Kinsey/Photo by Campaign
By Aaron Kinsey, State Board of Education member-elect, District 15
Last week, the State Board of Education (SBOE) held their scheduled meeting in Austin. One of the major topics of the 4-day-long meeting was the Social Studies standards for Texas public school students.
To the surprise of many, major substantive changes were delayed until 2025. The focus for Social Studies for the remainder of the year will be legal compliance with SB3, last year’s bill clarifying social studies curriculum.
What was so controversial that caused the Board to pause? The backdrop was a framework adopted by the SBOE in April of this year that would shuffle the curriculum to (hopefully) increase students’ opportunity to solidly retain history throughout their years of schooling. The first draft of the details was left to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) processes, including workgroups from Texans across the state. Unfortunately, the blank canvas and associated uncertainty around the specifics created just enough space for the left to radically insert their social agenda into school curriculum. In the vacuum of chaos, much meddling was occurring. In fact, it was so much meddling that the workgroup drafts submitted to the Board would be difficult (if not impossible) to appropriately straighten out on the preset timeline. Instead of the typical incremental adjustments that the SBOE makes to polish things up, required changes were simply too pervasive and convoluted.
As the Member-elect for our District, I watched this process unfold and have several key takeaways as I look to my upcoming term.
First, we must give credit where credit is due. The Republican majority stood strong for conservative values and did not let a self-imposed timeline push the state toward radical changes we would live with the next decade. Jay Johnson of Pampa, who currently represents our District, stood strong alongside the Republicans (minus one) in saving the state’s future and credit is due to him and fellow Members who understood the grave danger of the path Texas education was on.
Second, we need more conservative involvement earlier in the process of standard-setting. TEA workgroups are tasked with submitting draft standards, and they are made up of citizens from across the state. As conservatives, we need to increase our numbers of people in the workgroup pool. Applications for this are on the TEA website. I encourage all qualified candidates throughout our District to apply. It may cost you a 4 or 5 day stint in Austin, but the children of our state desperately need grassroots help in this part of the process!
Finally, while we can celebrate a short-term victory in the Social Studies arena, 2025 will be here soon and these issues will be prioritized again. We cannot afford to sit idle until the issues are discussed again. Additionally, Math standards are right around the corner next year and there is much work to be done on that front. While we are seeing some post-pandemic progress in reading, math is still lagging and our kids need us to help set them up for lifelong success here.
In conclusion, I ask that we thank our current member, Jay Johnson for his resolve on this matter and take a brief moment to celebrate a victory for conservatism. However, we must reflect on how close we came to a generational setback and start the work to protect Texas’ legacy again in 2025. Thank you for your confidence in me to represent West Texas on the SBOE beginning in January…I’m excited to work alongside you!
About Aaron Kinsey:
Aaron Kinsey is a husband, dad, Texan, Air Force veteran, businessman, and conservative leader. His mission is focused on bringing traditional values back to Texas schools and raising up future generations on a course for prosperity. He was elected as the Republican Nominee for Texas SBOE District 15 in the March 2022 Primary Election. Learn more about Aaron Kinsey at www.KinseyForTexas.com.