If approved, the vote would typically mark the beginning of a long, and probably divisive, process to design curriculum based on the standards. But 社区黑料 has learned that Education Commissioner Mike Morath jumpstarted the process a year ago, signing a $67 million contract with a Tampa-based consulting firm for a series of social studies instructional materials. The standards, with topics like the spread of Christianity and the role of religious freedom in America鈥檚 founding, dovetail with the controversial Bluebonnet reading program adopted in 2024, which also came under fire for the perception that it promoted Christian nationalism. A required reading list, including some biblical passages, is also scheduled for a Friday.

The contract, with MGT Impact Solutions, wasn鈥檛 accessible to the public for a year because the Texas Education Agency failed to submit it to the state legislature, as required by law, until April.

In a state where the education chief holds over schools, some board members feel left in the dark.

鈥淥f course, I had no idea,鈥� Staci Childs, a Democrat, told 社区黑料.

鈥淭hose agreements should be public knowledge,鈥� said Evelyn Brooks, a Republican. 鈥淭here should be a considerable amount of transparency because we’re dealing with public money.鈥�

Jake Kobersky, a spokesman for the agency, said MGT began with the existing standards, but has also been working from 鈥減ublicly available drafts” of the new ones in preparation for the final approval. The contract wasn鈥檛 submitted to the legislature because officials 鈥渙riginally planned to award multiple contracts鈥� and were still negotiating with other vendors, he said. He declined to state whether officials made additional awards, but said the agency followed the standard contracting process. State law doesn鈥檛 require the board to approve requests for proposals or contracts.

鈥淭he State Board of Education has no role in this solicitation,鈥� he said.

The contract is the latest development in the state鈥檚 four-year quest to overhaul what students learn about history and government. In 2022, the board came close to . But like many red states, Texas had recently passed limiting classroom discussions on race and gender, and conservative groups argued the proposed standards were unpatriotic and violated the new law. The board voted to delay the revision until 2025. Now members have renewed the debate. call the standards 鈥渦nbalanced鈥� and say they lack diversity, while Republicans are pressuring the board not to dilute them with changes.

Kelsey Kling, a government relations specialist and policy analyst with Texas AFT, the teachers union, called the MGT contract 鈥渁 little bit of a cart-before-the-horse scenario.鈥�

鈥淚s this whole vote by the State Board of Education simply a formality for a curriculum that’s already been in the works?鈥� she asked. 

Supporters of the new standards, namely the powerful, right-wing Texas Public Policy Foundation, say they replace a vague in the current standards with a chronological study of history and would allow students to see how ideas and events build over time. 

But Democrats in and on have called for delaying Friday鈥檚 vote because the foundation paid the Texas Center at Schreiner University $70,000 to develop the standards. The center鈥檚 director, Donald Frazier, is a member of a on the rewrite. Robert Koons, a senior fellow at the foundation, is also an adviser.

鈥淕iven the scope and significance of this work, which impacts more than 5.5 million public school students across Texas, it is essential that the process remain transparent, objective, and free from undue influence,鈥� wrote the five Democrats on the 15-member board.

Brian Phillips, spokesman for the think tank, called the Democrats鈥� demand

Critics, like the American Historical Association, say the draft standards exclude major events throughout history from Africa, the Middle East and Asian countries, and minimize the effects of racism and the contributions of women. In April, the board deleted a standard that would require students to learn about Muslims鈥� role in developing astronomy and algebra.

But conservatives, like state Sen. Mayes Middleton, called the statements 鈥渁 clear victory for pro-America, pro-Texas education.鈥�

Students, he wrote in a letter to the board, must 鈥渞eceive an honest understanding of the ideologies and threats that shape the modern world, including the evils of Sharia law, the realities of Islamification, and the documented threat of Islamic terrorism.鈥�

Some in the state are frustrated with Morath鈥檚 outsized role, with support from Gov. Greg Abbott and the state鈥檚 GOP leaders, in directing what students learn. Critics say a top-down approach to curriculum is wrong for such a large, diverse state. 

