Don McLeroy helped make the State Board of Education a lightning rod this year with his ideological approach to rewriting social studies standards for Texas schools.

McLeroy, the most outspoken member of the board's conservative wing, has pushed for standards that reflect conservative Christian values. Although he lost his bid for re-election in the March primary, he has refused to go quietly and still hopes to leave his stamp on the state's social studies curriculum with a series of amendments he'll offer this week.

Among other things, the amendments would suggest that the nation's founders might not have intended a separation of church and state as the courts have interpreted it, and that the United Nations poses a threat to individual liberties.

The board is scheduled to have a public hearing on the standards today and take a final vote Friday. A record 206 people have signed up to testify at today's hearing, Texas Education Agency spokeswoman Debbie Ratcliffe said.

The curriculum will set the standards for teaching history and social studies to about 4.8 million public school students for 10 years....