For students, textbooks are a daily part of life. They are used in classes as well as a reference for homework and research. They are made available in book form as well as electronically. But many of these textbooks are not fact checked beyond the publisher and that will likely not change soon as the Texas Board of Education rejected a plan (8-7) to create a group of university professors whose sole purpose would be to look for mistakes in textbooks.

The proposal stems from controversy over some books’ analysis about Islamic history, the Civil War, and religious inspiration in the writing of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States.

Thomas Ratliff, Board vice chairman, offered the proposal to replace the initial proposal of reevaluating textbook approval procedures while knowing there would be some concern about this.

“I know that people are concerned about pointy headed liberals in the ivory tower making our process worse,” Ratliff said in a Dallas Morning News article. “Why wouldn’t we reach out to them and say let’s make sure these books are as factually accurate as possible?”

However, the conservative Truth in Texas Textbooks Coalition’s retired Lt. Col. Roy White believes the state is “fortunate to have the current system.” Rather, he said the publishers should list who they use as advisers.

“No further review panels are required,” White said in the same Dallas Morning News article.

Despite this proposal being rejected, most students have faith in their textbooks as well as their own judgement when learning.

“I trust my teachers and expect them to be properly educated for them to have their job,” freshman humanities student Joanna Lee said. “But I think that students shouldn’t be so ignorant as to blindly believe that textbooks are one hundred percent unbiased and that ultimately students should be able to differentiate between fact and opinion, especially concerning subjects like history, religion, and so on.”

While Lee considers it the student’s responsibility to judge fairly, others don’t care too much unless it’s going to impact their AP testing.

“I don’t see a particular problem with the books because it gives us material to study for tests and prepare for the AP exam,” sophomore Sophia Choi said. “If the things aren’t accurate they should fix it but as long as it’s right info for the AP exam and tests, I’m fine.”

Despite the efforts of the Board, some teachers like Julie Rutherford think the problem is not always just factual error, but “perception.”

“The problem is trying to make sure the perception of the way they wrote it is indeed followed through,” Rutherford said. “I have seen errors but that’s where the teacher steps in. Our job is to go through, catch things, clarify with our students, and answer their questions.”

Rutherford also believes that teachers have responsibilities other than just teaching students the material.

“Our job is usually to teach students to question sources, and find the bias and the point of view to make sure that you understand the global view,” Rutherford said. “It’s important to have teachers, students, and parents to have that open dialogue so there are not misconceptions about terms as facts.”