Thomas Ratliff

 

Thomas Ratliff, Republican candidate for the State Board of Education, today questioned why the state board is relying on people from out of state to write the new curriculum for social studies for Texas' public schools.

"The State of Texas has many top-tier colleges and universities, both public and private, that have experts in many, many fields of study," said Ratliff. "Why did the SBOE go to one of the most liberal states in the country, Massachusetts, to find an expert in social studies?"

"If I am elected to the state board, I will utilize our resources right here in Texas, especially when we have at hand a nationally recognized expert in a particular field of study. The majority of our high school graduates who choose to continue their education attend in-state colleges and universities. Why aren't we working more closely with them than with people from Massachusetts?"

"From what I understand, the panel member from Massachusetts doesn't even stand out as an expert and, in fact, isn't much of an expert at all in the field of social studies curriculum. Unfortunately, my opponent has set a very low standard for who should determine what our kids learn in their local neighborhood school when he was quoted saying, "If two (board) members think they are qualified, they're qualified." I think our schoolchildren deserve better than that."

"I think this is an insult to the entire higher education community and every family in Texas when the State Board does things like this. The State Board should do whatever it takes to make sure our K-12 education is coordinated with our colleges and universities. When we don't utilize their expertise, how is that helping?"