Hon. Marisa B. Perez - Texas State Board of Education

WHAT’S NEXT?

The SBOE has taken the first vote to change K-12 Social Studies TEKS.

Now it’s time to plan the path forward.

Join the Democratic members of the SBOE for a virtual town hall focused on solutions and next steps. We’ve heard your concerns. We agree they matter.

This conversation is about strategy, not repetition. The proposed changes are harmful to Texas students, and we’re working together to minimize their impact.

Be part of what comes next.

Join us on Wednesday April 22, 2026 at 7pm.

Register Here:

https://us05web.zoom.us/meeting/register/Lu49SiFeTGy3_UuBnzbVRw #/registration

Serving on the Texas State Board of Education has always been something I do not take lightly. It is a massive privilege, honor, and responsibility. It also requires openness, flexibility, and the ability to maneuver through incredibly challenging discussions. Today has been unique to my years of service on the board. The amount of Islamaphobia is shameful, the hypocrisy around “freedom” and “liberty” has been palpable, and the blatant disregard for centering the academic success of ALL Texas public school children has been disappointing. To the hundreds of testifiers today, and the thousands that were here in spirit, advocating for sound education practices, standards, academic alignment, and truth in education, please know you DO have advocates on this board that will continue to work as hard as we can to support you. THANK YOU for using your voices and speaking truth to power! Adelante!!

Friends, colleagues, public education champions, NOW, MORE THAN EVER, the way in which our more than 5.5 million Texas public school children receive their literacy and social studies education is on the line. We need community voices lifted, heard, and supported. Next week the Texas State Board of Education will be taking up two consequential items (i. a required literary works list and ii. Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for social studies) and we need your help calling on the postponement of the social studies vote (the process has been rushed and not fully informed by those who work in Texas K12 education today) and the amendment to the proposed literary list that speaks to the true letter of the law. My CALL TO ACTION please join us next week in Austin and register to testify before the SBOE to share your thoughts and to help us get back on track to create positive outcomes for ALL CHILDREN!!! :

"The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history." — George Orwell

Public Testimony Registration | State Board of Education Individuals may register online by clicking the link below starting at 8:00 a.m. (Central Time) on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, and continuing through 5:00 p.m. (Central Time) on Friday, April 3, 2026. Late registration is available on-site up to 30 minutes prior to the start of the meeting. The presidi...

What an incomprensible and tragic loss for our community, the tech industry, and all of the many lives David touched (including mine…I learned something new each time we had a conversation), through his passion for STEM education and lifelong learning. He Is truly a life worth celebrating! Thank you, David, for all that you have given to this world. Hasta luego, amigo! Rest in peace! 🙏🏽

San Antonio leader, inventor David Monroe killed in Port accident David Monroe, founder of San Antonio’s science and technology museum, pioneered the technology that made cellphone cameras possible.

It was an honor to show support for this amazing and much needed partnership! I know this will be a model for the nation to watch!

Southside ISD partnership brings much-needed mental health clinic to high school Southside ISD partnered with the Clarity Child Guidance Center to open a mental health clinic at Southside High School and fill a vital need in the community.

I am very excited to share space with these fabulous women on tomorrow night’s panel. I hope you join us!! ✊🏽

We're honored to speak with Christine Vinh Weems, Hon. Marisa B. Perez - Texas State Board of Education, Kristian Carranza, and Averie Bishop tomorrow about how we will reclaim the power of women across Texas! This is a conversation you do NOT want to miss. ✨

RSVP now to secure your spot: txdem.co/WHM

In the fall of 2020, I was sitting in my car in traffic listening to one of my favorite podcasts (NPR ‘s Code Switch) and was in awe of the voice I heard speaking on Asian American identity and the struggles to find space in POC conversations/ social movement, etc. I carried her words and her name with me. About 3 months later I was having lunch with a wonderful friend and mentor, Dra. Claudia García-Louis and casually started talking about the development of ethnic studies courses in Texas and my desire to apply authentic and resonate voices to the work around a theoretical (at the time) Asian American Studies Course for Texas. She asked if I had anyone in mind and I mentioned that brilliant PhD I’d listened to months before, Dr. OiYan P**n. I told her I was being aspirational since she was states away and incredibly busy. Claudia laughed at me and said “Are you kidding? I know OiYan(!)…let me connect you!” By March 2021, Dr.P**n was working with me as part of an advisory group of educators, activists, and students who would lay the foundation for the now piloted Asian American Studies Innovative Course in Round Rock ISD. The excitement and honor is ALL MINE, amiga!! I am simply humbled to have been invited to share this immensely awesome platform with an even more awesome leader!!!

Yesterday was spent pouring energy into ensuring that whoever we choose to lead the Texas Permanent School Fund Corporation will ensure a strong path forward for our Texas public school children. They deserve to have someone lead the corporation who understands investments deeply, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, operates with the children of Texas in mind! Immediately following our interviews, I raced home to join our Firstmark Credit Union team at The Red Berry Estate to celebrate IDRA’s 50th Anniversary! An organization that has served as a guidepost for me on my journey on the Texas State Board of Education! Feliz cumpleaños, IDRA!!!

It’s tough to be away from my kiddos during the weekends, but it’s equally as exciting to be in community with fellow researchers in academia to talk shop. What a privilege it was to share space with some amazing educators this morning on our panel at the Western History Association’s 63rd National Conference. We discussed the progression and evolution of history education in Texas, where we started, where we are, and where we are striving to be! Adelante!!!

Today, we kicked off our Aug/Sept 2023 Texas State Board of Education meeting and it has already been a lively discussion centered around teasing out HB 1605 and understanding the ramifications of our decision-making. I am INCREDIBLY grateful to my friend and policy strategist guru, Julia Grizzard, Founder of Bexar County Education Coalition, for her leadership in assisting me in convening a group of amazing experts in the field of education to provide guidance on the rubric that the Texas SBOE is responsible for approving! I am also grateful to Dr. Carolyn Castillo at Education Service Center, Region 20 for working with us to create space (literally and figuratively) for these subject matter experts/practitioners to share their knowledge! All of your collaboration has prepared me well for this week! GRACIAS!!!!