Breaking! Texas Education Board Passes Social Studies Standards for TX Public School Students in Grades K-8, Some High School
Austin, TX. – June 26, 2026: Today, the State Board of Education voted to approve the Social Studies standards for K-8. The Social Studies standards passed with a vote 9-4. The SBOE also approved a number of high school courses including Economics, Psychology, Research skills, and two ethnic studies courses with a vote of 9-4. Thursday evening, the SBOE decided to postpone their vote on major high school courses, such as U.S. History, to a later date. Overall, the vote on the K-8 Social Studies is a huge victory for standards that celebrate American history, promote civic virtue, and protect religious liberty. Most importantly, the SBOE successfully rejected requests for changes from many radical and far left-leaning groups pushing inaccurate or special interest facts. The SBOE even voted on last minute amendments to add TEKS that teach the dangers of communism and socialism. Texas Values has been involved in the revision of the standards since last year, providing testimony and feedback to the SBOE on edits to the standards.
Mary Elizabeth Castle, Director of Government Relations said:
“Today, the State Board of Education has saved 250 years of history a week before we celebrate the 250 milestone of our country. If we want students to understand our American story, we have to stop cutting chapters out of the book. The process of reviewing and revising the standards ensures that accurate history is taught that will encourage an appreciation of the past and also encourage students to be informed citizens today. The revised Social Studies standards will determine what the next generation of Texans believe about their country and themselves.”
Other good amendments included students learning about Moses’ influence on our common laws and inspiration for historical events like the abolition of slavery. In earlier years and during the week, attempts were made to remove Moses from the Social Studies TEKS but those attempts did not prevail.
In addition to voting on the Social Studies standards, the SBOE also voted on a required reading list for K-12 students as directed by House Bill 1605 passed in the 2023 Legislative Session. The reading list, which passed 9-5, includes many stories references stories or scriptures from the Bible.
To learn more about the ongoing fight to preserve American and Texas history, please visit txvalues.org.
Members of Texas Values law and policy team are available for comment. Contact Ashley at media@txvalues.org or 737-314-2450 (m) to schedule an interview.
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