Republicans’ unrestrained dominance over what Texas students learn in the classroom may likely end next year as five new Democrats appear to have won State Board of Education seats.

Democrat Dana Van de Walker leads Republican incumbent Audrey Young by fewer than 600 votes, with only 1% of the vote in the District 8 race unaccounted for, according to unofficial returns. If that holds, Texas Democrats would secure their first majority on the board since 1994.

“WE FLIPPED THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION!” Walker wrote in a Facebook post late Wednesday. “This process isn’t over. A race this close won’t be official until votes are certified, but I am confident that the voters of District 8 made their intentions known. It’s time for a new era in TX public education and I am so honored to be part of it.”

It is unclear when final results will land, with provisional and mail-in ballots pending. Additionally, a candidate can request a recount in such close elections.

Young said Thursday morning that she has not conceded defeat for the Houston-area seat.

Not counting that race, Democrats and Republicans each hold seven seats on the 15-member board.

No matter what happens in the final contest, GOP power on the board will not look like the majority that recently authored an Islamophobic rewrite of social studies lessons, greenlit mandatory Bible readings for all public school students and approved classroom instruction downplaying the horrors of American slavery.

Even if Republicans hold onto the majority — which is still far short of the current 11-4 makeup — Democrats gain significant say in decisions moving forward. In that scenario, eight Republicans would need to band together on every vote. That seems unlikely given that board member Pam Little, a Fairview Republican, is known to deviate from her colleagues when she disagrees with them.

The board’s duties in the coming years will include an overhaul of Texas’ math standards, approving social studies textbooks and reviewing proposals for new charter schools.

“This year, Texas families showed up at the SBOE again and again with one simple demand: teach the truth. The Republican Board didn’t listen, but as always, voters get the final say,” said Felicia Martin, executive director of the Texas Freedom Network, a progressive organization that closely monitors the board. “We are fed up with political ideologies being put over the education of our kids, and families have made that mandate quite clear.”

Democrats Thomas Ray Garcia, Coretta Mallet-Fontenot, Allison Bush and Michelle Palmer won their races, along with Democratic incumbent Tiffany Clark, according to the preliminary results.

Meanwhile, GOP newcomers Kason Huddleston and Mindy Bumgarner won, as did Republican incumbent Julie Pickren, a member of the board’s right-wing faction.

Young, the Houston-area Republican incumbent in the final race, frequently votes alongside Pickren. Equipped with experience as an educator and a school trustee, she has served on the board since 2021. Walker, her Democratic challenger, is part of a slate of teachers who ran this year — many of them frustrated by the board’s push to the political right.

Board members serve four-year terms, determining what schools must teach, which learning materials schools can choose, which charter schools operate in the state and overseeing a school fund worth billions.

Three middle-of-the-road Republicans did not to seek reelection, while the GOP candidates vying to replace them appeared to embrace a disruptive brand of Christian conservative politics that values party loyalty more than bipartisan camaraderie.

A fourth seat serving the Rio Grande Valley was seen as a toss-up, with Republican incumbent LJ Francis losing in the March primary. Francis narrowly won his race in 2022, even though the district had previously leaned Democratic.

Garcia, a Democrat, won this year’s contested race by a wide margin.

Huddleston and Bumgarner of the GOP won two seats currently occupied by the consensus Republicans, but Democrat Palmer defeated Republican Tiffany Nelson.

Conservative interest groups invested tens of thousands of dollars into the races. Many of the Democratic candidates hold active classroom experience in either K-12 or higher education.

The right-wing faction of the board has publicly sparred with Texans protesting conservative changes to classroom instruction while challenging Democratic attempts to make that instruction more inclusive.

Earlier this year, members in the Republican majority approved the anti-Islamic rewrite of social studies lessons alongside the mandatory reading list for public school students that included Bible passages. A Democratic board member threatened to sue two Republicans who supported those changes, alleging harassment during heated meetings that stretched hours into the early morning.

Members have also fielded complaints about the Texas Education Agency’s error-riddled learning materials, which incorporate Bible teachings into elementary reading lessons. They have debated the merits of a Native Studies course, with some in the GOP majority calling it “junk.” Years before that, they rejected science textbooks over messaging on climate change and walked back opposition to vouchers, which allows families to use taxpayer dollars to fund their children’s private school education.

With Democrat Gina Hinojosa’s victory in Texas’ gubernatorial race, leadership on the education board could also see a shake-up. State law allows the governor to appoint the board chair from among elected members, though the selection requires state Senate approval.

Texas Republicans will likely maintain control of the Senate, albeit with Democrat Vikki Goodwin presiding over them as lieutenant governor. Gov. Greg Abbott appointed Republican Aaron Kinsey to a second term as education board chair earlier this year.

“I will not give Gina Hinojosa or her appointees one moment of passivity on the SBOE,” Republican board member Brandon Hall wrote on Facebook. “Even if the vote count is not favorable, I will use every available procedural tool to make passing that harmful agenda as cumbersome and painstaking as possible. If a Democrat assumes leadership of the Board, that person should prepare for some late nights and long weeks in Austin.”