In siding with former high school football coach Joe Kennedy, who repeatedly led his players in prayers immediately after games, the court is inviting public school teachers to impose their religious beliefs on students. This decision further erodes church-state separation, the cornerstone of religious freedom and a core tenet of our democracy, which ensures we are all treated equally no matter our religion or belief. […]
Education
Texas has an increasingly diverse public education system with a public school enrollment of more than 5 million. Unfortunately, that public education system is also the target of right-wing extremists seeking to privatize our neighborhood public schools and push a culture-war agenda in the classroom.
To that end, Texas Freedom Network tirelessly fights for Texas public school students at the Capitol — opposing private school voucher legislation, sticking up for students’ freedoms, advocating for truthful, censorship-free lessons and textbooks, and more. We’ve also conducted groundbreaking research into what is taught in classrooms on subjects like sex education and religion.
Resources
- Teach the Truth: Texans United Against Censorship in Education
- Can This Class Be Saved? The ‘Hobby Lobby’ Public School Bible Curriculum (2014 report)
- Reading, Writing & Religion II (2013 report)
- Sex Education in Public Schools: Progress in the Lone Star State (2011 report)
- Just Say Don’t Know: Sex Education in Texas Public Schools (2009 report)
- The State Board of Education: Dragging Texas Schools into the Culture Wars (2008 report)
- Reading Writing & Religion: Teaching the Bible in Texas Public Schools (2006 report)
- Broken Promises II (2001 report)
- Broken Promises: Charter Schools in Texas (2000 report)
It’s Time to Have “the Talk” this Sex Ed for All Month
Fellow Texans, it’s time for “the talk.” May is Sex Ed For All Month, and TFN is not new to giving Texans the lowdown on sex ed in our public schools. For years, we’ve used our #TeachTheTruth: Accurate Sex Ed campaign to advocate for comprehensive sexual health education that’s medically accurate, free of shame and judgment, and addresses the needs of all young people, regardless of their race, gender identity, or the zip code they live in. […]
The Book Banners Are Coming for Optimus Prime
Now, the book banners are coming for Optimus Prime. There are many reasons why the recent surge of books banned from school libraries should concern all of us. A major one is this censorship movement’s predictable descent into something that will likely leave you scratching your head, wondering just why they banned that one. It highlights how this movement isn’t concerned with quality education, and it’s really all about control and playing politics with our neighborhood schools. […]
Why Does Abbott Need a Task Force to Understand the Teacher Shortage in Public Schools? The Reasons for Exodus Are Clear.
Gov. Greg Abbott claims to be confused about why there is a teacher shortage in our public schools. We’re not sure why he has questions, though, considering so many of the present issues teachers point to stem from his constant dismissal and undermining of public education. Nevertheless, on March 7, Abbott asked the Texas Education Agency to create a task force to address ongoing teacher shortages in public schools. Check out today’s blog to see why we think Abbott’s creation of this task force is disingenuous and politically motivated. […]
It’s National Read Across America Day. We’re Having Trouble Celebrating.
Today is National Read Across America Day, but it’s difficult to celebrate the joy of reading as we’re actively seeing books pulled from public schools and libraries in Texas and across the country. We’ve constructed a timeline of key events that have sought to diminish free education and diversity in thought. Together, we can stop this timeline before it grows. #TeachtheTruth […]
