Why Texas History Curriculum Matters - And Three Actions You Can Take This Week

Over the past month, I've been hosting a banned book book club with my local community members as an act of resistance. Students and parents gathered together every Monday Night for four weeks at a local coffeehouse to discuss a historic piece of literature often banned in school districts across Texas. The Cruise Capable Community read Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor which details the story of the Logan family surviving brutal racial injustices in 1930s Mississippi while fighting to keep their small piece of land and protect their children's dignity.

The conversations around those coffee shop tables (and in our final meeting, a community member's living room) have been some of the most honest moments I've witnessed in six years of advocacy work. There is power in meeting together as a community because of the discussions that arise. I have hope that starting the conversations is a big step towards identifying the right action that leads us to a more inclusive and diverse world where we all have room to thrive. We have a lot of steps to take; one at a time and here where some of the first taken by the community over the month that we read and discussed:

One student shared: "This is the first time I have ever seen [my parent] read a book." HUGE win for bringing literacy back for students and parents!

A parent shared: "Our family is taking the time to read together after dinner." A point of connection for the whole family!

Another student reflected: "This story made me realize that I should be proud of the generations that came before me...that my ancestors survived this." A powerful personal connection to the text.

These are the exact experiences and connections that are at risk of being banned from Texas classrooms (the United States as a whole; it’s just that I live in Texas and our current State leaders are eager to erase a lot) less than 100 years after these moments in history happened. Mildred D. Taylor wrote this book to preserve her family's history, to tell the truth about what Black families endured and how they resisted. This past month, I witnessed the power of Taylor’s storytelling and my community starting to finds ways to resist. It is a reality that public school curriculum decisions are being made CURRENTLY that would erase these honest and accurate depictions of history from our children's education.

If the Logan children could live through watching hate crimes being committed against their neighbors and children their own age, today's children can handle knowing this uncomfortable reality existed. And still does. We don't protect our kids by hiding history. We protect them by teaching them the truth, so we all have the tools to prevent future harm.

Want to start with reading banned books? Here’s every resources you could need: https://bannedbooksweek.org/resources/

AND if you want to make sure books are NOT banned and history education remains accurate, well do I have THREE simply steps you can take (complete with provided scripts!)…

Three Actions You Can Take This Week

1. FEDERAL ACTION (Deadline: October 17th, the countdown is on)

Trump's Department of Education is making "patriotic education" a federal funding priority. This means schools, museums, and nonprofits will be pressured to whitewash history if they want grant money. Independent institutions like PBS and the Smithsonian are being defunded while organizations like PragerU get prioritized for funding. PragerU is notorious for minimizing history education down to 3-8 minute clips and praising all choices every made in the founding of America. This organization’s curriculum teaches lessons on slavery that ensure learners that slavery was not the responsibility of white people and that white people were the saviors that ended slavery. This blog is not an in-depth critic on PragerU, so hopeful the previous sentence with the linked primary resource of a history lesson from this organization is enough to inspire you to protect our public schools from this kind of inaccurate teaching.

Interesting how this agenda seem closely aligned with authoritarian regimes: starve out public education, limit public funding to organizations who say only what the leader wants to hear, ensure the public has little to no access to a variety of perspectives.

What to do: Submit a public comment at Regulations.gov (docket ED-2025-OS-0745) by October 17th.

What to say (adapt to your own words):

I am writing to oppose the Department of Education's "patriotic education" funding priority. This policy creates financial pressure for schools and educational institutions to present a sanitized version of American history rather than teaching students to think critically about our nation's full story - both triumphs and failures.

Students deserve history education that: - Is grounded in accuracy and evidence from professional historians - Includes multiple perspectives, especially from marginalized communities - Teaches critical thinking skills applicable to modern civic life - Prepares them to be informed citizens who can participate in democracy

Conditioning federal funding on ideological compliance is not patriotism. It is censorship. Our children deserve better.

[Learn more from Mrs. Frazzled's breakdown of this issue]

2. STATE ACTION (Texas)

On September 19th, 2025, Texas State Board of Education members Brandon Hall (District 11) and Julie Pickren (District 7) announced the appointment of David Barton as a Social Studies Expert Content Advisor for the 2025 revision of state curriculum standards (TEKS).

David Barton is the founder of WallBuilders, an organization promoting Christian nationalist interpretations of American history. He has been widely criticized by professional historians for inaccuracies and revisionist history. As an "Expert Content Advisor," he will help shape what gets emphasized or minimized in how history is taught to Texas students.

Since Texas is a massive textbook market, changes here influence curriculum nationwide.

