SBOE Recap: Forging Ahead on Social Studies

The State Board of Education (SBOE) met in Austin last week to discuss and take action on several topics, the most visible of which was the new social studies framework.

Social Studies Framework Adopted

The board conducted two separate discussions on the topic of how social studies will look and be taught going forward in Texas. Monday was a work session for the board and public testimony and action occurred on Wednesday. The board discussed several different iterations of the framework over both days, with the two primary competing views about how to organize this content falling primarily along party lines. The framework that was ultimately passed by the board on Friday promoted a chronological framework, emphasizing Texas history and U.S. History throughout grades 3 -8. World History is significantly downplayed as is geography and gone is the familiar grade 6 World Cultures class. When it comes to instructional time, social studies teachers often struggle to cover all the content standards with depth, but the change in emphasis is this framework has far more to do with removing "woke" or "globalist" content from social studies. Grade 8 typically focuses on the "first half" of U.S. History, but the new framework shifts this dramatically to reframe this grade level's focus to Texas History. Notably, this drastic change will occur while these same students will be subjected to the new statewide test.

Further, the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) will be restructured and the content of each of the grade levels will be reorganized into different strands or thematic groupings of content. The content of each of the grade levels This final decision received broader support than the framework.

The work to revise the TEKS will begin next month after content advisors are named. In addition to the reorganization of the K-8 framework, the board must fulfill some legislative mandates with regard to social studies content:

• House Bill 27 amends the Foundation High School Program to require students entering ninth grade in 2025-2026 or later to complete a dedicated ½-credit course in personal financial literacy, separate from economics, world geography, or world history.
• Senate Bill 24 requires the SBOE to integrate age-appropriate instruction on communist regimes and ideologies into the social studies TEKS for grades 4-12. With this bill comes an accelerated timeline for revision. The board must adopt and publish these standards and revise the social studies TEKS as necessary by July 31, 2026, with instruction beginning in the 2026-2027 school year.
• House Bill 824 strengthens college and career-ready civic education by expanding the TEKS for high school government courses. The TEKS must integrate content on the structure and responsibilities of elected officials at all levels, Texas election laws, eligibility to hold office, parliamentary procedures (Robert's Rules of Order), and must include instruction about identifying local representatives.

Look for ways to participate in the upcoming review in a future edition of the Hotline.

Charters Under Scrutiny

On Tuesday, the board heard a presentation from Texas Education Agency staff that reviewed the last five years of charter approvals by the board. While staff focused on the criteria used to evaluate and approve applications for charter schools, some witnesses also pointed out the many ways in which charters are failing to live up to the promises made by reformers more than 30 years ago when they were first approved in this state. Twenty-four charters have been approved in the previous five years:

• 96% of charter schools approved in Texas since 2017 (that are open and have data available) have not met the enrollment projectionsin their original charter applications.
  • 65% of those charter schools are under-enrolled by 50% or more.
  • Five of these charter schools closed in 2025 and another three have received three consecutive years of F rating and are subject to closure by statute.
• 2025 ratings for the 24 charter schools:
  • 58% rated D or F (14)
  • 17% rated C (4)
  • 12.5% rated A or B (3)
  • 12.5% Not Rated (3)

Some charters are actually meeting the needs of the communities they promised to serve, but that percentage is small and shrinking. When considering the resources spent to open and maintain these additional campuses that pull students from neighborhood schools leaving stranded costs, the state should reconsider the wisdom in continuing this experiment.

Instructional Materials

There were relatively few hiccups in the discussion and action related to instructional materials on Tuesday. There was some discussion of HB 100, which now prohibits a district from spending state dollars on materials rejected by the SBOE. There are some publishers that were forced into the materials review pipeline before they were ready to submit proposals, possibly leaving some publishers in jeopardy of being rejected on technicalities rather than a true quality review. HB 100 now requires TEA to allow a curing period for publishers to make modifications to comply with the SBOE process.

The board also approved quality rubrics for the following subject area for the 2026 cycle:

• High school career and technical education (CTE);
• K-12 fine arts;
• K-12 positive character traits and personal skills; and
• supplemental K-5 language arts and reading.

Committee Recap

The Committee on Instruction engaged in discussion on innovative courses and proposed rules for gifted and talented identification.

The Committee on School Initiatives received a standing update on the Generation 31 charter applications, ongoing State Board for Educator Certification activities, and discussed parental rights training for school district trustees as required by SB 12 and SB 204.

The Committee on School Finance heard a preliminary report on the per capita apportionment rate for the 2025-2026 school year from the Available School Fund (ASF) approved a $1.81 billion transfer from the Permanent School Fund (PSF) to the ASF in fiscal year 2026.