The New Newmanton Unified School Board voted unanimously Tuesday to adopt both of the competing local history curricula that have been the subject of eighteen months of public debate, community forums, a lawsuit, and a second lawsuit about the first lawsuit.

Under the approved "dual track" system, students in grades 6 through 12 will be assigned one of two history sequences: Track A, developed by the Heritage Education Alliance, which presents the founding of New Newton as "a bold experiment in liberty and self-governance"; or Track B, developed by the Coalition for Historical Accuracy, which presents the same events as "a violent seizure of inhabited land followed by a failed ideological experiment that ended in cannibalism."

"Both tracks are rigorous, well-sourced, and meet commonwealth educational standards," said Superintendent Maria Chen in a statement that her office subsequently clarified was not an endorsement of either track's content. "We believe that offering families a choice reflects our community's values," she added, without specifying which values or whose.

Track assignment will be determined by homeroom placement, which is assigned alphabetically. Students whose first names begin with A through M will receive Track A; N through Z will receive Track B. The Board acknowledged that this means siblings may receive different historical educations but noted that "this is already the case in most New Newmanton households."

Standardized tests will include questions from both tracks. Students will receive credit for answering consistently within either framework. A student who identifies Isaac Newton (not that one) as both "the Liberator" and "a man who was ultimately eaten" will receive partial credit, provided the response is internally coherent.

Parent response has been mixed. "I'm just glad they finally made a decision," said Tom Aldrin, father of two, one on each track. "Now I just need to figure out which version of dinner conversation to have."

The ACLU has filed a preliminary inquiry.