following last year's election, the board's 15 members are evenly divided between social conservatives and moderate-liberals, with a slight edge going to the former. Harvey Kronberg reports that they are using this advantage to stack committee assignments in their favor, punishing dissenters:
Prepare yourself for an inside baseball lesson on the power struggle that continues on the State Board of Education between conservatives and their moderates-liberal brethren on the elected 15-member board.
To mix our metaphors here, conservatives now hold all the cards on the SBOE. In this numbers game, 7 of the 15 members can be counted as safe conservative votes, with one Democratic votes, in particular, often falling to their side during close calls. The one wild card in this equation is former Chair Geraldine “Tincy” Miller, who was burned two years ago by conservatives during committee assignments and is now no longer a lock on tight votes over controversial issues.
Know how hyped up House members are right now about committee assignments? Well, to a lesser degree, it’s the same at the State Board of Education. Power and control on the SBOE is demonstrated in two ways: committee assignments and the ability to appoint teachers to curriculum review committees.
