A story in the November 14, 1907 NYT reports on the actions of the New York Board of Education's By-Laws Committee, which had met the night of the 13th:

for some time there has been a desire to exclude married women teachers from the system. To encompass this the By-Laws Committee submitted a recommendation that "no married woman shall be appointed to any teaching or supervising position unless her husband by reason of physical or mental disease is incapacitated to earn a livelihood, or has continuously abandoned her for not less than one year prior to date of appointment."

It is also provided that any woman who marries while in the service of the system shall forfeit her position by her act.

The story does not explain the desire to remove married women from the classroom. Perhaps non-married women wanted to restrict the supply of possible teachers?

However bad that idea was (and would be), the next one offered was over the top:

Commissioner Jonas made an added suggestion that Superintendents be required, as part of their duties, to write the text books used in the schools. These books would be published by the Board of Education.

The days of the Renaissance man had already passed us by in 1907. Thus, having appointed Superintendents write text books would seem to have been a risky endeavor. On the other hand, the Board of Education would likely not have paid the authors any royalties and to that end would have benefited.

One could imagine the outrage (from right and left) if such a proposal saw the light of today.

Bad ideas in education do not seem to be a solely modern phenomenon.