PragerU claims to be a state-approved K-12 education vendor; Texas officials say it's not

An announcement this week from PragerU, a conservative media company that counts K-12 education as one of its priorities, left some public education advocates and state leaders puzzled after the company said it was coming to Texas.

In the video announcement, which featured Texas State Board of Education Member Julie Pickren, PragerU implies that its Texas launch is a new initiative, though state leaders have said the company isn’t a state-approved vendor.

“I have no knowledge of PragerU submitting any instructional material for approval to the SBOE in the past, and specifically I know that PragerU has not submitted any instructional materials to the SBOE under the new instructional material review process that was adopted by the Legislature this year,” education board Chairman Kevin Ellis told the American-Statesman.

In the video, PragerU CEO Marissa Streit said: “It’s such a huge honor for us to partner with the great state of Texas. We really hope that this initiative will help catapult Texas to No. 1” in education.

On its website, the company says it “offers a free alternative to the dominant left-wing ideology in culture, media and education” with videos targeted for both children and adults. The children-oriented content includes topics on civics, history and global issues. Critics of PragerU, however, accuse the company of lying about fossil fuel's effect on climate change and of whitewashing history.

In a statement, the Texas Freedom Network denounced PragerU's expansion into the state, pointing to a video that depicts abolitionist Frederick Douglass as saying slavery was a compromise and that change usually requires patience. The Texas Freedom Network is a left-leaning nonprofit founded by Cecile Richards, daughter of Gov. Ann Richards.

“These incendiary materials violate the religious freedom of Texas students and spread misinformation to young minds,” according to the network's statement. “Our kids deserve to be taught the truth about history and climate change and (Texas education) board members should serve our children, not their own radical political agenda.”

PragerU didn’t immediately respond to a Statesman request for comment seeking clarity on the company’s work in Texas.

In the video announcement, Streit speaks with Pickren, a Republican from the Houston area who represents District 7 on the state education board and donned a cowboy hat in front of a superimposed Texas flag for the broadcast.

"We are definitely ready to welcome PragerU into the great state of Texas," Pickren says in response to Streit asking if they "were ready to announce that PragerU can make it into Texas now?"

Pickren, who praised PragerU by saying it "offers a wonderful, wonderful set of videos and enrichment," did not return a request for comment.

In the text accompanying the video announcement, PragerU claims it is “an approved education vendor in the state of Texas,” but the company hasn’t gone through any of the state channels to become a state-approved vendor, Ellis said.

The State Board of Education authorizes textbooks or other learning materials as state-approved materials, but Ellis told the Statesman that he doesn’t have any knowledge of PragerU submitting any content for board approval.

“Additionally, no one from Prager U has presented to the State Board of Education or has contacted me, as chair of the State Board of Education, to discuss any working relationship,” Ellis said.

Companies don’t have to get state approval to have their materials taught in classrooms. Texas teachers can and do use books, worksheets or videos that haven’t gone through formal state approval processes, and districts have flexibility in their curriculum as long as the content covers the state-approved Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills.

What is House Bill 1605?

The way Texas approves education materials is expected to undergo a comprehensive makeover, as the state education board begins implementing House Bill 1605, a new state law the Legislature passed in spring. The law mandates the state to create a state-owned core knowledge education curriculum for K-12 and gives districts a monetary incentive to use state-approved content.

"This is going to be brand new for the state, and we will officially have Texas curriculum," Pickren says in the video.

Streit, who in response cheered the state's curriculum move, said, "I know that our team has been working closely with all of you out there in Texas on that core knowledge curriculum, where we’re going to create these supplementary lesson plans so that teachers who use the core knowledge curriculum can use PragerU videos and books and magazines and all the stuff that we make here.”

The education board will also carry out a yearslong process of creating an approved textbook and materials list, though the board likely won’t begin approving any materials under HB 1605 until next year.

What is PragerU?

PragerU was founded in 2009 in part by Dennis Prager, a conservative radio talk show host. NPR and the Los Angeles Times have reported that much of the initial funding for the nonprofit came from Dan and Farris Wilks, the billionaire brothers from East Texas who fund many conservative causes.

The company's K-12 videos are fairly new. A 2022 annual report for PragerU noted the program was in its second full year and is "defending children from wide-spread left-wing brainwashing" and is showcasing "our freedom-loving ideas and classic American values."

The nonprofit sparked interest earlier this month when Florida approved the K-12 videos for classroom use, leading some researchers to fact check the videos.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: PragerU launches K-12 curriculum work; Texas says it's not approved