Texas Textbooks Define Marriage Between Man and Woman
Months of debate among Texas Board of Education members came to a conclusion on Friday as two publishers of middle and high school health textbooks agreed to last-minute changes that describe marriage as the union between a man and a woman.
Months of debate among Texas Board of Education members came to a conclusion on Friday as two publishers of middle and high school health textbooks agreed to last-minute changes that describe marriage as the union between a man and a woman.
Last year, Texas passed a law prohibiting the recognition of gay civil unions, in addition to a ban against gay marriage that was already in place.
In light of this legislation, Republican board member Terri Leo proposed the changes for the textbooks, arguing that broad terms such as “individuals who marry” and “married partners” contradict Texas marriage laws and promote gay marriage.
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"Marriage has been defined in Texas, so it should also be defined in our health textbooks that we use as marriage between a man and a woman," Leo said.
The main victory sought and won by Leo was the inclusion of a clear definition of marriage as between a man and a woman. Both Holt, Rinehart, and Winston and Glencoe/McGraw Hill, two of the largest publishers, agreed to add this definition to the text.
Mary Helen Berlanga, a Democrat on the board, pushed for approval of the books without the proposed changes, arguing that the proposed changes were not brought up until the last minute. Her proposition was voted out 10 to 4.
“The truth of the matter is that we were overstepping our authority,” said Berlanga, referring to a 1995 ruling by the Texas Legislature which removed much of the board’s control over textbook approval.
Other sources of debate are the textbooks’ emphasis on abstinence education, with minimal information on other issues such as pregnancy prevention and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Several groups have argued that the books are incomplete, and need to provide more information on these topics.
Though opposed to the changes, Berlanga agreed with other board members that the material covered by the books was acceptable, citing supplementary material that could provide additional information needed. In addition, Texas law effectively states that pregnancy prevention and STD education must focus on abstinence, while further topics may be included at the discretion of the individual school districts.
As the second-largest purchaser of textbooks behind California, decisions made in Texas could influence textbooks distributed to several other states. At the moment, publishers do not plan to include the changes in books sold outside of Texas.