What to do: Email these SBOE members directly which is currently in shutdown:

• Brandon Hall (District 11): Brandon.Hall@sboe.texas.gov

• Julie Pickren (District 7): Julie.Pickren@sboe.texas.gov

• Aaron Kinsey (SBOE Chair): Aaron.Kinsey@sboe.texas.gov

• Pam Little (Vice Chair): Pam.Little@sboe.texas.gov

• Will Hickman (Secretary): Will.Hickman@sboe.texas.gov

Email script (adapt to your own words):

Subject: Concern Regarding Appointment of David Barton as Social Studies Expert Content Advisor

Dear Members of the Texas State Board of Education,

I am writing as a Texas [parent and community member] to express concern about David Barton's appointment as a Social Studies Expert Content Advisor for the 2025 TEKS revision process.

While I respect diverse voices in curriculum development, Mr. Barton's record of promoting Christian nationalist and historically disputed interpretations of American history undermines the integrity of this process. Texas students deserve education based on accuracy, inclusivity, and critical thinking - not ideology.

As you revise social studies standards, I urge you to prioritize: 1. Accuracy - Teach what truly happened, grounded in evidence and primary sources 2. Multiple Perspectives - Include Indigenous peoples, enslaved people, women, immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, and others often excluded 3. Critical Thinking - Equip students to question sources, analyze bias, and apply these skills to civic life 4. Balanced Patriotism - Present both triumphs and failures so students can engage honestly with history 5. Global Context - Place U.S. history in connection with world history 6. Inclusive Civics - Teach students how to be informed, active citizens

Our children deserve to graduate with comprehensive, honest understanding of history and confidence to participate fully in democracy. This requires curriculum shaped by professional historians and educators - not individuals with records of distorting history for political or religious purposes.

Thank you for your service. I ask that you reconsider this appointment and commit to building standards that truly serve all Texas students.

Sincerely, [Your Name] [Your City/School District]

3. LOCAL ACTION - SCHOOL BOARD MEETINGS NEED YOU!

I will be making my first public statement at my local school board meeting on October 20th regarding history curriculum and selection protocols. I encourage you to learn about and participate in your local school board! Find out when meetings are and make it a priority to attend. I do suggest attending a few times and learning about the requirements before making a public comment. My school district has a strict protocol of submitting comment prior to a meeting so that the board can address the issue prior to it being public.

Make school boarding meeting attendance fun by getting queso with the community afterward because advocating for our kids' education should include some joy!

Why Authentic History Matters

History must be told by the marginalized communities who lived it and kept their families' stories alive. Mildred D. Taylor wrote Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry to preserve her family's experience. Toni Morrison, James Baldwin, Bell Hooks, Harvey Milk, Cesar Chavez - these voices exist because people refused to let their communities' truths be erased.

When we appoint advisors who promote Christian nationalist interpretations or condition federal funding on "patriotic education," we're not teaching history. We're teaching propaganda.

Students deserve education that:

Is Accurate - Grounded in evidence from historians, primary sources, and multiple perspectives. No "feel good" myths or partisan spin.

Includes Multiple Perspectives - History should highlight not just presidents and generals, but everyday people, Indigenous nations, enslaved people, women, immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, a variety of disability perspective, workers, and those who resisted oppression.

Teaches Critical Thinking - Students should learn to ask: Who wrote this? Why? What voices are missing? These skills apply to modern media literacy too.

Practices Balanced Patriotism - Loving your country means knowing its full story. Students should see how ideals like freedom and equality have been fought for by generations, and that democracy requires participation.

Provides Global Context - U.S. history should always connect with world history. This fosters humility and understanding of interconnectedness.

Builds Inclusive Civics - Social studies should equip students to be informed citizens: understanding how government works, how to read a ballot, attend a public meeting, evaluate news, and organize for community needs.

Teaching honest history isn't about making students hate America. It's about giving them the tools to understand how harm happened, so they can work to prevent it from happening again. It's about acknowledging that the ideals we claim to value like freedom, equality, justice have never been universally applied; and that progress requires us to face that truth rather than hide from it.

The Bigger Picture

This isn't just about curriculum standards or textbook content. When you combine curriculum control (appointing advisors like Barton) with book banning legislation (SB13 in Texas makes it easier for parents to challenge books) and federal funding tied to "patriotic education," you're systematically limiting what students can learn and the conversation that can help them grow.

The goal isn't to protect children. It's to control narratives.

But here's what they can't control: parents like you showing up. Submitting public comments. Emailing board members. Attending local meetings. Reading banned books with your kids and discussing why someone might want to hide these stories.

Together we are more than capable of protecting our children's right to honest education.

Take Action This Week

• By October 17th: Comment at Regulations.gov (docket ED-2025-OS-0745)

• This week: Email Texas SBOE members about the Barton appointment

• This month: Attend a school board meeting! Look for when and where, and make it a priority to attend.

Stay educated,

Kaitlin Cruise

No one said it was easy, but together we are more than capable of making this world a better place. Let's get to playing our part in the revolution.