Sue Anderson has been making a difference in the realm of education for over 35 years, first as a special education teacher for pre-school and elementary school children, then later as a professor, helping to prepare pre-service teachers to enter the profession. Yet she had not been deeply involved in education advocacy until a few years ago, when a colleague asked her to co-chair a committee on education issues for the Justice Network of Tarrant County. It didn’t take long before Sue was chairing that committee and mobilizing a resistance to the state’s Bible-infused Bluebonnet Curriculum. Now she is an educator AND an advocate, speaking out for inclusive education.
“I like to fight for a good cause.”
As a Unitarian Universalist, a religion that draws from multiple faiths, Sue found the idea of one faith being emphasized by the state deeply offensive. At the time, she felt thankful her children were no longer in school and would not be subject to the Bluebonnet curriculum, “but I worry about the teachers,” she said. “I worry about all kids, whether they’re my kids or other people’s kids.” She found the thought of organizing against Bluebonnet meaningful on multiple levels; her own ancestors immigrated from Germany to escape religious persecution and seek religious freedom.
She began by sending out information about what was going on at the SBOE and encouraging people to submit public comments or send emails to board members. “I’m shy about testimony, but I can write,” she shared. Sue called and shared her thoughts as an educator of teachers with her State Board of Education (SBOE) member, Pat Hardy (who later ended up voting against Bluebonnet).
“I think it’s more effective when we work together.”
Sue realized partnering with other organizations would be even more effective than working alone. Before long she had forged relationships with organizations like TFN, Texas Impact, Raise Your Hand Texas, Texas Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry, Indivisible, Christians against Christian Nationalism, and the Baptist Joint Committee. She worked with the UU Justice Ministry to create an email campaign that directed thousands of letters to SBOE members asking them to reject Bluebonnet. The vote was as close as they come: 8-7, and hinged on a last-minute appointment by Gov. Greg Abbott.
After the SBOE approved Bluebonnet, she entered into a coalition of advocates working to create and promote an opt-out letter template that parents could use to prevent their children from sitting through forced Bible lessons.
In June of 2026, Sue organized a letter-writing campaign against the proposed white-washed social studies curriculum and overtly Christian mandatory reading list. Her efforts yielded 60-70 postcards sent to potentially persuadable members of the SBOE. Unfortunately, those efforts did not stop either from passing.
“Sometimes it really does feel futile.”
Sue admits to being discouraged by the outcomes we’ve seen at the SBOE, but several things animate her to continue using her experience as an educator to advocate for inclusive education standards. One of them is inspiration from partners advocating for underrepresented communities, like Black Voters Matter. “They’ve been in this fight for a long time. We have to understand that it’s a long fight; there isn’t a quick fix.
“What happens in Texas tends to spread.”
In addition to her concern for future teachers and students, Sue continues to advocate at the SBOE because she worries that the harmful policies enacted here will spread to other states. “Texas is a big state, so…what happens in Texas affects a lot of people.”
Nonetheless, Sue has hope for change, too. She knows friends who are fed up with the extreme policies some members on the SBOE are pushing. A friend recently told her, “They’ve gone too far. I want someone who has common sense.” Sue hopes the pendulum has swung as far as it’s going to go toward Christian Nationalism and will start swinging back, bringing change with it.
“Pick something you care about and do something; do whatever you can.”
We asked Sue what advice she would give to people who may want to get involved in education advocacy but feel overwhelmed. She responded:
What’s going on is overwhelming, and everyone needs to pick their issues. They want us to think there’s nothing we can do. To just give up; think it’s too overwhelming. Pick something you care about and do something; do whatever you can. To me, I feel better if I’m doing something. Do it with a group. Strength in numbers is key. Find some people you want to join with to do something . Even if you don’t succeed, it still feels good to try to make a difference.
Our SBOE Advocate Impact Series features four Texans who’ve advocated for inclusive, accurate, unbiased social studies standards. Read the other three profiles below!
