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JUN 29, 2026
June 29, 2026 (Austin, TX) — On Friday, the Texas State Board of Education finalized the state’s latest social studies standards, known as the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). After significant advocacy efforts beginning late last year, we are glad to confirm that Sikhi remains included—however, we, along with partner organizations and communities across Texas, remain concerned and disappointed about other aspects of the standards.
Sikh inclusion in TEKS was first achieved in 2010, but it was not guaranteed to remain in this latest draft without advocacy and engagement. When Sikhi is included in a state’s standards document, it makes it far more likely to appear in classroom instruction and discussion; standards inform curriculum, which in turn determine what educators teach.
The re-inclusion of Sikhi in TEKS would not have been possible without the partnership of the Texas sangat. More than 200 individual sangat members across the state signed our petition to the SBOE, and 11 gurdwarae joined our sign-on letter. The Sikh Coalition also conducted our own direct outreach to SBOE, advising on places where Sikhs and Sikhi could be included in the various drafts. Additionally, our Education Fellow Tarnoor Kaur, testified twice and waited 15 hours in-person to deliver testimony at a public comment session, as well as published a letter to the editor in the Austin American Statesman advocating for inclusive standards.
Despite this victory, we must also acknowledge that there are serious flaws in the latest version of TEKS. We are deeply disappointed by the SBOE’s decision to remove cultural and religious observances, including Vaisakhi, from the standards. Observances such as Vaisakhi help students understand how faith, identity, and community are experienced in everyday life, and removing these opportunities creates a significant gap between learning about a religion and understanding the people who practice it. Additionally, Texas’s increasing focus on Christianity and the Bible follows harmful trends in other state standards processes throughout the country. Emphasizing only one faith tradition does not provide students with a balanced understanding of the world around them and can alienate students from diverse non-majority traditions.
These new standards will guide what millions of students learn in Texas’s public school classrooms beginning the 2030-2031 school year. In the meantime, the Sikh Coalition will continue our work—both with Texas students, parents, and teachers to implement quality educational materials about Sikhs and Sikhi into curriculum, and in pursuing Sikh inclusion in standards processes elsewhere across the country. This work is central to combatting bias-based bullying and improving education for all.
As always, the Sikh Coalition urges you to practice your faith fearlessly.
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