Religious Freedom Attacked in Rushed and Dishonest Revision of High School Social Studies Standards, Texas Students Denied Quality Education
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 4, 2026
Contact:
Andrew Freeman, [email protected]
AUSTIN, Texas – The State Board of Education today approved a radical rewrite of high school social studies standards following a series of final amendments.
Texas Freedom Network and partners in education have repeatedly called the curriculum revision a rushed process that prioritizes political ideology over educating students.
“These standards are more about politicians hijacking our children’s public schools to push culture war agendas than it is simply teaching the truth,” said Felicia Martin, president of the Texas Freedom Network. “The misinformation and, frankly, falsehoods they will now require schools to teach won’t just keep our students from becoming informed voters and full participants in our democracy, but will also fail them when it’s their turn to compete with students from other states that don’t politicize their classrooms.”
In June, the Board passed the K-Grade 8 Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, or TEKS. The remaining courses, U.S. History, U.S. Government, World History, and World Geography, were all delayed until this week after the Board was forced to admit it was making too many mistakes and there wasn’t enough time to properly address them.
These standards focus overwhelmingly on “Western Civilization” and Christianity. Some of what was passed this week includes teaching students that “radical Islam” motivated the attacks on September 11, instead of blaming extremist terrorist groups. Students will also learn about Islam through its violence against Christian and Jewish groups and the “normalization of slavery,” but Muslim contributions to algebra and astronomy were left ignored.
Some of the Board’s own content advisors even warned them against these characterizations, but they passed them anyway. The Board also spent an incredible amount of time attacking or arguing with those who came to testify, instead of discussing education and what we should be teaching students.
“These standards single out Christianity as the source for values that are also common in other religions, such as compassion, equality, and respect for others,” Martin said. “Failing to teach students the basic beliefs of other major world religions is a stark departure from the current standards in Texas, and leaves them without the broader cultural literacy they need to understand the world around them.”
The high school drafts weren’t released until 10 days before the meeting, and Texas Freedom Network had to file a Public Information Request just to discover what exactly was passed in June. Major TEKS revisions typically take a year or more, with teams of educators involved. This process lasted a few months, operating under a new framework.
“Parents and other Texans have a reason to be angry. We all expect and demand transparency from our elected officials, especially when the future of 5.5 million Texas children is at stake. Unfortunately, we didn’t receive that through this flawed ordeal,” Martin said. “Texans deserve better. This is why we will continue to educate the public about the role of SBOE members and bring awareness to the actions of these elected members.”
Despite the challenges in accessing public information from the state, Texas Freedom Network will work to review the K-12 social studies TEKS in detail and release a full report to Texas families as soon as possible.
The new curriculum is expected to take effect in 2030.
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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.
