Are you someone who disliked group work back in school? Maybe you felt that you could do a better job alone, or that other group members wouldn’t pull their weight. Well, dearest gentle reader, if ever there was a time for you to change that outlook and join a group project, it is today! From now until June of 2026, the State Board of Education (SBOE) will be revising the standards that dictate what our K-12 public school children must be taught in social studies classes like history, government, geography, and economics. These standards are called the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, or TEKS, and YOU could help protect them against further politicization.
During the revision process, SBOE members appoint content advisors with demonstrated experience in a given subject area to guide work groups. Educators, administrators, representatives from higher education, and community members like parents and employers can all serve on work groups. This is where you come in. Your voice and your experience can be instrumental in ensuring public schools in Texas — and beyond — teach the truth. Here’s why we need your voice.
What We’re Up Against
Most of us can agree that no matter the state or school district where a child resides, they deserve a high-quality, unbiased, comprehensive education based in truth. We want to educate critical thinkers who have an understanding of the world beyond our state and nation. We hope they will be able to infer lessons from historical events and movements that are applicable to current-day challenges. They need to learn to be discerning consumers of information who can actively participate not only in our capitalist, constitutional republic, but also in an increasingly interdependent world. Unfortunately, there is a long history in Texas of people who seek to teach our children what to think instead of how to think co-opting social studies curriculum standards. And that “what” seems increasingly aligned with extreme Christian Nationalism.
In 2010, the social studies TEKS adopted by the SBOE listed Moses along with British philosophers and Enlightenment thinkers as having “informed the American founding documents.” Historians point out that the founding documents do not quote Moses.
The standards also downplayed the role of slavery in contributing to the Civil War. The TEKS were so rife with stilted language and inaccuracies that a conservative education think tank decried them as a “politicized distortion of history.” They took issue with the TEKS’ dismissal of the separation of church and state and said the standards “offer a drumbeat of uncritical celebration of ‘the free enterprise system and its benefits’—resembling, in an inverted historical echo, Soviet schools harping on the glories of state socialism.”
Since 2010…
The SBOE made a small set of revisions in 2018 to pare down the amount of material teachers must cover in a given year. Moses made the cut, as did states’ rights as an explanation for the Civil War.
The standards were finally given a comprehensive review in 2022, but the proposed revisions were not adopted. The Republican-controlled board caved last-minute to pressure from extremist groups who took issue with the greater inclusivity of the proposed TEKS. Instead of providing Texas students with substantial updates to the 12-year-old standards, they decided to punt to 2025. Not only did they waste months of work and $200,000 of taxpayer money, they silenced the voices of Texans calling for TEKS that accurately reflect the experiences and contributions of a broad array of Americans.
New Year, Same Circus
This year, instead of setting out to correct factual errors and removing overtly one-sided political and religious messaging, the SBOE is doubling down on a sanitized and religion-infused teaching of social studies. The proof is in their appointment of several concerning content advisors.
David Barton
David Barton, whose degree was in religious education, isn’t a trained historian. Long-time TFN supporters and those who have followed the SBOE for years will have heard his name, as he’s been influencing Texas education since the early 2000s. The list of his problematic statements could fill another blog, but here are just a few of the indications why the SBOE should keep him FAR away from any curriculum development. Barton:
- repeatedly, falsely claimed that direct quotes from the Bible can be found in the Constitution;
- explained the lack of a vaccine against HIV by saying that AIDS is meant as a punishment for homosexual behavior;
- wrote a book on Thomas Jefferson that was so widely criticized for its historical inaccuracies that his own publisher ceased publication and distribution of it, saying, “…the criticisms were correct. There were historical details — matters of fact, not matters of opinion, that were not supported at all.”
