The State Board of Education convened in Austin on Tuesday, June 24, and concluded Friday, June 27. The four-day agenda provided the opportunity to approve or veto the Generation 30 (2025) charter applications, as well as hear updates on instructional materials, the Permanent School Fund (PSF), math and social studies standards, and innovative courses, among other items.
Charter Schools
The main event on Wednesday was the presentation of the commissioner’s recommendations for charter school approval. The board heard public testimony on both charters in general and the proposed campuses that will impact school districts across the state. The following 2025 charter applicants were recommended for approval by the board in a preliminary vote on Wednesday:
- Arcadia High School (Southwest Houston – Houston ISD, Alief ISD, Fort Bend ISD)
- Fort Worth STEAM Academy (Fort Worth ISD – Central East Fort Worth)
- Frank Liu Jr. Academy of Music and Arts (Houston ISD – Second, Third, Fifth Wards)
- The Museum School of East Dallas (Dallas ISD, Mesquite ISD)
The following applicants received a recommendation to veto:
- Unidos Soccer Leadership Academy (Northside ISD – San Antonio Area)
- Valenta Academy (Bastrop ISD and Central Texas)
Members cited lack of community support for the vote against Valenta Academy as well as concern for the AI-driven, “two-hour” instructional model. Opposition to Unidos was mixed with some Republican members citing the “woke” leanings of proposed leadership; there were also significant financial issues with the parent organization that were not disclosed as part of the application.
Occasionally, some members will change their opinion before the final vote on Friday. However, these initial recommendations held fast through the final vote. On this Republican-majority board, it takes significant evidence to overcome the pro-charter sentiment among members. The veto of two applications was an unexpected victory as Texas AFT continues to advocate against the privatization of education.
A common refrain throughout deliberations was the need to consider these applications in context of the broader district and charter landscape. Many SBOE members will base support for subpar applicants on the premise of giving parents “choice” to remove their students from “failing public schools.” But the data does not support this myth. Most new charter campuses that have been approved since 2016 have received either a D or F in the most recent state accountability ratings, which begs scrutiny for the efficacy of existing charter schools and the need for new campuses when the current ones are not delivering their promised results and are negatively affecting the funding of neighborhood public schools.
In another positive development, members from both sides of the aisle have called for a comprehensive review of charters approved over the last decade to be presented to the board at a future meeting in 2025.
Ethnic Studies
Another unexpected win came in the approval of the American Indian/Native Studies innovative course. Regular Hotline readers know the dramatic journey this course has taken in the last year and half. When the course was waylaid from moving into the social studies standards (February 2024), the course authors turned their attention to renewing their innovative course application so that this valuable content remained available to students.
After several delay tactics over multiple meetings, the course was finally brought before the full board on Thursday. There was one final scare tactic employed when the Texas attorney general brought a lawyer to warn of the potential violations of this course with recently passed Senate Bill 12. Testifiers who have been relentless in their support of the course came one final time to explain the benefits that ethnic studies courses have for students. There were objections to certain content such as land acknowledgments and one of the recommended resources, but ultimately the board delivered a 9-5 preliminary vote to allow the course to be awarded elective credit.
On Friday, conservative members led by Julie Pickren (District 7) attempted to delay the course yet again through a rash of parliamentary shenanigans. Members ultimately voted to approve the course 9-5, though they did require the removal of one instructional resource (The American Mosaic: The American Indian Experience by ABC-CLIO)
that some found offensive. This course will remain active in the innovative courses catalogue for an additional five years, and it can be assumed that it will play a role in the upcoming social studies review.
Other Updates
The committee of the full board met on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday and received an update on a variety of topics, including the state of the Permanent School Fund (PSF) and the current instructional materials review and adoption (IMRA) process.
Commissioner of Education Mike Morath provided an overview on statewide STAAR results, and summarized legislation passed during the 89th session that will impact public education and the work of the SBOE. Statewide, STAAR results are creeping up slightly. However, individual campus results continue to reflect lagging mathematics achievement (according to this measure).
The social studies ad-hoc committee considered testimony on possible frameworks for the organization of content during the next revision on the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for this area, which could begin as early as September 2025. There continues to be a wide variety of opinions on what content (e.g., geography and Texas history) should be taught at which grade levels. Staff presented research on best practices and frameworks from other states for the board’s consideration. The ad-hoc committee on mathematics also reported to the SBOE.
Accolades
On Friday, the board approved several resolutions to honor both students and teachers.
For the first time, the board brought to the meeting the Student Heroes awardees. Given to an outstanding student volunteer in each SBOE district, the program recognizes outstanding Texas public school students in pre-Kindergarten through high school who spend their time assisting other students.
The finalists and winners of the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching were presented to the board, as well. The PAEMST awards are the nation’s highest honors for teachers of mathematics and science, including computer science.
Often called the “Oscars of Teaching” the Milken National Educator Awards program rewards and inspires excellence in the world of education by honoring top educators around the country with $25,000 unrestricted awards. The 2024 Texas recipients were:
- Joshua Marmalejo, P-TECH, Clint ISD, CTE (automotive technology)
- Nancy Chavira, O’Donnell Intermediate, Fabens ISD, grade 5 math and science (bilingual)
Finally, the 2024 Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA) Teachers of the Year were presented to the board.
- Kristi Leff, Humphrey’s Highland Elementary, Amarillo ISD, grade 5 science and RLA was named the 2025 Texas Elementary Teacher of the Year.
- Christine Mihealsick, Westwood High School, Round Rock ISD, Advanced Placement environmental science teacher was named the 2025 Texas Teacher of the Year.
Mihealsick spent much of her time at the podium extolling the value of National Board Certification (NBC) and its positive impacts on students and teacher quality and retention in the current uncertified teacher crisis.
The SBOE will meet in Austin again in September.