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. […]
Teach the Truth
Stop Using MLK to Whitewash our History
As we honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. today, the words “I have a Dream” come to mind. But in 2022, with the current Texas political climate, it’s critical that we remember all of Dr. King’s teachings and that his “dream” included ending white supremacy by seeking systemic change. […]
SBOE Must Teach Texas Students the Truth on Sex Ed, Climate Change
Proposed New Health Textbooks Show Progress on Sex Ed in Texas, Science Standards Still Weak on Climate Change For Immediate ReleaseAug. 31, 2021 AUSTIN, Texas – As the State Board of Education hears public testimony on proposed new health textbooks and science curriculum standards today, the Texas Freedom Network called on the state board to […]
Texas Takes Step Forward on Teaching About Climate Change
State Board of Education Gives Approval to Standards That Beef Up Coverage of Climate Change in Selected High School Science Classes FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 25, 2021 AUSTIN, Texas –The State Board of Education today voted to approve new curriculum standards for selected high school courses, marking a limited but important step forward in teaching […]
Scholars from Across the Country Call on Texas SBOE to Correct Historical Distortions
This week the State Board of Education is set to finish its revision of social studies curriculum standards for Texas public schools. So we’ll soon know whether the board is going to fix distorted, politicized history on a number of topics in the standards — from slavery and the Civil War to civil rights and Moses. Meanwhile, nearly 200 scholars […]
