November 17, 2005 State Textbooks Get Accuracy Upgrade Sixth-
graders in America's most populous state will soon learn that
Romans, not Jews, crucified Jesus. The lesson could have been
different had some of the textbooks approved by California last
week gone through in their proposed form. But when the
California Board of Education voted to adopt new social studies
textbooks for elementary and middle school students, it required
nearly 1,000 edits and corrections. As a result, students will
also learn that the biblical story of Exodus commemorates
national liberation, not Jewish tribal unity; and that the
Jewish God is a god of justice and mercy, not just reward and
punishment. Far from the spotlight of the public debate over
evolution and intelligent design in science textbooks, a less-
publicized battle was being waged for months over the religion
content of social studies and history materials. In its meeting
last week, the state Board of Education voted unanimously to
adopt 10 publishers' educational progr