Social Studies
The Curriculum Division social studies team provides direction and leadership to the social studies program, Kindergarten through grade 12. Join the Social Studies mailing list to receive updates.
The social studies team does the following:
- Assists districts statewide with implementation of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for social studies
- Collaborates with the Division of Student Assessment to develop state social studies assessments
- Assists the Instructional Materials and Educational Technology Division (IMET) in overseeing the textbook adoption process for K-12 social studies
- Provides
on-going communication with the field about current issues in social studies curriculum and policy interpretations related to graduation requirements in 19 TAC Chapter 74.
Social Studies TEKS
The following web page provides access to the current state standards for social studies.
Social Studies TEKS Revisions
In its November 2022 meeting, the State Board of Education (SBOE) adopted social studies TEKS revisions to align with recent legislative requirements by updating the standards for Kindergarten-Grade 8 and five high school courses: Economics with Emphasis on the Free Enterprise System and its Benefits, United States History Studies Since 1877, World History Studies, World Geography Studies, and United States Government. The revised social studies TEKS will be implemented beginning with the 2024-2025 school year.
Effective Date: August 1, 2024
For more information related to the Social Studies TEKS revision and implementation, please visit the 2021-2022 Social Studies TEKS Review website.
Streamlined Social Studies TEKS Adopted by State Board of Education
The State Board of Education (SBOE) gave final approval on November 16, 2018, to the streamlined social studies TEKS for K-8 and five high school social studies courses.
Secondary (Grades 6-8 and High School)
The streamlined social studies TEKS for middle school and high school are effective beginning August 1, 2019, and implemented in classrooms beginning with the 2019-2020 school year.
Elementary (Kindergarten-Grade 5)
The streamlined social studies TEKS for kindergarten-grade 5 will be effective on August 1, 2020, and implemented in classrooms beginning with the 2020-2021 school year.
The Resources for the Streamlined Social Studies TEKS web page has been created to assist educators and parents in the transition to the streamlined social studies TEKS. Resources include draft documents that contain the streamlined TEKS and “crosswalk” documents that show the correlation between the 2010 adopted TEKS currently in use and the 2018 adopted streamlined TEKS that are being implemented beginning in the 2019-2020 school year.
Personal Financial Literacy and Economics
Personal Financial Literacy and Economics is a new one-half credit high school course developed in response to Senate Bill (SB) 1063 and Texas Education Code (TEC), §28.025(b-22). Students may successfully complete either this new course or the Economics with Emphasis on the Free Enterprise System and Its Benefits course to satisfy the half-credit economics requirement for high school graduation. This new economics course is part of the required secondary curriculum.
Districts are required to offer both courses. However, districts with a total district-wide high school enrollment of fewer than 500 students can apply to the commissioner of education to offer either Economics with Emphasis on the Free Enterprise System and Its Benefits or Personal Financial Literacy and Economics.
As authorized by Texas Education Code (TEC), §28.025(b-23), the Texas Education Agency (TEA) has developed a list of free, open-source, and publicly available curricula that may be used by a school district to provide instruction in the Personal Financial Literacy and Economics high school course.
Requirements for Instruction on Proper Interaction with Peace Officers
In response to Senate Bill (SB) 30, also known as The Community Safety Education Act, the State Board of Education (SBOE) adopted a rule to include the instruction developed under TEC, §28.012, in one or more courses in the required curriculum for students in grades 9-12. The SBOE adopted the new rule in Title 19 of the Texas Administrative Code (TAC), §74.39, Requirements for Instruction on Proper Interaction with Peace Officers, effective August 27, 2018. This rule requires school districts and charter schools to provide instruction to students in grades 9-12 on proper interaction with peace officers during traffic stops and other in-person encounters.
Social Studies
Jim Doris
Social Studies/Reading Language Arts Director
Social Studies Content Specialist
Jenny Gaona
Texas Education Agency
Curriculum Standards and Student Support
For questions or additional information, please submit a Curriculum Request Form through the TEA Help Desk.
(512) 463-9581