Dear Pastor and Church Leaders,

The Battle for Our Children is Real!

Parents around the State of Texas and around our Nation have awakened to the fact that many of the K-12 school curriculums have been transitioning to include radical anti-American and Anti-God programs. This includes elements of the CRT agenda, as well as promoting the destructive notion that LGBTQ, gender fluidity, and transgenderism represent normal behavior. The abnormal is being actively promoted as normal. The ungodly is being characterized as acceptable. It is nothing short of spiritual warfare.

While the battle is far from over, energized parents, people of faith, and many of our churches have become more active in addressing the issues. And the battle for our children is making progress.

The Texas Legislature Has Engaged in Child-Protection Legislation!

The 88th Session of Texas Legislature passed three significant child protection bills during the Regular Session which address several of the radical left-wing initiatives which have infiltrated our society and threatened the well-being of our children. The current status is as follows:

Senate Bill 14 – an act forbidding “gender transition” hormone and surgical interventions for minors took effect September 1, 2023. Immediately following the Governor’s signing of this key legislation, the ACLU filed a lawsuit and was granted a temporary restraining order.

The case was appealed by the Attorney General’s office to the Texas Supreme Court which denied a motion by the ACLU to reinstate the injunction, clearing the way for the bill to become law as passed by the Legislature. Texas joins over 20 other states in passing laws prohibiting gender affirming intervention for minors.

Senate Bill 12 – an act restricting sexually explicit drag performances, including drag shows, on public property and in the presence of children was passed by the Texas Legislature and signed into law by Governor Abbott. As expected, the ACLU filed a lawsuit seeking injunctive relief.

On September 26, 2023, U.S. District Judge David Hittner – a Reagan appointee - issued a permanent injunction against the legislation, preventing the law from being enforced. According to Hittner, drag shows are constitutionally protected as “free speech.”

The decision is expected to be appealed by the Texas Office of the Attorney General.

HB 900 – an act Restricting Explicit and Adult-Designed Educational Resources Act (also known as the READER ACT) was introduced and passed following months of parental outrage over sexually explicit books and materials in public libraries in Texas. The bill requires book vendors to rate and label books based on sexual content as a requirement to sell books to Texas schools. It also sets up state standards for keeping inappropriate content out of all school libraries and classrooms.

Soon after it was signed by the Governor, a coalition representing a number of book vendors in Texas filed a lawsuit, and a Federal judge sided with the plaintiffs and issued a temporary injunction to block the new law. The decision was appealed by the Texas Office of the Attorney General.

On September 26, 2023, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals stayed the injunction until a further order from the court is entered.

The ruling effectively allows HB 900 to go back into effect for now.

Concerned Parents and Other Faith Voters Are Making A Difference!

Across the State of Texas, and through-out our Nation, churches, concerned parents and other faith voters have become aware and have engaged in addressing these issues affecting our children. The most effective, and perhaps the only way to make progress is to change the representation of the independent school boards where problems exist. When candidates with conservative values run for school boards, and people of faith turn out to vote, significant progress is being made.

Based on a sample of 156 major races, involving more that 400 candidates across 5 states, it was encouraging that in races where no incumbents were running, over 75% of the board positions were won by conservative rated candidates.

At the same time, conservatives are leaving nearly 1/3 of all races uncontested!
More involvement in running for school board elections is essential, and the church can make a difference by encouraging their congregation to be engaged, participating and active in the process.

Katy ISD Adopts a Pro-Parent Gender Priority Policy

The importance of electing school-board candidates with faith-based moral standards was never more evident than on August 28, 2023, with the passage of a pro-parent gender priority policy by the Katy ISD, the 5th largest in the State of Texas based on enrollment. This policy is intended to provide parents full authority over their children’s health and well-being in the classroom setting.

The new policy requires separate restrooms and locker rooms, requires the use of pronouns based on the student’s biological sex, and prohibits faculty and staff from teaching or using instructional materials relating to gender ideology.

In 2023, three candidates with faith-based values were elected to the Katy ISD School Board, some in very close races. To illustrate how important electing the right people to these positions can be, these three new board members, all voted in favor of the parent-friendly new policy, which passed with a hotly debated 4 to 3 vote.

Those who voted for these three candidates have made a difference in the lives of the students in Katy ISD! It is essential to be an informed voter.

Christians Must Vote Their Faith Values on November 7, 2023

On November 7th, voters across the State of Texas will have the opportunity to define the future of a countless number of our school age children.

Men and women of faith must actively engage to elect a conservative majority of Biblically grounded individuals to School Board positions who will work to change the curriculum and to remove books and materials in public school libraries, which are poisoning the minds of our children.

Pastors, we urge you to be involved and to encourage your congregations to be informed and voting if your local school board has an election scheduled, because motivated churches and informed voters can decide the outcome in these typically low voter turnout races.

Ivoterguide.com Is A Trusted Source of Information

People of faith can and must make a difference. Voting in every election is important. Voting for the right candidate is essential. For all elections, Recover America has consistently recommended ivoterguide.com as a reliable, non-partisan source of assessments for all candidates on the ballot.

Ivoterguide.com does not make candidate recommendations. Rather they evaluate candidates with a systematic and comprehensive process to assess candidate ideology and world views. The centerpiece of the evaluation is a questionnaire which allow candidates the opportunity to clearly state their positions on critical educational issues and faith values. This questionnaire and other evaluation criteria are available for review on the website at https://ivoterguide.com/all-in-state/tx

A Call To Action

Pastors, if you live in the State of Texas and the independent school district in which you reside is having a school board election on November 7th, I urge you to get engaged. Your church can make a difference! Early voting begins on October 23rd!

If you live in another State or in a school district which is not having November elections, I encourage you to take the time to find out about your election schedules and be involved in the affairs of your local school districts.

Together we can and must make a difference for the children, many of whom are being indoctrinated at the expense of receiving a meaningful education.

Yours in Christ,