Before the sun rose Tuesday, about two dozen cars pulled into the parking lot at Grapevine’s First Baptist Church.
They weren’t there for services. Instead, the group, some clad in star-spangled jeans and cowboy boots, boarded a bus bound for the state capital.
Hours later, they were seated with dozens of other activists from across Texas, prepared to testify to members of the State Board of Education during a special meeting on a proposal to reshape the social studies curriculum for more than 5.5 million public school students.
The group from Grapevine had left for Austin shortly after 5 a.m., answering a call from leaders of True Texas Project — the Tarrant County-based conservative activist group that galvanized Fort Worth officials to overturn a nondiscrimination policy in 2024 — to keep Islam and “sharia law” out of public school and urge board members to adopt a curriculum focused on “traditional, America-first principles.”
“Islam has nothing to do with the founding of the USA or Texas and should not be included in U.S. and Texas history curriculum,” Fran Rhodes, president of True Texas Project, told SBOE members. “Sharia practices are in conflict with both the U.S. and the Texas Constitution — not to be considered in a social studies curriculum.”
About 150 people were registered to speak during the 14-hour meeting. Some took to the lectern to warn state education leaders about what they characterized as the “threat of the Islam” taking over Texas public schools. However, the majority of speakers argued the proposed instruction materials prioritized Christianity over other religions and lacked diverse faith perspectives.
State Board of Education hearings have long been “a traditional battleground in Texas politics,” said Mark Chancey, a religious studies professor at Southern Methodist University. The rhetoric used to target the Islamic faith and Muslims on Tuesday — by both residents and elected officials — mark a “ratcheting up of vitriol,” he said.
“It is the critics of Islam who have a bullhorn right now, and it’s hard to hear anything other than the misrepresentation that they are broadcasting,” Chancey said in an interview while reviewing recordings of the SBOE hearing with Fort Worth Report journalists.
Dozens of speakers decried the “threat of Islam” during Tuesday’s hearing, but it’s unclear how many attended on behalf of True Texas Project, which has chapters across the state but doesn’t track its membership. Report journalists observed about 30 passengers on the bus departing from Grapevine.
Only one speaker, Rhodes, identified herself as a member of the group, according to a list of registered speakers provided by the board. In addition to the Grapevine bus, True Texas Project sponsored transportation from Denton, while other supporters traveled separately from across the state, Rhodes told the Report via email.
Brandon Hall, who represents much of Tarrant County on the State Board of Education, said he felt “very encouraged” to see his constituents from True Texas Project take an interest in the government process.
Hall said it’s important for students to understand the history of Islam, but he wants lessons to be objective.
“I don’t want the history of Islam to be whitewashed. I want all parts of it to be covered,” Hall said in a phone interview Friday.
The board took a preliminary vote of approval on the social studies curriculum Friday, with a final vote planned for June. The board rejected lessons about Muslim contributions to algebra and astronomy, as well as a Republican-led proposal to teach that the founder of Islam married a minor, according to The Texas Tribune.
Democratic members are seeking to pause the decision after finding out one of the historians involved in creating the proposed materials received a financial contribution from a conservative think tank, according to the Tribune.
Activists warn against ‘sharia law’ during hearing
True Texas Project sponsored the bus to Austin with a donation from Patriot Mobile, the Grapevine-based Christian, conservative wireless provider known for supporting conservative candidates in local school board elections. In an April 1 newsletter, Rhodes urged “as many people as possible” to join the group and counter the testimony of Islamic advocacy groups she warned were pushing for their religious views to be included in the curriculum.
If Islam is to be included, Rhodes wrote, the materials should teach that it is “a communist-based ideology, and that students should learn (at appropriate levels) the harms of Islamic/communist regimes.”
Founded in 2009 as the Northeast Tarrant Tea Party, True Texas Project is a familiar name at Texas legislative hearings, as the group for years has pushed lawmakers to adopt conservative policies on topics ranging from immigration to LGBTQ rights. In 2024, the group drew scrutiny across the state for its 15-year anniversary conference featuring discussions on “the war on white America,” hosted at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden.
Fran Rhodes, True Texas Project president, speaks during a monthly meeting July 14, 2025, at the Texas Star Golf Course in Euless. (Mary Abby Goss | Fort Worth Report)
The group has traditionally focused its efforts on the Texas Legislature, Rhodes noted, saying via email that she has been “remiss” in educating supporters about the education board and Texas Education Agency.
“I decided that 2026 would be the year that I gain for myself a better understanding of the SBOE, how it works, and how citizens can engage and then mobilize others,” Rhodes wrote via email.
Jolyn Potenza, a parent in Carroll ISD, told board members to “stand strong against groups demanding Islamic slants or heavy global perspectives in the name of inclusivity.”
