Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick announced this month that passing a “Don’t Say Gay” bill, similar to recent legislation passed in Florida, would be a priority for his office in the next legislative session. However, shortly after, House Speaker Dade Phelan appeared to indicate he would not support this effort, saying the house would stay focused on “serious kitchen table issues.” Florida’s Don’t Say Gay bill was drafted in a vague way that could allow teachers to be sued for allowing any discussion even acknowledging the existence of LGBTQ youth or families. To learn more about advocating for sex education, visit the Texas is Ready community resources.

In Texas, in just four years between 2016 - 2020, Gonorrhea cases increased by 45%, Syphilis increased by 52%, Congenital Syphilis increased by 235% while there was a 1.2% decrease in Chlamydia cases, but experts say that's an undercount due to lack of screening.

There are than 150 Title X clinics in Texas that provide sexual and reproductive healthcare services (like birth control and HIV/STI testing) regardless of your ability to pay. Find a clinic here.

This month, we have lots of exciting news to share about our collaborative work. The Texas Campaign partners with others across the state to leverage local and regional resources with statewide systems change. Read about our inspiring projects below. 

The Texas Foster Youth Health Initiative (TFYHI) establishes, funds, coordinates, and supports a multidisciplinary network of community partners to develop and test cutting edge sexual health interventions for youth and their caregivers.

The Texas Is Ready Coalition is composed of three organizations with a shared vision that every Texas youth deserves the information they need for a lifetime of healthy relationships and positive sexual health outcomes.

Texas Is Ready is still accepting Texas School Districts and Charter Schools into the Community of Practice (COP).

The Community of Practice is a grant-funded initiative that provides school districts with tailored support in assessing, selecting, implementing and maintaining sex education and health education, using research-based tools and resources designed by The University of Texas School of Public Health. This process is designed to fit into busy schedules, while also providing opportunities to share best practices and learn from other districts. While the hope is that districts will take full advantage of program offerings, participation can be as simple as working through a district self-assessment and receiving resources to help navigate through the process of implementation. 

If your school district or charter school is interested in joining the Texas Is Ready COP, please fill out the interest form here. 

The Texas Is Ready COP liaison officer is J.R. Chester. Please contact her with any questions at [email protected].

iCHAMPSS is a free online toolkit that can help school districts adopt, implement, and maintain effective sexual health curricula. We are inviting you to participate in a review of the iCHAMPSS website that will include the following:

1. Reviewing the website
2. Taking a 30-minute survey
3. 15 – 30 minute debriefing session to discuss
4. Compensation for your time.

If you are interested in participating, please contact Laura Thormaehlen ([email protected]), iCHAMPSS Research Coordinator.

The Texas Youth-Friendly Initiative (TYFI) helps build the capacity of health centers to improve care delivery to youth ages 10-24 through their participation in an evidence-based model developed by the Adolescent Health Initiative at the University of Michigan. 

This year, Day 1 of the summit is open to all Houston-based adolescent-serving medical providers!  The summit will take place at the Houston Marriott Medical Center/Museum District hotel on July 28 and July 29.

The summit is for the TYFI cohort participants to develop a deeper understanding of how to drive practice changes for exceptional health service delivery to youth, identify barriers to implementation and develop strategies for success, and participate in collaborative discussions with their counterparts.

If you would like to attend, please contact the TYFI Project Director, J.R. Chester, at [email protected].