[link removed] [[link removed]] Hi John,

The never-ending battle over what our children are taught in public schools is heating up once again.

As you know, the COVID-19 pandemic and the tragic toll it has taken on our nation have exposed the recklessness of elected officials who refuse to make public health a priority. But we’re currently facing even more public health challenges, including the failure of Texas public schools to teach students medically accurate information on sex education.

Now — over the next few months — we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reverse that failure.

This fall, the Texas State Board of Education is set to adopt new curriculum standards for health education, including standards on sex education. The standards guide what publishers include in textbooks and will impact millions of students for years to come.

Currently, more than 80% of Texas school districts teach abstinence-only or nothing at all when it comes to sex ed — all because far-right activists and politicians have demanded that schools keep students ignorant about their sexual and reproductive health.

Since our founding, the Texas Freedom Network has fought back against ignorance and we don’t intend to back down now. This year, we launched our Teach the Truth campaign to focus unprecedented efforts on mobilizing our grassroots activists, academics, parents and experts from around the state to demand that the SBOE provide fact-based sex education in public schools. Together, we can ensure that these new curriculum standards give future generations of students the information they need to make healthy and responsible decisions by:

*
Addressing
the
full
range
of
reproductive
health
care,
including
contraception,
the
prevention
of
sexually
transmitted
infections,
and
abortion.
*
Focusing
students
on
the
importance
of
informed
consent
and
sexual
violence
prevention.
*
Including
information
that
is
relevant
to
the
lives
of
LGBTQ
students
—
including
teaching
that
everyone
deserves
to
be
treated
with
respect,
regardless
of
their
sexual
orientation
or
gender
identity.

Abstinence-only activists have responded to our efforts with a barrage of lies and other misinformation — no surprise there. But we will never back down.

The State Board of Education scheduled a final vote on the new standards in November. We need your help in these last few weeks to push this campaign to a successful result — modern, responsible sex education for students in a 21st-century Texas. [[link removed]]

Thank you for your ongoing support and activism. I am so proud to be in this fight with you.

Onward,
[[link removed]]
Kathy Miller
TFN President


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Support Our Work – [link removed]

Texas Freedom Network
P.O. Box 1624
Austin, TX 78767
United States
Phone: (512) 322-0545

TFN is a statewide non-partisan, grassroots organization that is building an informed and effective movement working toward equality and social justice.

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