State Rep. Gina Hinojosa, a Democrat running to unseat Abbott in November, said that if she wins, one of her first moves would be to , who has served for 10 years. 

鈥楶olitical interests鈥� 

But the legislature in 2023 to enter into contracts with groups like MGT to develop open educational resources and pay districts up to $60 per student if they adopt them. Morath argues the state-owned materials will improve test scores and ground students in 鈥渃lassic works,鈥� including the Bible, he told 社区黑料 in 2024. 

That was the process the state followed when it originally purchased reading materials from Amplify, a curriculum provider, during the pandemic. Under an $84 million contract with Public Consulting Group, a Boston-based firm, the state made sweeping changes to the program, adding biblical passages like the Prodigal Son and the story of Queen Esther. PCG brought in conservative groups, like Hillsdale College and a media company founded by Mike Huckabee, now ambassador to Israel, to work on the materials. 

Some educators argue that Bluebonnet has of the world with lessons on figures like King Solomon and say critics have overreacted to the biblical material. 

The Amarillo Independent School District is among those using the Bluebonnet reading program. Jennifer Wilkerson, assistant superintendent, said she appreciates that the social studies lessons will cover some of the same topics. 

But the top-to-botton revision of the social studies standards, with a planned 2030-31 roll out, was bound to attract controversy and, if adopted, will require major shifts for teachers.

鈥淎ny time you do a complete overhaul of standards, it begins to be about political interests and not about what’s best for kids,鈥� she said. She鈥檚 among the hundreds of educators, parents and advocates who have traveled to Austin to address the board. In April, she said, arguments over the standards 鈥済ot so intense, that there were shouting matches happening outside of the boardroom.鈥�

The temperature of the crowd was similar in 2024 when the board adopted Bluebonnet. And as with the MGT contract, board members were largely unaware the work was underway until the state unveiled drafts of the reading lessons. 

says that an agency can鈥檛 spend money on a contract over $10 million until it notifies the , which provides oversight of state government and develops budget recommendations. That notice is supposed to come within 15 days of when a contract is awarded. 

Whether the agency was still considering other bids 鈥渄oes not have an effect on determining when a contract is to be reported,鈥� said Dushyanth Reddivari, assistant general counsel and the communications officer for the budget board. 

A Texas Education Agency shows that as of Tuesday, the state has paid MGT over $1.8 million on the contract since Nov. 19.

Worth over , MGT has a big footprint in Texas and is represented in the legislature by Daniel Hodge, a who previously served as Abbott鈥檚 . The company has multiple contracts with state agencies and universities for projects ranging from economic impact studies to software services. In K-12 education, the firm specializes in . 

MGT directed questions about the contract to the state agency.

The contract, which includes work on multiple subjects, listed several organizations as potential subcontractors, including TNTP, a New York City-based nonprofit, and Success Academy Charter Schools. Ann Powell, a spokeswoman for Success Academy, said the network, also in New York, is not involved and didn鈥檛 know it was named in the contract.聽

Kathryn Zielony, a spokeswoman for TNTP, said there鈥檚 a potential the organization could work on the project, 鈥渂ut there is currently no finalized contract in place.鈥�

Kobersky, the Texas Education Agency spokesman, said MGT is still in the 鈥減lanning phase.鈥�

But Rabbi Joshua Fixler, who has three children in the Houston schools, suggested one reason why supporters of the standards are adamant about the board rejecting any last-minute revisions is because the work is already under way. He spoke to the board on Monday with concerns about items related to Christianity in both the social studies standards and the reading list.

鈥淚f work is already happening behind the scenes using these proposed [standards] that haven鈥檛 even passed yet to build curriculum,鈥� he said, 鈥渋t would make sense that the message would be 鈥楧on’t change this.鈥� 鈥