On June 27, Keven Ellis, a Republican member of the State Board of Education (SBOE) representing District 9, joined Democrats to renew the “American Indian/Native Studies” course.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the course contains material that reframes America’s founding through a lens of colonial violence, grievance, and identity politics.
The course was approved as an Innovative Course, meaning it did not go through the standard TEKS curriculum approval process nor the newly adopted Suitability Rubric. It is not posted online. It was not made available to board members for full review. To read the entire course, Texans have to travel to Austin.
One education advocate did travel to Austin to read the entire course, and what they discovered confirms the course is steeped in Critical Race Theory-style content, lacks required civic instruction, and may violate multiple Texas laws.
What’s in the Curriculum — Kept Out of Public View
The full curriculum reveals:
- Lacks instruction on U.S. founding principles, civic duty, and free enterprise — as required by Texas law
- Required “land acknowledgment” exercises
- Reframing of U.S. history as “misinformation”
- Presentation of Native Nations as equivalent to foreign sovereigns — contradicting U.S. legal precedent
The education advocate explained to The Dallas Express that “When curriculum standards include terminology and themes rooted in critical theory, they do more than suggest academic topics. They carry embedded analytical frameworks that interpret history through a lens of systemic harm, power imbalance, and identity-based struggle.”
“The instructional pathway, in other words, is shaped by the language map laid out in the standards.”
Violating the Spirit, and Possibly the Letter, of Texas Law
The course may violate several statutes:
- SB 3 (2021) — requires balanced instruction and bans race-based discomfort in classrooms
- HB 3979 (2021) — prohibits compelled belief in racial guilt or oppression
- Texas Education Code §28.002(h-2) — mandates instruction in free enterprise, self-government, and civic responsibility
- SB 12 (2025) — bars differential treatment based on race, gender identity, or ethnicity
The education advocate further explained that “These themes are completely missing from the American Indian Native Studies course.”
“Without content addressing capitalism, market systems, or economic opportunity, students may receive a civically incomplete education that lacks alignment with state expectations for economics and citizenship.”
Ellis Didn’t Just Vote — He Led
Multiple sources confirm that Keven Ellis didn’t just vote for the course — he reportedly convinced fellow Republicans Will Hickman, Pam Little, and Evelyn Brooks to join him in supporting it. That gave Democrats the 9–5 majority they needed to ram the course through.
“Ellis joined with the Democrats and brought along a couple of other Republicans with him,” the education advocate told The Dallas Express.
Board Chair Aaron Kinsey abstained from the vote. Five Republicans opposed it.
Why it Matters
The “Innovative Course” designation created a loophole — allowing a CRT-aligned curriculum to bypass public review. No parental input. No SBOE rewrite. And, to this day, no way to read it online.
“This is where legislation like HB 3979 and SB 3 becomes relevant,” the memo concludes. “These laws stress the inclusion of America’s founding principles and prohibit teaching that assigns blame or promotes racial discomfort. Yet when standards prioritize terms that emerge from critical theory… they create curricular conditions that subtly favor structural critique.”
What Comes Next
The Dallas Express will continue exposing how the curriculum Keven Ellis backed undermines state law — and how Texas Republicans were outmaneuvered by a small group of insiders using obscure education policy to sneak radical ideology into classrooms.
Ellis ran as a conservative, but his record is clear: Keven Ellis is a Republican In Name Only. And he’s delivering wins for the left — not Texas families.
The Dallas Express has requested comment from Ellis regarding his support for the curriculum, but has not received a response. This article will be updated if a statement is provided.