CRT Still Being Taught Under Different Names in Texas Schools

Texas lawmakers thought they banned Critical Race Theory in public schools. They were wrong. Five years after Senate Bill 3 became law, CRT concepts are alive and thriving in Texas classrooms — they just go by different names now.

When Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 3 into law in 2021, it was supposed to be the definitive answer to a growing parental revolt against ideological indoctrination in Texas public schools. The law updated civics and social studies curricula, prohibited teachers from being "compelled to discuss a widely debated and currently controversial issue of public policy or social affairs," and mandated that any such discussions be "objective and free from political bias."

The law also created a mandatory civics training program requiring at least one teacher and one campus administrator from every district in the state to attend. But here's the problem: the training mandate didn't take full effect until the 2025-2026 school year — giving ideologically motivated educators four full years to adapt and rebrand.

The Rebranding Playbook

According to research from the Texas Public Policy Foundation, the core tenets of Critical Race Theory — the idea that racism is systemic and embedded in institutions, that America's founding principles are inherently flawed, and that individuals should be categorized by race rather than character — have not disappeared from Texas classrooms. They've been repackaged.

Parents across the state are reporting that concepts like "systemic racism," "intersectionality," and "white privilege" now appear in classroom materials under labels such as "culturally responsive teaching," "equity frameworks," "social-emotional learning," and "restorative justice practices." The vocabulary has changed, but the ideology is identical.

It is, by definition, an academic discipline that originated at the university level — examining how racism may be embedded in legal systems and institutions. But when its core principles are simplified, rebranded, and fed to kindergartners through high schoolers as unquestioned truth, it becomes indoctrination. And that's exactly what's happening.

The Enforcement Gap

The fundamental weakness of SB 3 was always enforcement. The law tells teachers what they cannot be "compelled" to do, but it doesn't create a robust mechanism for parents to report violations or for the state to investigate complaints at the K-12 level. While the state has since launched an Ombudsman complaint portal for universities under SB 17, no equivalent system exists for public elementary and secondary schools.

This gap has emboldened activist educators. In some districts, teachers have reportedly been told by administrators to simply avoid using the phrase "critical race theory" while continuing to teach the same concepts. Others have adopted the language of "equity" and "inclusion" — terms that sound benign but carry specific ideological meanings in the context of modern progressive education theory.

What Parents Can Do

The most powerful weapon against classroom indoctrination is an informed parent. Request your child's curriculum materials. Ask what "equity training" teachers have received. Attend school board meetings. Run for school board seats. The radical Left depends on parental apathy — prove them wrong.

Texas legislators are already working on stronger enforcement mechanisms for the 90th Legislative Session. Texas United Patriots is actively supporting these efforts and providing lawmakers with documented evidence of CRT rebranding in districts across the state.

They thought they could fool Texas parents by changing the name. They were wrong. We see through it, and we will not stop until every classroom in Texas is free from political indoctrination.