Voice raised against Gov’s push for Turning Point chapters in every Texas high school

At a December 8 news conference, Gov Greg Abbott, Lt Gov Dan Patrick, and Turning Point USA’s Joah Thifault announced a partnership to create “Club America” chapters of Charlie Kirk’s right wing organization on every high school campus in the state.

The Governor didn’t go so far as to require the clubs’ formation, but he did threaten “meaningful disciplinary action” against any who stood in the way. This just three months after SB-12 went into effect banning LBGTQ clubs from high schools statewide.

One sensible citizen had this to say today in a letter to the editor of the Dallas Morning News:

“Public schools are meant to educate students, not serve as launchpads for political movements. That’s why recent efforts by state leadership to actively promote a specific political organization’s presence in Texas high schools should trouble anyone who values intellectual independence.

“Students already have the right to form clubs around shared interests and beliefs. That freedom doesn’t need help from the governor’s office — and it certainly shouldn’t come with implied consequences for schools that hesitate. When the state pressures districts to host or favor one ideology, it crosses the line from protecting expression to endorsing it.

“Public schools are funded by families with a wide range of views. Using that shared space to elevate one political perspective undermines the neutrality that allows education to function and erodes local control over what is appropriate for students.

“History shows that intellectual freedom rarely disappears all at once. It fades when education shifts from teaching students how to think to nudging them toward what to think — especially when political power gets involved.

“An organization’s ideas should resonate on their own merits.”

- Darren Hamilton, Little Elm