David Randall
David Randall IS a historian, but is affiliated with the hyper-partisan Civics Alliance, an organization that developed its own social studies curriculum standards to satisfy “the desires of more conservative Americans.” The National Council for Social Studies has warned that their “American Birthright” standards would have “damaging and lasting effects on the civic knowledge of students and their capacity to engage in civic reasoning and deliberation.” Their website rails against what they see as radical activists, radical agendas, and “radical ideological causes such as ‘sustainability.’” According to them, “ideologies” of multiculturalism and anti-racism will ruin our country by destroying our unity, and the “radicals” who espouse them “seek to annihilate our liberty, our republic.”
It’s not all doom and gloom on their website, though. They tell us that, “Americans already reject racism as part of their capacious and welcoming nationalism.” They clearly missed this in the news.
Jordan Adams
Jordan Adams is an education consultant who attended Hillsdale College and worked in their K-12 Education Office as a curriculum director. Hillsdale is known for pushing its revisionist curriculum materials into schools across the country. Critics like the American Historical Association have criticized the Hillsdale social studies curriculum for whitewashing American history, including downplaying racism and the power of the Ku Klux Klan, to advance an ideological agenda. Adams has also worked with the book-banning group Moms for Liberty. It is obvious that SBOE members appointed these men to serve an ideological agenda, not Texas students. That’s why we’ve joined with partners in our Teach the Truth Coalition to call for their removal. Sign and share the petition here.
We Need Counterweights
For now, these hyper-partisan, ill-suited appointees make up ⅓ of the advisors guiding what Texas children may be learning for the next decade. Not only is the future education of Texas children at stake, but children around the country as well. States like Texas and California are so populous that textbook publishers will design books specifically to meet those states’ standards, and then sell them nationally. This is an all-hands-on-deck situation
The effort to instill a false narrative and narrow world view as the educational foundation for a generation of children must not go unanswered. We need every Texan committed to the portrayal of a truthful and complete history to join us in fighting back against the whitewashing and sterilization of social studies. By volunteering for one of these groups, you could become a direct participant in shaping content covered in public school classrooms for years to come. With principled representatives, we can hope to avoid disastrous decisions like the one in Florida that added the supposed benefits of slavery to its standards.
TFN has been in this fight for decades, and we’re here to help you with the process of applying to be on an SBOE work group. Just click here!
A Few Frequently Asked Questions
What do work groups actually do?
Work groups meet in person in Austin at least once as well as virtually to work together to review curriculum standards and make recommendations for changes.
Can I serve on a work group as a community member or parent if I don’t have any formal teaching experience?
Absolutely. As parents, TEKS standards can have a direct impact on our children; who better to defend their right to an education free from forced political agendas? Any community member can help ensure standards provide for a well-rounded, honest education. Remember, if SBOE thinks a fake historian is qualified, you surely are!
What is the time commitment and expected participation?
Work group members serve for specific phases of the TEKS revision process. Applications are open throughout the process as members cycle on and off through phases. Time commitments can vary, but most work groups meet a few times per semester.
What if I do not serve on a work group?
You can still play a key role. Spread the word about work groups to other Texans who support honest and comprehensive education. Sign and share the petition, and join us at the SBOE to testify. We can demand the SBOE put teaching the truth above politics. Rather than appointing hyper-partisan political activists, the board should find qualified advisors from the state’s universities, colleges, and public schools. FIND MORE ANSWERS TO FAQS HERE.
Ready to Directly Invest in Our Future?
Social studies is about more than memorizing dates and state capitals; it’s about gaining an understanding of those who have come before us and the world beyond our small corner. It’s about cultivating critical-thinking skills that help us participate fully in a complex society. To develop that understanding and skill, students need an honest curriculum that allows them to wrestle with difficult or controversial topics, not omit them or present them through a narrow political view. Public education should reflect a commitment to truth and academic excellence. By applying to join a work group, you help bolster that commitment, directly investing in the future of every public school student in the Lone Star State. We see who has their reckless hands on the steering wheel of this process; it’s time for some guardrails. Sign up today.
