Yesterday Texas Gov. Rick Perry allowed a new redistricting map for the State Board of Education to become law without his signature — and far-right activists are enraged. The Legislature is trying to “destroy the conservatives” on the state board, one right-wing blogger has bizarrely shrieked. Board conservatives are being “targeted for extinction,” right-wing gadfly […]
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)
Budget ‘Mess’ Delays Texas House Action
The Texas House of Representatives has now delayed consideration of important fiscal legislation until Thursday morning — action that also delays consideration of possible amendments on private school vouchers and sex education. The reason for the delay, apparently, is deep disagreement between the House and Senate on budget matters and among Republicans over hundreds of […]
Texas House Could Vote on Sex Ed Today
Today responsible, evidence-based sex education could get a vote on the floor of the Texas House of Representatives. State Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, has filed his Education Works! bill, HB 1624, as an amendment to important fiscal legislation pending in the House. The amendment, which the Texas Freedom Network supports, would direct school districts […]
Voucher Lobby Targets Texas Public Schools
Update: The voucher amendment was authored by state Rep. Sid Miller, R-Stephenville, and will be offered as part of Senate Bill 1811. The text of the amendment can be found here. *** We have just learned that voucher advocates plan to seek a vote in the Texas House of Representatives tomorrow (Wednesday, May 18) on […]
‘Abstinence Works’ Brings Storks
This was Gov. Rick Perry a few months ago: I’m going to tell you from my own personal life, abstinence works! Well, Gov. Perry, no. No, it does not. Not if you’re talking about abstinence-only programs in schools, as the governor was last October in an interview with the Texas Tribune. We wonder how many […]