Protecting Faith, Family, Children: Legislative Successes

We continue our regular updates covering the important legislative achievements of the most recent session which ended June 2nd. Today, we review various bills to protect our faith, family, and our children.

Ten Commandments

I am especially proud to have passed Senate Bill 10, returning the Ten Commandments to our classrooms where they were displayed for over 200 years. I began working on this legislation in 2022 after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, which overturned outdated legal precedent and opened the door for renewed discussion about the Ten Commandments in our classrooms. Now, starting in the 2025-2026 school year, the Ten Commandments must be posted in every public school classroom. By placing the Ten Commandments in our classrooms, we can provide moral clarity for our students and make them aware of a foundational document in American history and law.

School Prayer

Senate Bill 11 is an important bill to protect religious liberty in Texas. The bill allows public schools to provide time for students and educators to pray or read religious texts during school hours. I am encouraged that this important liberty is now codified for parents and their students.

Protecting the Unborn, Promoting Life

This legislative session, the Texas Legislature made important advancements to support mothers in choosing life for their unborn babies, providing resources for young families, and eliminating the use of taxpayer funds for abortion-related travel. This includes passing key legislation, such as Senate Bill 33, which specifies that cities cannot send taxpayer funds to organizations that provide transportation for out-of-state abortions.

The Legislature also passed Senate Bill 31, which reaffirms that doctors may intervene if a pregnant woman faces a life-threatening physical condition and provides education for physicians to help them navigate the most difficult medical cases and save as many lives as possible.

Additional pro-life legislation passed this session includes Senate Bill 1233, which requires hospitals to provide parents with information about specialized care for their babies, and Senate Bill 1207, which mandates that high schools include education about adoption in their health classes. Lastly, Senate Bill 1388 was passed to ensure that state funds from the Thriving Texas Families program are allocated to pro-life organizations.

Parental Bill of Rights, Removing DEI Programs

Senate Bill 12 establishes a Parental Bill of Rights to give parents more control over their child’s public school education by removing DEI programs, banning any instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity, guaranteeing parents full access to their child’s education records, and creating a clear appeals process for parental grievances.

Banning AI Child Pornography

Senate Bill 20 stops Artificial Intelligence (AI) generated child pornography by making it a state jail felony to possess or share obscene visual material that appears to show a child under 18, even if it’s a cartoon, animation, or AI-generated image. This issue has infiltrated our schools, and I am proud that the Texas Legislature has taken decisive action to protect our vulnerable Texans.

Stopping Explicit Materials in Libraries

Senate Bill 13 guards our children against inappropriate books in public schools and gives parents more say in the content of books available to their kids. The bill mandates that books in school libraries adhere to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) content standards for children, requires school districts to establish a Local School Library Advisory Council if requested by parents to make recommendations on content available in school libraries, and authorizes parents to review records of the materials their child checks out.

Increasing School Safety Funding

Senate Bill 260 is a historic school safety funding bill that ensures the safety and security of our children. The bill increases state spending on school safety by an additional $430 million for the next biennium, doubling both the per-student and per-campus school safety allotments.

Supreme Court Decision Upholds Texas Law

On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) sustained a 2023 Texas law that requires age verification, via government-issued identification, in order to gain access to pornographic websites. The law was passed to protect children under 18 from being exposed to sexually explicit material. The law was contested by groups such as the Free Speech Coalition and others who claimed it violated their First Amendment right to free speech. This is a significant win for Texas and our nation, as other states may consider similar legislation in light of the Supreme Court’s decision.

Also last week, SCOTUS ruled in Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, that states can direct Medicaid tax dollars away from abortion providers such as Planned Parenthood and instead into comprehensive health care entities to benefit low income citizens. Previously, Texas passed laws that ensure that tax dollars are not used to fund Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers. It is encouraging that SCOTUS is affirming our approach.

Happy 4^th of July!

As we approach the 4th of July this Friday, I want to publicly thank God for the tremendous blessings He has bestowed upon our nation. Many of you know that next year’s 4th of July will be a momentous occasion as we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The year ahead will provide an incredible opportunity to reflect even more deeply and closely on the historical and religious foundations that inspired our Founding Fathers.

Again, I hope you have a happy and safe 4th of July weekend.