A record of the important official actions of the Executives of the Department of Education of California in relation to the adoption of the “text book” entitled Building America, is appended to this report. Widespread public protest was voiced both before and after the adoption, which occurred at the January 1947 meeting of the State Board of Education. The controversy was injected into the Legislature in January, 1947, with the introduction and effort to pass Assembly Bill No. 973 to appropriate funds to buy free text books for the elementary schools, in which was included the cost of Building America, One Hundred Seventy-three Thousand Six Hundred Thirty-two Dollars. Advocates of the measure considered the matter was of such urgency that a letter was secured from the Executive recommending the consideration of the appropriation in advance of the budget bill and in the Senate the Constitution of the State was suspended to allow second and third reading on the same day.
Download Senate Investigating Committee On Education-California-Textbooks-1948