The new social studies framework puts a greater emphasis on Texas history at the expense of world history, geography, and cultures. (Photo by David J Phillip/Associated Press)
Education advocates are raising concerns over a new panel stacked with conservatives that will reshape how social studies are taught in Texas public schools.
The Texas State Board of Education is moving forward with its plans to reshape how public schools teach social studies in kindergarten through 12th grade.
The changes, discussed during a Nov. 19 meeting, are meant to put a greater emphasis on Texas history and deviate from world history, geography, and cultures.
But the decision is garnering criticism, with education advocates claiming that the panel reviewing the new curriculum is “hyper-partisan.”
The 15 member, Republican-dominated state board that voted in favor of the new framework also appointed a panel of nine advisors who will provide feedback on social studies standards and develop new recommendations.
While the board previewed broad topics that will be included throughout the curriculum during the Nov. 19 meeting, they have yet to pin down exact periods, events, and historical figures.
Three of the nine advisors that will oversee the framework—David Barton, David Randall, and Jordan Adams—hold far-right views, and the Texas Freedom Network, a nonprofit education advocacy group, has launched a petition calling for their removal.
“As the State Board of Education overhauls social studies standards for Texas schools in the coming months, board members must set aside politics and focus on teaching the truth,” the petition reads.
Barton views the separation of church and state as a myth and has argued that the Ten Commandments are foundational to American education. Adams has called on school boards to eliminate both diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts and “critical race theory,” which is not taught in K-12 schools. Randall has already called for the inclusion of the Bible in social studies.
“We are concerned that the current overhaul of those standards is already headed off the rails and into another political swamp,” said Rocío Fierro-Pérez, the political director for the Texas Freedom Network.
The new framework focuses on teaching students in kindergarten through second grade “the stories of America and Texas. In third through seventh grades, the curriculum will connect world, US, and Texas histories, but world cultures and geography will only be taught “where appropriate.”
In eighth grade, the courses will prioritize Texas and teach the history of “Texas and America as leaders in the nation and world” as opposed to the broader focus on national history that currently exists.
The new framework also eliminates sixth grade world culture courses altogether, and topics are taught in chronological order, meaning students would only learn about ancient history in earlier grades.
Outside the meeting, the Texas Freedom Network held a press conference where students and state education board members spoke out against the new framework and the panel that will be overseeing it.
“There is an active effort to rewrite, and in some cases, erase history,” said Tiffani Clark, who represents District 13 in Dallas-Fort Worth on the state Board of Education. “You cannot cut African-American or Mexican-American contributions from the curriculum and still claim the founding documents were meant for all students.”
Students also weighed-in.
“We need an education that provides us with facts, how to think critically, and an honest understanding of where we’ve been so we can decide where we’re going,” Asher, a sixth grade public school student, added.
The changes come at a time when minority groups are already being targeted and erased in public schools and lawmakers are infusing more white Christian nationalism into classrooms.
Senate Bill 12 passed this year, which bans diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in K-12 public schools. Senate Bill 10, which went into effect on Sept. 1, requires the Ten Commandments be posted in public school classrooms. Senate Bill 11 also went into effect on Sept. 1 and created a designated prayer and religious reading time during the school day.
More and more school districts are also adopting Bluebonnet Learning—a curriculum that uses Christian stories from the Bible in reading materials.
“I want the curriculum taught in my schools to represent all the communities that call this state home,” Ayaan Moledina, the federal policy director for Students Engaged in Advancing Texas and a high school student in Round Rock ISD, said during the press conference.
During public comment at the Nov. 19 meeting, educators also voiced concerns that removing world history content will create “imbalanced” social studies standards and harm students heading into college.
“This is an abomination of history, if we want to prepare students,” Steven Mintz, a history professor at the University of Texas at Austin, said.
The fully revised social studies learning standards are expected to be adopted in June 2026 and implemented during the 2030 school year.
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