For many Black Americans, that’s about all it is—symbolic. But a few things remain true about what today—and everyday that’s not Juneteenth—should look like for Black Americans. […]
State Board of Education
It’s Time to Have “the Talk” this Sex Ed for All Month
Fellow Texans, it’s time for “the talk.” May is Sex Ed For All Month, and TFN is not new to giving Texans the lowdown on sex ed in our public schools. For years, we’ve used our #TeachTheTruth: Accurate Sex Ed campaign to advocate for comprehensive sexual health education that’s medically accurate, free of shame and judgment, and addresses the needs of all young people, regardless of their race, gender identity, or the zip code they live in. […]
The Book Banners Are Coming for Optimus Prime
Now, the book banners are coming for Optimus Prime. There are many reasons why the recent surge of books banned from school libraries should concern all of us. A major one is this censorship movement’s predictable descent into something that will likely leave you scratching your head, wondering just why they banned that one. It highlights how this movement isn’t concerned with quality education, and it’s really all about control and playing politics with our neighborhood schools. […]
TFN President Calls for Removal of Conspiracy Theorist From Key Texas Curriculum Panel
Texas Freedom Network President Val Benavidez today called for the State Board of Education to withdraw the appointment of a conspiracy theorist to a key panel advising the board on what millions of Texas children should learn in Texas public schools. […]
Is the SBOE Bringing the Circus to Town Again?
The Texas State Board of Education will rewrite state standards for history, government and other social studies courses this year. The last time this happened, in 2010, the whole process became — to put it bluntly — a circus. It embarrassed Texas before the eyes of the country and the world. That year, the board made hundreds of changes, often based not on facts but on personal political beliefs. The result is a set of standards that have been panned even by conservative think tanks as a “politicized distortion of history” that downplayed slavery as the cause of the Civil War, dismissed the separation of church and state, portrayed civil rights gains as having negative consequences, and much more. […]