Good morning –

From the border to the classroom, things are heating up in the Lone Star State.

Here is the Texas Minute for Thursday, March 31, 2022.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

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Has U.S. Reneged On Border Protection?

• That’s a question the House Committee on General Investigating wants Attorney General Ken Paxton to research and offer a legal opinion. Sydnie Henry reports his findings could serve as the basis for legislative action when lawmakers gather in 2023.
      
• But depending on Paxton’s findings, things could happen even sooner, suggests Sheena Rodriguez of Secure the Border: Save Texas. She says that if Paxton “defines this crisis as the invasion that it is,” then Gov. Greg Abbott could invoke Article 1, Section 10, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution.
   
• “No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any Duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.” – Article 1, Section 10, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution
     
• “The authority is there,” Rodriguez told Texas Scorecard. “The question now is, in these unprecedented times, do our elected state officials have the grit and fortitude to do what is right and necessary to protect Texans?”

Lawmakers Show Interest In Stopping ISDs From Stocking Sexually Explicit Books

• In a letter to Granbury Independent School District, 19 members of the Texas House are encouraging district officials to “stand firm” against intimidation from left-wing activists.
   
• Erin Anderson reports Granbury ISD recently removed eight books from school library shelves, after reviewing more than 100 library books to see if they contained “written or visual material that depicts explicit sexual acts or overtly sexual content.” For the district’s efforts to protect children, the ACLU and other leftist groups have attacked school officials.
   
• Here’s the letter, which was signed by Republican State Reps. Matt Krause, Briscoe Cain, Ken King, Glenn Rogers, Reggie Smith, Jared Patterson, Sam Harless, Mayes Middleton, Scott Sanford, John Smithee, Shelby Slawson, Cole Hefner, Tom Oliverson, Matt Shaheen, Phil Stephenson, Tony Tinderholt, Steve Toth, and Cody Vasut, as well as State Sen. Drew Springer.

Meanwhile, In Keller…

• Parents in Keller ISD are furious that their demands for action on the sexually explicit materials flooding their schools are being ignored.
      

• Keller parents first found what they consider pornographic material in their local school libraries last October. Since then, the district’s process for reviewing and removing the controversial books has left parents feeling like they’re getting the runaround.

      
• “What we’re asking for is transparency … for true accountability, for you to put the power back in the hands of parents,” said Nate Schatzline, a Texas House candidate in a district that includes part of Keller ISD.

…But Fort Worth Parents Push Superintendent Out The Door

• In response to an outcry from parents regarding Superintendent Kent Scribner’s support of critical race theory-based policies, Fort Worth ISD’s school board voted 7-0 to make August 31, 2022, his last day on the job. Katy Drollinger reports this is almost two years earlier than the August 2024 date Scribner and the board had set back in December.
      
• But don’t worry… Scribner will “work” as an “advisor” for the district until at least February 28, 2023. That’s when he will be eligible to draw retirement benefits. He will still receive close to 75 percent of his remaining benefits, the result of a buyout clause in his contract.
   
• Since 2015, Fort Worth ISD has spent more than a million dollars on divisive race-based initiatives, including “equity walks” and seminars encouraging district employees to “build their racial equity lens.”
     
• Scribner’s premature ouster is the result of sustained pressure applied by parents for the last several months.

Your Federal & State Lawmakers

The districts displayed here should reflect those recently redrawn by the Legislature. Though the new lines do not take representational effect until 2023, they will appear on the 2022 ballot. Please note that your incumbent legislator and/or district numbers may have changed.