The Texas State Board of Education voted 8-4 on Friday, Sept. 4, to approve new high school social studies standards. The rewrite frames Islam around extremism and Christianity around Western civilization's foundations.
Students at Clear Lake High School, Clear Brook High School, Friendswood High School and their elementary and middle schools will see the changes in U.S. History, U.S. Government, World History and World Geography courses. Rollout begins in the 2030-31 school year, affecting Texas' 5.5 million public school students, the Houston Chronicle reported. Clear Creek ISD and Friendswood ISD had not publicly responded to the vote as of Sept. 5.
The 15-member board's Republican majority approved the rewrite over objections from Democratic members and dozens of Muslim Texans who testified at a Monday, Aug. 31, hearing.
What the standards say
Under the approved Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, Islam and Muslims are referenced 12 times across the four high school courses. Christianity is referenced at least 18 times.
The World History course requires students to explain early Islam in terms of "the Prophet Mohammed's brutal military campaigns against Jewish and Christian tribes, the normalization of slavery, and the taking of female captives as harem slaves." Students must also learn that the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks were "motivated by radical Islam," Community Impact reported.
Christianity lessons cover "the life and teachings of Jesus," the "roots of Western civilization in Christianity" and "moral teachings from the Old and New Testaments."
The board earlier in 2026 removed a proposed standard on Muslim contributions to algebra and astronomy, Houston Public Media reported. Democratic members tried to restore it Sept. 4. Those amendments failed.
Republican board member Will Hickman of Houston moved to delete the word "brutal" from the description of Mohammed's military campaigns, calling it "superfluous." That motion also failed 8-4.
Debate over religion in classrooms
Board chair Aaron Kinsey, R-Midland, acknowledged the difficulty of the task.
"We're talking about social studies. These are where a lot of the controversies within our society live," Kinsey said.
Board member Brandon Hall, R-Aledo, pushed to remove the title "the Prophet" before Mohammed's name, calling it "offensive" to Christians and Jews. At a June 22 board meeting, Hall said the rewrite would bring the Bible back into schools.
Board member Rebecca Bell-Metereau, D-San Marcos, raised concerns that a standard on Christian legal scholar Sir William Blackstone could violate the First Amendment's Establishment Clause. She said the lesson did not include enough diverse religious perspectives to "fully represent the students or residents who are living and going to school in Texas."
Felicia Martin, president of the Texas Freedom Network, said in a statement that the standards single out Christianity while leaving students without the broader cultural literacy needed to understand the world. Americans United for Separation of Church and State said the standards attempt to inject the Bible into every social studies course.
About 100 Texans testified at the Monday, Aug. 31, board meeting. Among them, Bahia Amawi, a Central Texas speech pathologist, asked board members whether the goal was "to teach students to distrust their Muslim classmates and neighbors."
What comes next
Book publishers, including the state-created Bluebonnet curriculum, will develop materials aligned with the new standards before the 2030-31 rollout. The board also approved a mandatory personal financial literacy course for high school graduation.
