Photos and Videos from the Rally can be found here
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 8, 2026
Contact:
Andrew Freeman, [email protected], 512-746-8404
Cameron Samuels (they/them), [email protected]
Karlee Marshall, [email protected]
Steve Feldman, [email protected], 732-915-9676
CAIR-TX, [email protected]
Asian Texans for Justice, [email protected]
Ethnic Studies Network of Texas, [email protected]
AUSTIN, Texas – The Texas Freedom Network and Teach the Truth coalition partners hosted a rally outside the State Board of Education meeting Tuesday to draw attention to proposed changes to the state’s K-12 social studies curriculum.
Hundreds of parents, educators and students traveled from across the entire state to participate in the rally and later testify at the SBOE meeting. Those who spoke say they are concerned the SBOE is pushing a rushed, murky revision process that shuts out parents, educators and communities.
The Teach the Truth coalition is made up of both religious and secular voices, from educators to community leaders.
“The State Board of Education is pushing a curriculum that replaces learning with memorization,” said San Antonio U.S. History teacher Adrian Reyna. “It replaces the depth of our history with a story that makes those in power feel safe. But our job isn’t to further their agenda or push their narrative — it’s to help students understand the world, and their power within it.”
“Texas is one of the most diverse states in the country,” said Felicia Martin, executive director of the Texas Freedom Network. “These standards need to serve every Texas family — Christian, Muslim, Jewish, secular, all of them. When you write standards that center one faith tradition, you’re telling millions of Texas kids their families don’t count.”
“The curriculum Texans are taught should set us up for success, but the programs are so far removed from the needs of students and educators that it ends up taking away from skills that would be taught,” Sumya Paruchuri (they/them) with Students Engaged in Advancing Texas said. “It lets these board members decide curriculum instead of educators that know the needs of their students. This is another attempt to forward Christian Nationalism, just like we’ve seen at the Texas legislature.”
“We are deeply concerned about the proposed TEA literary list and social studies curriculum changes,” said Rabbi David Segal, policy counsel for Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty (BJC). “Both processes have rushed to impose content heavily weighted toward a single religious tradition, rather than seeking meaningful feedback from educators and families to produce requirements that teach Texas children about ALL faiths and cultures in our great state.”
“The proposed curriculum changes insert the teaching of sacred texts—a responsibility of faith communities—into public schools, where they do not belong,” said RAC-TX Field Organizer Blake Ziegler. “They also undermine and ignore the religious diversity in Texas. By drawing almost exclusively from the Protestant Christian tradition, the reading list implies only one faith is worth learning about. Our Jewish students, as well as their multifaith and secular classmates, are being told their experiences and perspectives do not matter. RAC-TX will not standby while others seek to utilize the state as a means to advance Christian nationalism.”
“Decisions regarding this curriculum appear to be driven by ideology rather than pedagogy,” said Shaimaa Zayan, an American Muslim civil rights advocate and operations manager with CAIR-Austin. “The creeping erosion of the separation of church and state is deeply concerning to all of us. No single religion or ideology should dominate a classroom. Despite the fearmongering, we are here united in purpose. And that is what I call hope.”
“Invisibility has consequences,” said Akeela Kongdara, Senior Associate of Programs for Asian Texans for Justice. “For Asian American youth, suicide is the leading cause of death – and since 2021, those rates have reached their highest levels, correlating directly with rising discrimination and violence. Over the past five years, anti-Asian hate crimes have risen by over 339%. In 2024, 93% of AAPI youth reported experiencing race-based discrimination. These statistics point to a growing public health crisis where invisibility in the classroom fuels ignorance, and that ignorance turns into stereotypes and identity based bullying.”
“This Social Studies review process has been full of irregularities and now a serious conflict of interest between one of the Content Advisors, Schriener University, and the Texas Public Policy Foundation,” said Orlando Lara, co-founder of Ethnic Studies Network of Texas. “To restore public trust, the SBOE should investigate this conflict of interest before moving forward with the update. If the SBOE does not address this issue now, what is to stop future organizations from funding Content Advisors to ‘write TEKS’ and, in effect, buying influence in an already complicated and contentious, taxpayer funded process?”
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About Texas Freedom Network
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.
About Students Engaged in Advancing Texas
Students Engaged in Advancing Texas is a movement of young people developing transferable skills and demonstrating youth visibility in policymaking. Advocating for a seat at the table, SEAT is normalizing the presence of students in educational policymaking – nothing about us, without us.
About Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty (BJC)
Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty (BJC) is a 90-year-old religiously based organization working to defend faith freedom for all and protect the institutional separation of church and state in the historic Baptist tradition.
About Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (RAC-TX)
For more than six decades, the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (RAC-TX) has worked to educate, inspire and mobilize the Reform Jewish community to advocate for social justice. We mobilize around federal, state, provincial and local legislation on more than 70 pressing socioeconomic issues, including gun violence prevention, immigration, reproductive rights and criminal justice reform.
About Council on American-Islamic Relations of Texas
The Council on American-Islamic Relations of Texas, the state’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, is a leading advocate in protecting civil rights, enhancing understanding of Islam, promoting justice, and empowering American Muslims.
About Asian Texans for Justice
Asian Texans for Justice serves the more than 1.9 million Asian and Pacific Islander Texans to civic action to build personal and political power. We believe that civic engagement, policy advocacy, and coalition building are keys to creating a more equitable state for all people.
About Ethnic Studies Network of Texas
The Ethnic Studies Network of Texas (ESNTX) is a community of educators, students, parents, and organizers who have come together to expand and advocate for Ethnic Studies in Texas schools and communities. ESNTX works toward educational justice by working toward a public school system that serves rather than hinders equal opportunity.
