FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 13, 2026
Contact: Andrew Freeman, [email protected], 512-746-8404
AUSTIN, Texas – Several members of the State Board of Education are calling for an investigation after it was discovered one of the content advisors in charge of revisions to the K-12 social studies curriculum didn’t disclose a $70,000 gift from a far right think tank.
When this was brought up during last week’s SBOE meeting, Republican chairman Aaron Kinsey shut down questions about the gift as they continued to push through a series of flawed social studies standards.
Federal tax filings show the Texas Public Policy Foundation awarded a $70,000 “cash grant” to the Texas Center at Schreiner University two years ago, a program led by content advisor Dr. Donald Frazier. Even more troubling, the conservative think tank paid Dr. Frazier’s program to develop a new social studies TEKS, or Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills.
When Board members appointed Frazier as a content advisor to help guide the state’s current TEKS revision process, Frazier didn’t publicly disclose this conflict of interest.
“This isn’t an isolated incident—it’s part of a broader pattern of far-right political groups attempting to hijack our public education system to push their own agendas,” Rocío Fierro-Pérez, Political Director for Texas Freedom Network, said. “When multiple content advisors have ties to organizations like TPPF, it raises serious concerns about whose interests are shaping what Texas students learn. Parents want honest, accurate, and age-appropriate standards—not politically driven content that undermines both educators and students.”
Other content advisors with potential conflicts of interest include:
- Robert Koons, who has served as a senior fellow at TPPF.
- David Barton, head of the Christian-right organization WallBuilders, which has argued that separation of church and state is myth
- David Randall, head of the conservative Civics Alliance, which has developed its own right-leaning, controversial social studies standards.
- Jordan Adams, who worked in the education department at the far-right Hillsdale College, which has produced its own controversial social studies curriculum.
The Texas Freedom Network is joining Board members in calls for an investigation, and demands the SBOE pause the TEKS revision process to make sure teachers, not political groups, are the ones in charge of students getting a fact-based education.
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About Texas Freedom Network
The Texas Freedom Network is a grassroots organization of religious and community leaders and young Texans building an informed and effective movement for equality and social justice.
