Texas Textbooks Face Big Fix‑Up After Mistake Spree

The state’s new “Bluebonnet” reading guide, meant to add more religious ideas into schools, has been found full of mistakes. Teachers and officials spotted hundreds of errors after the books hit classrooms in 2024. Because of these problems, the Texas Board of Education approved a package of corrections. The updates will fix facts, punctuation and some pictures that had legal issues. The board’s vote was close: eight Republicans to six Democrats. Some members worried that even small mistakes could hurt students, especially if they show up on state tests. One board member said that a typo in a math problem could change the answer and affect learning outcomes. Another pointed out that while some errors were minor, they still need to be fixed.The Texas Education Agency said it had to make about 1, 900 changes. That number includes repeats across teacher guides and student workbooks. Most of the edits were for clarity or grammar, not big factual errors. It is still unknown how many districts actually started using the guide this year. In August, more than 300 schools said they would adopt it, which is about a quarter of all Texas districts. After the board’s approval, the agency promised that online versions would be updated within a month. No timeline was given for printing new hard copies or how much it will cost. A board member who supported the changes warned that this could set a bad example for future publications. In response, an agency official said it would add more reviewers to catch problems earlier next time.