Promoting Equality & Social Justice for All

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Aug. 31, 2021

AUSTIN – Today, after months of advocacy to stop Governor Abbott and state leaders’ attempts to suppress the vote, Senate Bill 1 passed out of the Texas House and Texas Senate onto the Governor’s desk.

Texas Freedom Network’s President and Executive Director Val Benavidez Issued the Following Statement:

“It is heartbreaking that state leadership would spend so much time, energy, and resources passing a bill making it harder for younger, Black, Brown, and disabled Texans to vote, but we will not be deterred. While Gov. Abbott and Dade Phelan spent the past few months toying with our rights, this is an important moment to recognize the heroism of the advocates and activists who fought hard for the future of our democracy. For months now, activists throughout the state have spoken up in defense of our right to vote and the world has listened.

“Despair is not an option, nor is denial. The proper response to these draconian measures is the steely resolve to wage the fight of our lives. The Texas Freedom Network is fired up and ready to go.”

Texas Rising Director Rae Martinez added:

“We’re not giving up just yet. For… Read More

SB 3 by Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, is a substantial rewrite of HB 3979, which passed at the end of the regular legislative session in May. The bill maintains many of the same problems in HB 3979, including a ban on schools requiring instruction on current events and topics some politicians think are too controversial. Revisions in SB 3 include:…… Read More

For Immediate Release July 12, 2021 AUSTIN, TX — More than 50 Democratic lawmakers have left the state denying a quorum and halting the progression of a draconian voter suppression bill. This is the second time Democratic lawmakers use this tactic as Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick have tried repeatedly to restrict access to the ballot even further, largely for political gain. Measures under consideration would dramatically reduce early voting hours, ban drive-thru voting, impose new restrictions on naturalized citizens and grant special protections for partisan poll watchers. Read More

A special session of the Texas Legislature got underway on July 8. Why Gov. Abbott felt the need to call for a special session has a lot to do with what did and didn’t happen during the regular session that ended in May.

Even though the state faced critical issues like fixing the power grid that failed during February’s winter storm, the Republican-led legislature instead focused a lot of its time on:

Voter suppression legislation Banning gender-affirming care for transgender youth and barring transgender kids from school sports Making abortion care even more difficult, or practically impossible, to obtain Censoring history in our classrooms

Despite those challenges, the Texas Freedom Network and our partners could point to some important victories. Below is TFN’s report on the regular session, what legislation passed and what didn’t, and how it will impact the 30-day special session.

TFN – 2021 Lege Report by txfredomnetwork on Scribd… Read More

State Board of Education Gives Approval to Standards That Beef Up Coverage of Climate Change in Selected High School Science Classes FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 25, 2021 AUSTIN, Texas –The State Board of Education today voted to approve new curriculum standards for selected high school courses, marking a limited but important step forward in teaching Texas students about climate change. Read More