Laura Ewing of Friendswood is running for office.

It is an office where, in past campaigns, fears were raised that liberals were using schools to promote homosexuality and teenage sex.

We're talking about the office of the Texas State Board of Education.

In fact, the State Board of Education has 15 elected members and they have a very important job. You see, it must determine the standards for what kids are going to be taught in Texas public schools.

The battle over teaching sex education in health classes isn’t the only battle.

Now, there’s a debate over what kids should learn in science class. At question is whether life evolved on earth or was created by God.

AP

Seven of the 15 board members are generally identified as social conservatives.

Several of them are from the Houston area.

And last year, the Governor appointed one of the conservatives, Don McLeroy, as chairman.

Liberals didn’t like that one bit.

“Well, I think Don McLeroy is trying to pave the way to promote one narrow religious perspective over all others,” said Kathy Miller.

Don McLeroy disagrees. “I’m not trying to inject, I do not want to inject my faith, my beliefs in the science curriculum.”

McLeroy sat down with 11 News in his home in Bryan.

He’s a dentist there and teaches Sunday school.

He says he believes in what’s known as Creationism.

McLeroy says he thinks life formed in just a few thousand years, not the millions as many scientists believe. “It’s an important issue because I’m a creationist. I believe in the beginning, God created heavens and the earth. Now does that mean I want to put creationism in the schools? I’ve always said no.”

So what does he want taught?

“Frankly, for the state level, I’d be perfectly content as long as the textbooks and the standards accurately reflect weaknesses to evolution,” said McLeroy.

Sex is the other hot button issue the Board has faced.

Texas schools have adopted an abstinence-only approach, giving far less information about birth control than some other states.

And according to the liberal group, Texas Freedom Network, the board even kept “a visual guide for teenage girls to detect breast cancer” out of textbooks.

School Board candidate Laura Ewing thinks some on the board are out-of-touch with the average Texan.        “And I believe that does become dangerous when they dictate standards that the majority of people no longer believe in.”

McLeroy says he believes in teaching sex education in the context of husband and wife. “I don’t want to see parents put their children in school and have the schools undermine their moral authority.”

What do parents believe in?

11 News spoke to two moms who are active in their kids HISD schools.

They say the issue about evolution has hardly come up.

“Public schools are just fine with their science,” said Theresa Comstock who is a parent.

And as far as sex education, they think the schools should be teaching it.

Rosanna Parra often helps out at her kids’ schools as a volunteer. “I was personally bombarded from children that had no one that they could speak to.”

These moms say they had scarcely heard of the State Board of Education and the role it plays in all this.

For now, the board remains the little known group of officeholders who decide what Texas children learn in school.

The board is currently reviewing the English, reading and writing curriculum and will take up science next year.

Several seats on the state board are up for election this year.