Texas Values Testifies At “Virtual” SBOE Meeting To Protect Texas Kids

Despite the coronavirus preventing an in-person meeting, the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) still held their quarterly meeting virtually this week. The Board members and the Texas Education Agency provided an update on the review and revision process of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for health and science. Texas Values is committed to ensuring that Texas’ abstinence focused approach remains protected in the health standards and our policy team members provided video testimony during the meeting.

As you may recall, leftist activist groups like Texas Freedom Network and SIECUS have been heavily advocating for the SBOE to alter the current standards to promote radical sex education designed to indoctrinate children in the LGBT lifestyle, gender identity politics, and abortion, like we have seen in Austin ISD. Research has shown that these types of programs have failed students by increasing teen pregnancy, increasing STD/STIs, increasing coerced sex, and actually decrease in condom use, contrary to these activist groups’ claims.

“The Health TEKS should be more focused on the optimal health of the student. The Texas Education Code standard was written with the idea that if kids delay sexual activity then they can avoid teen pregnancy, STDs, focus more on completing their education and obtaining a high school diploma, and have overall better physical and emotional health,” said Texas Values Policy Director Jonathan Covey in video testimony to the board.

The Board will hold a special meeting in mid-May to discuss the Health TEKS. The first reading of the Health TEKS for Board approval is expected to happen at the June/July summer board meeting. The Science TEKS review have been halted due to COVID-19 complications. Work Group A for Science TEKS has met, and while work Group B members have been chosen for the Science TEKS – there is still an opportunity to sign up to be on a Science workgroup.

You can watch the video of the SBOE board meetings here.