Recent Wins
- DEI and Affinity Groups The Episcopal School of Dallas promotes race-based affinity groups for students
- Surveys and Privacy Harlandale Independent School District provides students with Panorama Survey
- Gender Ideology Austin Independent School District Publishes Report Recommending School District Implement LGBTQ Issues into Curricula, Trains Teachers in 'Supporting Transgender and Nonbinary Students'
- Classroom Politicization Fort Worth Independent School District Hires Consulting Firm to Train ESL Teachers in Using 'Lesson Planning as a Political Act'
State Board of Education
Who's on your state board of education?
The Texas Board of Education consists of 15 members who are popularly elected.
When's the next election/appointment?
Members serve four-year terms and are elected every four years during the midterm election cycle (2022, 2026, 2030). You can read more about their most recent election in November 2022 on this Ballotpedia page.
When's the next curriculum update?
The Board of Education is responsible for updating the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) standards. The board reviewed social studies standards during the 2021-2022 school year. Science, math, and technology standards will undergo review during the 2022-2023 school year. You can view the TEKS review calendar here.
The Texas
Department of Education
“The Texas Education Agency is the state agency that oversees primary and secondary public education in the state of Texas. It helps deliver education to more than 5 million students.”
How did your district perform during the 2021-2022 school year?
Check your district’s report card.
The Texas
Legislature
Session runs January 10, 2023 to May 29, 2023
Note: The Texas Legislature only holds sessions during odd-numbered years
Use this tool from the Texas Tribune to find your state representative and state senator.
Just like Congress, the Texas Legislature is split into a House and Senate. You can find your House Education Committee Members here, and your Senate Education Committee Members here.
These committees conduct hearings, review, and amend bills proposed by a member of their legislative chamber. They also review bills after they have been passed by the other chamber of legislature. Remember, both chambers must pass a bill before it goes to the governor’s desk for a signature or a veto.
The Texas legislature passed a few education-related bills in 2021. You can read about those below.
Recent Education Laws
- House Bill 3979 Texas House Bill 3979 banned critical race theory and action civics, and requires the State Board of Education to "adopt essential knowledge and skills that develop each student's civic knowledge," which includes teaching "the fundamental moral, political, and intellectual foundations of the American experiment in self government..."
- Senate Bill 3 Texas Senate Bill 3 is similar to the above bill. It, too, establishes civic education requirements for Texas students.
- House Bill 25 Texas House Bill 25 requires public school students to compete in sports based on their biological sex.