The Texas State Board of Education voted Friday to approve an early draft of the state’s new social studies plan, but not without clashes over the portrayal of Islam and the history of Black and Hispanic Americans.
A Republican majority voted to approve the changes to social studies standards — known as the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, or TEKS — proposed during a marathon meeting that stretched all of Thursday and into early Friday. All five Democrats voted against the preliminary changes. Earlier in the week, they called for an investigation into a potential conflict of interest.
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A 2024 tax filing from the Texas Public Policy Foundation shows the conservative activist organization paid the Texas Center at Schreiner University $70,000 to develop state learning standards. Donald Frazier, a historian advising the State Board of Education on social studies changes, runs the Texas Center.
As the board continued its business Thursday and Friday, its right-most conservatives proposed significant changes to how students will learn about Islam and adamantly opposed Democratic attempts to expand lessons on the history of Hispanic and Black Americans.
The board scrapped a standard that required students to learn about Muslim contributions to algebra and astronomy. Some Republicans unsuccessfully pushed for students to learn that Muhammad, the founder of Islam, married a minor and that sexual assault, torture and the “killing of Christians and Jews” occurred under his leadership. Muslim Texans disputed that portrayal during public testimony.
Republicans also attempted to block students from learning about influential labor activist Dolores Huerta, whom Republican member Brandon Hall criticized for her politics and for not previously revealing allegations of wrongdoing by Cesar Chavez.
The New York Times recently uncovered allegations that Chavez sexually abused young girls during his career as a prominent labor activist. Huerta alleged that Chavez also sexually assaulted her nearly 60 years ago, keeping the secret out of fear that people would not believe her and that the allegations would undermine the farmworker movement.
On Friday, some Republicans on the State Board of Education tried to limit what schools teach about the Black Power movement, arguing that students need exposure only to its contributions to art, music and fashion — not to its politics.
“It seems as if, when it comes to Black and brown information being in these TEKS, we continue to undermine our experiences,” said Democratic member Tiffany Clark of DeSoto, who is Black. “If we dig up everything that the founding fathers did…”
Member Brandon Hall, R-Aledo, moved to cut her off.
“Our great founding fathers are being derided,” said Hall, appealing to board chair Aaron Kinsey. “It is not germane to the topic at hand.”
After a back-and-forth, members settled on a requirement for students to learn about “self‑respect, self‑determination, self‑reliance and the cultural pride of African Americans” during the Black Power movement.
Such disputes have largely defined Texas’ overhaul of social studies standards over the past year as the board’s Republican majority has approved plans to focus on Texas and U.S. history while placing less emphasis on world cultures, world history and geography.
Democrats argue that conservative activists and the board’s advisory group have assumed control of Texas’ social studies rewrite and minimized teacher expertise. In previous years, teachers have normally guided the process.
Draft proposals of the social studies changes, critics argue, prioritize memorization over critical thinking and simplification over accuracy. They also note that the current plan focuses heavily on Western civilization over other cultures, lacks historical perspective of people of color and prioritizes Christianity above other major world religions.
“This is the opportunity,” said Houston Democrat Staci Childs. “We get to teach students something about Black people that’s powerful outside of slavery and being enslaved in shackles and chains.”
This week’s meetings featured scores of people testifying on the board’s current approach, with students calling for instruction that includes diverse perspectives and challenges them to think critically.
Hall in recent months has unsuccessfully attempted to prevent testimony from Muslim activists representing the Council on American-Islamic Relations. He and Pearland Republican Julie Pickren have pointed to Gov. Greg Abbott’s designation of the group as a foreign terrorist organization. CAIR has sued the governor over the label, calling it defamatory and false.
Muslim advocates have continued arguing in favor of social studies instruction that portrays their religion accurately, fairly and without prejudice.
“I ask you to choose academic integrity over political comfort,” said Sameeha Rizvi, a civic engagement organizer for CAIR-Austin. “Despite the false allegations being made, I, nor CAIR, nor those of diverse faiths are pushing any agenda.”
The board is expected to finalize social studies standards in June, with classroom implementation set for the 2030-31 academic year.
Disclosure: New York Times, Schreiner University and Texas Public Policy Foundation have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.