Washington on Texas

At the Science Insider blog, presidential science adviser John Holdren of the White House Office of Science and Technology talks about the Texas K-12 science standards and what the federal government might do concerning them:

I'm not aware of any leverage we have, at OSTP or within the federal government, over the science curriculum in Texas, other than exhortation. We can argue and we can beg and we can try to educate. But we have no authority to act.

Ah, the joys of federalism and division of responsibilities.

I hope that the Washington lot do not underestimate the value of exhortation, though. While it's clear that nothing will change the mind of someone like Don McLeroy, it might change the mind of some Texas legislators.