The Texas State Board of Education will meet this week to consider final approval of revised high school social studies standards and new standards for a Personal Financial Literacy course, bringing two closely watched curriculum debates back before the board.

The SBOE is scheduled to meet Monday, Aug. 31, through Friday, Sept. 4. Members will hear public testimony and take up the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, or TEKS, for high school social studies after postponing final action earlier this summer.

The board approved revised K-8 social studies standards in June following months of contentious debate and public attention. Supporters pushed for standards that place greater emphasis on American exceptionalism, while opponents argued the revisions risked whitewashing portions of history.

Discussion of the high school standards — including U.S. History, World History, U.S. Government and World Geography — was postponed until the September meetings.

Debate Over High School Social Studies Standards

State Board of Education Member Gustavo Reveles, D-Dist. 10, told The Texan that he remains concerned about the direction of the standards revision process.

Reveles said the process is “moving away from teacher-developed standards and toward content-adviser-driven standards,” which he believes do not adequately “incorporate input and expertise of classroom educators.”

He also raised concerns about standards containing lessons that are “politically driven,” arguing that such changes may not align with “widely accepted approaches to the study of history” and could introduce “potential inaccuracies.”

Reveles also pointed to the potential cost for Texas school districts if substantially revised standards are adopted.

“I also worry about the fiscal impact this overhaul will have on school districts already facing significant financial challenges,” Reveles said, adding that districts would need to spend resources retraining teachers and implementing the new standards, “placing yet another burden on already strained school budgets.”

SBOE Member Dr. Audrey Young, R-Dist. 8, has taken a different view of the revisions.

Young, who has remained closely involved in the review of the World History and World Geography standards, told The Texan that she supports “efforts to maintain a balanced curriculum that recognizes the importance of world civilizations while keeping a strong emphasis on the history, ideals, and institutions that shaped the United States and Texas.”

Young said students benefit from studying global events “within the context of American exceptionalism, constitutional government, and the principles of liberty that have guided our nation.”

Following the June meetings, Young also highlighted her work to ensure the revised standards “promote historical accuracy,” including efforts to preserve “important Revolutionary War content.”

Financial Literacy Course Draws Scrutiny

The SBOE will also consider TEKS for a half-credit high school Personal Financial Literacy course.

Under House Bill 27, passed last year, the board is required to “develop a list of free, open-source, and publicly available curricula that may be used by a school district” for a personal financial literacy course meeting curriculum requirements established by the SBOE.

The debate over those standards has become entangled with concerns about a financial literacy course developed by the California nonprofit Next Gen Personal Finance.

The Texas Public Policy Foundation and Cicero Institute have criticized the course, particularly a unit addressing racial discrimination in finance that includes lessons on race-based reparations.

“A curriculum being pushed on every Texas public high school — and maybe every state by 2030 — teaches students that equal treatment is unjust and equalized outcomes are ‘justice,’” the Cicero Institute wrote on X, describing the material as “socialism.”

The organization claimed the material could “be inside a graduation-required finance course, unless the Texas State Board of Education takes action next week.”

The Texas Public Policy Foundation has similarly argued that the SBOE is in a difficult position following changes made by the Texas Legislature.

According to TPPF, a required economics course established in 2022 included an “emphasis on the free enterprise system and its benefits.” Legislative changes in 2025 eliminated the economics requirement and replaced it with the personal financial literacy requirement.

“Now, the SBOE must decide whether it can spare the space to explain to students how public policy affects their economic fortunes, in a time when young people increasingly embrace the failed ideas of socialism, in between lessons on how to responsibly budget and use credit,” TPPF wrote.

SBOE Member Julie Pickren, R-Dist. 7, wrote on X that the board rejected the Next Gen Personal Finance standards during its June meetings.

“However, TX Law allows school districts to still purchase it & use it in classrooms,” Pickren wrote.

Kinsey: Board Should Focus on Standards, Not Specific Curriculum

SBOE Chairman Aaron Kinsey, R-Dist. 15, has sought to separate the board’s work on statewide standards from the debate surrounding any particular curriculum.

Kinsey acknowledged there is “a lot of interest in this across the state,” but said the development of specific curriculum is “way downstream” from the board’s current work. He said it would be “inappropriate” to shape the standards around a particular curriculum.

“We should be pretty agnostic to that, and should be focused exclusively on the standards,” Kinsey said.

“The legislature said ‘adopt a personal financial literacy course.’ And the message around that is to prepare students for financial success across the state — 100 percent,” Kinsey continued. “What they didn't say is ‘backwards engineer any core or the course to match anything,’ because that's not the intent.”

Kinsey said he has spoken with several “key members” of the board and does not “see any appetite for that.”

Instead, he said the SBOE should determine what Texas students need to learn to become successful stewards of their financial resources, which he argued ultimately contributes to human prosperity.

“I'm confident we're going to end up in a good place by the end of this,” Kinsey said.