“Any history that diminishes our exceptionalism in favor of race-based narratives or foreign ideologies is not education. It is erosion,” Potenza said.
Chancey pushed back on the idea of rejecting Muslims’ place in American history, referencing how African-American Muslims were enslaved and brought to the U.S. through colonial expeditions.
“Muslims have always been a part of the story of the Americas,” Chancey said.
Liz Case, endorsed by True Texas Project in her unsuccessful primary bid for a Texas House seat representing the Abilene area, took to the lectern at the twelfth hour of the meeting.
She shared her concern about sharia affecting the First Amendment and changing U.S. history, saying it would “indoctrinate the children.”
“Under sharia, there will be no religion except Islam,” Case said. “And in Texas, that dog don’t hunt.”
True Texas Project members board a bus outside Grapevine’s First Baptist Church on April 7, 2026. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report/CatchLight Local/Report for America)
Understanding sharia
Sharia is a moral code that guides those who practice Islam. Some Muslim-majority countries reference sharia in their legal systems, according to the Council on Foreign Relations, an independent nonpartisan organization and think tank. However, the U.S. Constitution prohibits religious laws from superseding state or federal laws.
Other religions also have their own versions of religious law. Catholics follow the Code of Canon Law. In Judaism, Halakhah guides Jewish people in how to “behave in every aspect of life, encompassing civil, criminal and religious law,” according to the New York-based learning center My Jewish Learning. Hindus and Buddhists also have their own versions of religious laws, according to a 2022 research document within New York University’s Law School database.
This isn’t the first time that the Islamic faith has been targeted at the Texas State Board of Education. A debate over alleged “pro-Islamic/anti-Christian” bias in state textbooks erupted in 2010, Chancey said. Board members at the time approved a one-page nonbinding resolution urging that textbooks on world history limit what is included about Islam.
Hall, the Tarrant County member, said the board has to consider which major historical events to include in the social studies curriculum, referencing the 9/11 attacks led by Islamic terrorist organization al-Qaeda. He said he would also be open to considering any historically significant events that reflect positively on Islam in the lessons.
Islam, Muslims at forefront of Texas politics
Anti-Islam sentiment is nothing new in Texas politics, especially among fringe GOP circles, Chancey noted.
During the March primaries, Republican officials, party leaders and activist groups honed in on what they describe as the “Islamization” of Texas, with many candidates promising to crack down on “sharia law” and neutralize the “threat of Islam” if elected.
Typically, political attacks on Islam have focused on the religion itself, Chancey said.
“The tone and the frequency and the obvious delight in attacking fellow citizens and attacking people who are ethnic and religious minorities certainly seems to go beyond much of the behavior we saw (in years past),” Chancey said.
About eight hours into the hearing, board members heard testimony from Shaimaa Zayan, operations manager for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, the national Muslim advocacy group Gov. Greg Abbott designated as a foreign terrorist organization last year. CAIR is currently suing Abbott over the designation, calling it unconstitutional and defamatory.
“We want to make sure that all students learn the facts and the truth about the history, and this should be inclusive and should be accurate so that every student learns to choose and we prepare them for the future,” Zayan told board members..
Hall repeatedly brought up CAIR’s terrorist designation during the hearing, asking several questions of Muslim testifiers, including Zayan.
“What interest do you have as a foreign terrorist organization, in the social studies (curriculum) of the state of Texas?” heasked Zayan.
State Board of Education member Brandon Hall pictured during a Lake Worth ISD school board meeting Dec. 15, 2025. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report/CatchLight Local/Report for America)
“This is exactly what I meant when I said there is a willingness to attack Islam as a religion, but also to attack Muslims personally,” Chancey said after watching a recording of Hall’s and Zayan’s interaction which contained many allegations regarding Islam’s connections to terrorism. “That’s very open. There’s no shame about it.”
Hall maintains he remained “professional and civil” throughout the hearing and followed the board’s operating rules.
The state’s top elected GOP officials, including Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton, have leaned into anti-Islam talking points, which Chancey said likely gives activist groups further confidence to follow suit. He believes State Board of Education members are “following those cues.”
In a news release Friday afternoon, CAIR officials denounced anti-Islam remarks made at the board hearing, saying Hall “weaponized political rhetoric to interrogate CAIR leadership on baseless terrorism links.”
Chancey maintains many of the concerns raised about Islam are based on misinformation, and he sees education as key for people of all faiths, elected or not, to understand each other.
As they prepare to finalize the curriculum, Chancey said, State Board of Education members should carefully consider the portrayal of Islam.
Multimedia journalist Maria Crane contributed reporting.
Marissa Greene is a Report for America corps member, covering faith for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at marissa.greene@fortworthreport.org.
Cecilia Lenzen is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at cecilia.lenzen@fortworthreport.org.
At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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