Public dollars should stay with public schools.
Students deserve a well-funded, honest public education.

Texas Freedom Network (TFN) fights for a robust and equitable public school system in which students have access to everything they need to learn and thrive — no matter who they are, what they believe, or where they come from.

The Fight to Protect Public Education in Texas

What We’re Up Against

More than 5.5 million students attend Texas public schools. Unfortunately, right-wing extremists relentlessly attack public education by pushing private school voucher schemes and attempting to force their single-minded political agenda and religious views into classrooms.

To that end, Texas Freedom Network tirelessly advocates for Texas public school students at the Capitol — opposing private school voucher legislation, protecting students’ freedoms, advocating against book banning and censorship, and more.

PUSHING VOUCHER SCHEMES

Far-right legislators are hellbent on passing private school vouchers. They call them by many names – “education savings accounts” or “ESAs” – but they are vouchers that steal taxpayer dollars from public schools to subsidize tuition at unregulated private and religious schools.

BANNING BOOKS & CENSORING CURRICULA

Efforts to censor classroom lessons and ban books are rampant across Texas. Many of the most frequently banned books are about the experiences of people of color and LGBTQIA+ people. Extremists also want to bring conservative propaganda machine PragerU to schools.

UNDERMINING RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

In November 2024, the Republican-dominated SBOE voted to allow a Bible-infused elementary school curriculum into public schools — planting Texas at the center of a national scheme to attack the separation of church and state by using public education to promote a religious agenda.

Our Students Are Not Political Pawns.

Texas Freedom Network mobilizes at the Capitol, at the State Board of Education (SBOE), and in local school districts to ensure that the students in our public schools come first — not politicians’ personal views.

TFN’s Public Education Advocacy

At the
Capitol

Year after year, TFN has defeated voucher legislation and other schemes to defund public education. We also advocate for protecting students’ religious freedom and ensuring that public schools can serve all students, regardless of their faith or background.

At the SBOE

TFN fights for students at the State Board of Education (SBOE), which oversees public school curricula. We also conduct groundbreaking research into what is (and isn’t) taught on subjects like sex education, evolution, climate change, and religion.

In the Community

TFN’s Teach the Truth campaign opposes book-banning efforts in local public schools and libraries because students deserve a truthful education and access to books that reflect the diversity of our classrooms, state, and country.

Join TFN’s Fight to Protect Public Education

Learn: What Is the State Board of Education (SBOE)?

Fight Book Banning & Educational Censorship

Learn: What Does a School Board Do?

The Latest Public Education News from TFN

What You Need to Know about the Texas State Board of Education’s Bible Curriculum Decision

Your November 2024 SBOE Rundown On Nov. 22, 2024, the State Board of Education (SBOE) met to take its final vote on whether to approve Bluebonnet Learning, the state’s controversial, Bible-infused elementary school reading curriculum.  Leading up to the vote, our community responded strongly against the curriculum. More than 12,000 concerned Texans sent emails to…

Elections are not the beginning or end

Levi’s cactus, Mike Actus If I may: stretch out of the fetal position. Take a deep breath. Put on whatever jacket makes you feel confident, and strike a power pose. My therapist made me get a new cactus, so maybe do that, too. Take another deep breath. I am not about to tell you that…

Banned Books Week: Dear Texas Lawmakers, Let Kids Read

The Alarming Rise of Book Bans in Texas Between July 2021 and December 2023, more than 1,500 books were banned in public schools across Texas, with 141 more banned in the 2023-2024 fall semester alone. This surge in censorship follows the implementation of HB 900, also known as the READER Act, a purposely vague state…

What You Need to Know about the Texas State Board of Education’s Bible Curriculum Decision

Your November 2024 SBOE Rundown On Nov. 22, 2024, the State Board of Education (SBOE) met to take its final vote on whether to approve Bluebonnet Learning, the state’s controversial, Bible-infused elementary school reading curriculum.  Leading up to the vote, our community responded strongly against the curriculum. More than 12,000 concerned Texans sent emails to…

Elections are not the beginning or end

Levi’s cactus, Mike Actus If I may: stretch out of the fetal position. Take a deep breath. Put on whatever jacket makes you feel confident, and strike a power pose. My therapist made me get a new cactus, so maybe do that, too. Take another deep breath. I am not about to tell you that…

Banned Books Week: Dear Texas Lawmakers, Let Kids Read

The Alarming Rise of Book Bans in Texas Between July 2021 and December 2023, more than 1,500 books were banned in public schools across Texas, with 141 more banned in the 2023-2024 fall semester alone. This surge in censorship follows the implementation of HB 900, also known as the READER Act, a purposely vague state…