"McGraw-Hill, the second-largest educational publisher in the world, has removed key passages from a proposed Texas textbook that cast doubt on climate science," reports the National Journal (November 17, 2014). The decision follows on the heels of a similar decision by Pearson, previously reported by NCSE.
McGraw-Hill confirmed that it will remove a deeply problematic lesson that equated unsupported arguments from a special interest-funded political advocacy group, the Heartland Institute, with data-backed material from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a Nobel-winning organization of scientists from around the world.
In a joint press release from NCSE, the Texas Freedom Network, and Climate Parents, NCSE's Josh Rosenau praised the publishers for their actions: "They listened to us and the nation’s leading scientific and educational societies, ensuring that students will learn the truth about the greatest challenge they'll confront as citizens of the 21st century."
Rosenau added, in a November 17, 2014, post on NCSE's Science League of America blog, "The board might try to reverse the changes the publishers made, so we'll stay vigilant until that last vote. But with this move, the publishers have made clear that they intend to stand up for accurate science, and we'll support them however we can."
The state board of education is scheduled to hold a final public hearing on social studies textbooks, including the submissions from McGraw-Hill and Pearson, on November 18, 2014, with a vote on the textbooks expected to follow on November 21, 2014. Textbooks approved by the board will be used in classrooms starting in the 2015-2016 academic year.