Happy Wednesday!

I hope you’re able to relax, recharge, and spend time with friends and family this week and reflect on all that you’re thankful for. 

In this week’s edition, we take a look at changes coming to social studies in Texas classrooms and the impact artificial intelligence is having on our public school libraries.

You’ll also learn more about Amanda Jones, an author and librarian who is fighting censorship and book banning across the country.

If you missed last week’s edition you can check it out here.

Have a happy Thanksgiving!🦃

Photo by David J Phillip via AP

The Texas State Board of Education is moving forward with its plans to reshape how public schools teach social studies in kindergarten through 12th grade. 

The changes, discussed during a Nov. 19 meeting, are meant to put a greater emphasis on Texas history and deviate from world history, geography, and cultures.

But the decision is garnering criticism, with education advocates claiming that the panel reviewing the new curriculum is “hyper-partisan.”

The 15 member, Republican-dominated state board that voted in favor of the new framework also appointed a panel of nine advisors who will provide feedback on social studies standards and develop new recommendations.

While the board previewed broad topics that will be included throughout the curriculum during the Nov. 19 meeting, they have yet to pin down exact periods, events, and historical figures.

Three of the nine advisors that will oversee the framework—David Barton, David Randall, and Jordan Adams—hold far-right views, and the Texas Freedom Network, a nonprofit education advocacy group, has launched a petition calling for their removal. 

“As the State Board of Education overhauls social studies standards for Texas schools in the coming months, board members must set aside politics and focus on teaching the truth,” the petition reads.

This week, we’re deviating from “The Handmaid’s Tale” to talk about a book that isn’t banned in Texas public schools, but does offer some insights on the book banning fight in Texas.

On Saturday, I attended an event at a Half Price Books in Dallas hosted by Amanda Jones, author of “That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America.”

She spoke about the attacks she’s experienced as a librarian in Louisiana, how censorship goes hand-in-hand with the privatization of our public schools, and the importance of the role school libraries play in promoting literacy and high test scores for students.

Hear what she had to say:

📚A required reading list for all K-12 Texas students is coming: Texas will soon become the first state to adopt a mandatory list of books that must be taught at each grade level in classrooms statewide. (Houston Chronicle)

✏️Government shutdown has lasting effects on Head Start: Although the federal government’s 43-day shutdown has ended, Head Start teachers, directors, and family-service staff across Texas worked without pay, relied on donations, and even took second jobs to keep children learning and fed. (COURIER Texas)

🎓Trump releases list of ‘unprofessional’ college degrees: A measure in President Donald Trump’s megabill that passed over the summer includes certain degrees the administration deems “unprofessional” and students studying them will no longer receive the same amount of reimbursement for their studies. (Newsweek)

Artificial intelligence is reshaping classrooms and libraries in Texas.

Teachers in Houston ISD are now allowed to use ChatGPT Edu—an AI chatbot from OpenAI built for K-12 teachers and educators—to help with their teaching and lesson plans.

Districts throughout Texas are also using AI to vet new library materials to ensure they are complying with Senate Bill 13, a new law that makes book banning easier across the state, and strips librarians of their power and responsibilities—giving them to parents and school boards instead.

We’ll continue to keep an eye on this topic as more schools continue to adopt or utilize this evolving technology, but for now I want to hear from you. 

Do you think AI has any place in our Texas public schools?

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