April 2025 Ad Hoc Committee on Social Studies Item 1
Public Hearing on Recommendations for a Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills Framework for Social Studies
April 10, 2025
AD HOC COMMITTEE ON SOCIAL STUDIES: DISCUSSION
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION: NO ACTION
SUMMARY: A public hearing before the Ad Hoc Committee on Social Studies Standards Framework is scheduled for Thursday, April 10, 2025. Testimony will be presented regarding recommendations for a framework to guide the organization of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for social studies, including the identification of core content topics that students should know and be able to do in U.S. history, Texas history, world history, geography and civics in Kindergarten - Grade 12. In accordance with State Board of Education (SBOE) operating procedures, oral testimony will be limited to two minutes per person.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Texas Education Code (TEC), §§7.102(c)(4), 28.002(a)(1)(D), and 28.002(c).
TEC, §7.102(c)(4), requires the SBOE to establish curriculum and graduation requirements.
TEC, §28.002(a)(1)(D), identifies social studies as one of the subjects of the required curriculum.
TEC, §28.002(c), requires the SBOE to identify by rule the essential knowledge and skills of each subject in the required curriculum that all students should be able to demonstrate and that will be used in evaluating instructional materials and addressed on the state assessment instruments.
TEC, §28.002(h), requires the SBOE and each school district to require the teaching of informed patriotism, Texas history, and the free enterprise system in the adoption of instructional materials for Kindergarten-Grade 12, including the founding documents of the United States.
TEC, §28.002(h-1), requires the SBOE to adopt essential knowledge and skills that develop each student's civic knowledge, including an understanding of the fundamental moral, political, and intellectual foundations of the American experiment in self-government; the history, qualities, traditions, and features of civic engagement in the United States; the structure, function, and processes of local, state, and federal, government institutions; and the founding documents of the United States.
TEC, §28.002(h-2), requires the SBOE to adopt essential knowledge and skills that develop each student's civic knowledge, including an understanding of the fundamental moral, political, entrepreneurial, and intellectual foundations of the American experiment in self-government; the history, qualities, traditions, and features of civic government in the United States; the structure, function, and processes of local, state, and federal, government institutions; and the founding documents of the United States; the ability to analyze and determine the reliability of information sources, formulate and articulate reasoned positions, understand the manner in which local, state, and federal governments work and operate through the use of simulations and models of governmental and democratic processes, actively listen and engage in civic discourse, and participate as a citizen in a constitutional democracy by voting; and an appreciation of the importance and responsibility of participating in civic life, a commitment to the United States and its form of government, and a commitment to free speech and civil discourse.
The full text of statutory citations can be found in the statutory authority section of this agenda.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND JUSTIFICATION: The TEKS for social studies and economics were originally adopted effective September 1, 1998. The Kindergarten-Grade 12 social studies TEKS and the TEKS for economics were revised effective August 23, 2010. In 2018, the SBOE approved streamlining revisions to the social studies TEKS for Kindergarten-Grade 8 and four high school social studies courses: U.S. History Studies, World History Studies, World Geography, and United States Government. The SBOE also streamlined the TEKS for Economics with Emphasis on the Free Enterprise System and its Benefits and consolidated the TEKS for economics into Chapter 113.
In 2015, the SBOE adopted revisions to the TEKS for certain Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) social studies courses to require that students demonstrate proficiency in the TEKS for the corresponding AP and IB courses in addition to the AP or IB course requirements.
In 2021, the 87th Texas Legislature passed SB 1063, amending TEC, §28.025, to add a one-half credit course in personal financial literacy and economics as an option to meet the one-half credit graduation requirement for economics under the Foundation High School Program. SB 1063 requires that the SBOE adopt TEKS for the personal financial literacy and economics course and that the required curriculum for the course allocate two-thirds of the instructional time to personal financial literacy and one-third of instructional time to economics. At the June 2021 SBOE meeting, the SBOE adopted new §113.76 to be effective 20 days after filing with the Texas Register, and the rule became effective August 1, 2022.
Additionally, the 87th Texas Legislature passed House Bill 4509, Regular Session, 2021, and SB 3, Second Called Session, 2021, to require the teaching of informed patriotism and the founding documents of the United States and require the SBOE to adopt essential knowledge and skills for social studies that develop each student's civic knowledge, including an understanding of the fundamental moral, political, and intellectual foundations of the U.S. government.
At the June and November 2021 SBOE meetings, the board discussed the review of the social studies TEKS. Board members designated content advisors for the social studies TEKS review in August 2021. An application to serve on work groups was posted on the TEA website in September 2021. Additionally, in September 2021, a survey was posted on the TEA website to ask for feedback on the current TEKS for social studies. TEA staff provided SBOE members applications for approval to serve on the social studies work groups in September, October, and November 2021 and January and April 2022. The content advisors convened to discuss consensus recommendations in December 2021 and January 2022. In April 2022, the SBOE asked TEA to convene work groups to develop TEKS for two additional ethnic studies courses: Native American studies and Asian American studies. The SBOE directed future work groups to develop TEKS for Kindergarten-Grade 8 as follows: the TEKS for Kindergarten-Grade 2 would address topics in Texas, U.S., and world history thematically and work groups should to look to see if there are other organizational options for organizing the Kindergarten-Grade 2 content; and the TEKS for Grades 3-8 would address history chronologically with Grades 3-5 focusing on world history and Grades 6-8 focusing on Texas and U.S. history. In May 2022, the SBOE convened a special meeting to hear public feedback on the proposed new framework for the Kindergarten-Grade 8 TEKS. Work groups were convened to develop recommendations for the social studies TEKS in January, February, March, April, May, June, and July 2022. At a special called meeting held August 1, 2022, the SBOE discussed the proposed new social studies TEKS and held a public hearing regarding the new standards. Following the discussion, a final work group was convened in August to develop final recommendations.
At the August-September SBOE meeting, the board determined that it would not move forward with proposed new social studies standards. Instead, the board asked TEA staff to bring to the next SBOE meeting a draft of the current standards with proposed revisions only to address requirements of SB 3, 87th Texas Legislature, Second Called Session, 2021, that are not currently addressed in the TEKS.
The proposed revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 113, Subchapters A-C, were approved by the SBOE for first reading and filing authorization at a special called meeting on September 26, 2022. The SBOE approved the proposed revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 113, Subchapters A-C, for second reading and final adoption at the November 2022 meeting.
In October 2024, an Ad Hoc Committee on Social Studies Standards Framework was established by the Chairman of the SBOE. The Committee is charged to evaluate Texas' current social studies learning standards, research best practices in history and civics education, and provide recommendations for developing exemplary state standards, ensuring Texas students receive a high-quality social studies education that prepares them for informed citizenship. The goal of the Committee is to provide clear, actionable recommendations for developing social studies curriculum standards that will position Texas as a national leader in history and civics education. The standards should equip students with essential knowledge of American and Texas history, geography, and civic institutions while fostering the skills and dispositions needed for engaged citizenship in a diverse democratic republic.
Staff Member Responsible:
Shannon Trejo, Deputy Commissioner, Office of School Programs or Designee