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Accountability Sought In Virginia For Erroneous Textbooks

January 14, 2011
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Portions of the textbook, Our Virginia Past and Present, are in dispute and have sparked a proposal to change Virginia's textbook review process.
Five Ponds Press
Portions of the textbook, Our Virginia Past and Present, are in dispute and have sparked a proposal to change Virginia's textbook review process.

By Matt McCleskey

The Virginia Department of Education plans to hold a publisher accountable for two history textbooks which educators found had multiple errors.

The board has approved an effort to push Five Ponds Press to correct -- or replace -- two elementary school books: "Our Virginia: Past and Present" and "Our America: To 1865."

Company officials say they're already revising those books and that new ones will be available online in a few days.

But that may not be enough for school board officials, who may also seek financial reimbursement from the publisher for the cost of the books.

Officials say they could decide to bar both textbooks from the public school curriculum. Meanwhile, the board is also calling for a review of all state-approved textbooks published by Five Ponds Press.

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