The Texas State Board of Education formally rejected a controversial Mexican-American studies textbook Friday. The vote came after months of protests from historians, teachers, and lawmakers.
The unanimous rejection came with no discussion from board members. But the book, called Mexican American Heritage, had been in the spotlight for months.
Dozens of historians, lawmakers and educators criticized the book for factual errors—and for promoting stereotypes of Mexican people.
After the vote, board member Ruben Cortez said the rejection was a relief. “Aside from the all the stereotypes in the book that people found deeply offensive, we have a job as the state board and we can’t allow any book that has factual errors,” Cortez says.
The State Board of Education also approved a fresh request for textbooks in what is called Special Topics in Social Studies for next year.
