Michael Soto Blasts Plagiarized SBOE Standards

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT: Michael Soto (cell: 210-685-8378; email: michael@michael-soto.org

Austin, Texas - April 28, 2010 -
State Board of Education candidate Michael Soto (D-San Antonio) today called on SBOE Chairperson Gail Lowe and Gov. Rick Perry to delay a vote on new social studies standards for Texas public schools until serious flaws--including plagiarism--have been addressed.

Testifying before the Mexican American Legislative Caucus, Soto questioned the "shoddy scholarship" underpinning the Social Studies TEKS tentatively approved in March: "A flawed process led to a virtual encyclopedia of crassly politicized, short-sighted propaganda posing as history," Soto asserted. "Worse yet, portions of the Social Studies TEKS are plagiarized from dubious sources. Texas kids deserve better than this."

Outraged by his discovery of plagiarized material in the Social Studies TEKS, Soto added, "I must insist that Chairperson Lowe postpone a final vote on the Social Studies TEKS until Commissioner [Robert] Scott and TEA staff have fully vetted the integrity of the social studies standards. I must also insist that Gov. Perry call on the SBOE to postpone a final vote until all Texans have a social studies curriculum that they can believe in. Anything less would be to aid and abet intellectual property theft; anything less would be to sell out Texas students. If Gov. Perry is unwilling to stand up for Texas kids, then I hope Texas voters send a clear message this November: Enough is enough."

In March, the SBOE took initial steps to approve the revised Social Studies TEKS along a party-line, ten to five vote. The SBOE is scheduled to vote on final approval of the Social Studies TEKS in May. With his testimony, Soto joins a growing chorus of individuals and institutions calling for a delay in the final approval of the revised curriculum.

After attending public schools in Brownsville ISD throughout his childhood, Soto received a B.A. degree from Stanford University and a Ph.D. degree from Harvard University. He is presently associate professor of English and director of the McNair Scholars Program at Trinity University. He lives in San Antonio with his wife Celina Peña and their sons Alejo (a first-grade student in the San Antonio ISD) and newborn Américo.

The counties in SBOE District 3 are Atascosa, Bee, Bexar, Brooks, Duval, Frio, Hidalgo, Jim Wells, Karnes, Live Oak, McMullen, Medina, and Wilson.