By Mubarrat Choudhury

It’s the fall of 2016, and as senior Adrian Vasquez scribbles through his Cornell Notes, he notices some inconsistencies in his government textbook. He recalls learning that philosopher John Locke and his philosophies influenced Thomas Jefferson and ideas contained in The Declaration of Independence, but his government textbook now says it was Moses’s Ten Commandments.

Four years ago, the Texas State Board of Education approved curriculum requirements that changed the factual basis of textbooks. Publishers have finally caught up to these new standards, and the State Board of Education will consider adopting the new books in November. The textbooks will be distributed to schools in the fall of 2015.

“We are currently developing teams to review the available textbooks,” RISD Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education Tabitha Branum said. “Our aim is to adopt a textbook that matches the TEKS and meets the needs of all students in RISD.”

In November there will be 140 individuals appointed to panels, of which history teachers will be in the minority. RISD will also have its own review board to select textbooks.

“The district puts a lot of effort and care in choosing a book, especially one that is ‘down the middle,’ so to speak – especially one that is more factual-based,” assistant principal Michael Westfall said.

Critics say the new textbooks include factual inconsistencies, which exaggerate the influence of many Judeo-Christian figures on American Politics. Some books were also accused of teaching misleading information regarding the separation of church and state, downplaying the role conquest played in the spread of Christianity and showing bias toward conservative ideology.

“This problem was posed years ago when the curriculum was changed, but as a teacher, I put qualifiers on what is taught,” AP U.S. History teacher Martin Russell said. “I tell my students what is needed for the test and what the State of Texas looks for.”

With two different standards to follow, some teachers said the changes might make it harder to prepare students for both the state and AP tests.

“This provides misinformation to the students, not only by leaving out the facts, but also by portraying only one point on the spectrum,” senior Rob Oakley said. “This will be difficult for students when advancing through their history classes, especially when going into an AP class where the standards are different and generally accepted as correct.”

Historically, Texas’ textbook selections have had a large impact on the curriculum throughout the country. In 1994, Texas ordered over 400 revisions to health textbooks that led to many other states also deleting the toll-free numbers of teenage suicide prevention groups. The revisions prompted many discussions.

“The most intriguing thing about the proposed textbook change to me is simply that we are having this debate,” Branum said.