Texas leads the way - down hill

Texas decided the require four years of both math and science. This seems like a good thing and in general I think it is. At the same time it makes it harder for students to find time in their schedules for anything that is does not satisfy requirements for graduation. This leaves computer science out in the cold.
A petition was entered with the state Board of Education to include Computer Science (Advanced Placement Computer Science which often counts as college credit) as a course which counts towards those requirements. Mark Stehlik (distinguished assistant dean for undergraduate education at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science) was one of those who testified in favor of the petition. His story of the event is here at the CSTA blog. The short answer is the board decided that Computer Science is neither a science or a math as far as graduation requirements are concerned. This is just amazing to me.