Good morning, 

Some folks are suggesting teachers should lose their teaching license if they intentionally expose children to pornographic materials. I'd like your opinion in the One Click Survey, at the bottom of today’s email.

Also, state lawmakers gave cities around the state a sneaky way to massively hike your property tax burdens without letting you vote on it. Learn about that, and more, in the Texas Minute for Tuesday, August 23, 2022.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

• But first… Where will you be Dec. 3, 2022? You should be at the Conservative Leader Awards Dinner in Irving, where grassroots activists – not politicians – are honored for leading the fight for liberty in Texas! Get early-bird discount tickets today.

Abbott Re-Ups COVID Emergency Order

• With little fanfare, Gov. Greg Abbott has renewed his emergency COVID declaration for another 30 days. As Brandon Waltens reports, Texas is one of only 21 states continuing to operate under COVID emergency orders. 
      
• On March 13, 2020, Abbott declared a state of emergency over COVID-19. His first order came after 39 cases were reported in Texas. He has renewed the order each month since, for a total of 30 months.
     
• That’s now 893 days of a continuous COVID “emergency” in Texas.

SBOE Considers Radical Changes To Social Studies Curriculum

• The Texas State Board of Education, which sets the state standards for public education, is considering radical changes to social studies in the Lone Star State. Sydnie Henry has the story.
      
• Parents and teachers, like activist Jaco Booyens, say the new Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills standards aim to “create global citizens, not Texas citizens, not proud Americans.”
     
• “They’re breaking the nuclear family. … They’re teaching that the family does not raise the child—yes, teaching this in kindergarten—the community raises the child, and after the community, it’s the state’s job to raise the child, and then the federal government,” explains Booyens.
      
• The new standards will have fifth-graders studying the ancient Chinese dynasties, while third-graders will be studying LGBTQ intersectionality. (Reminder: The communist Chinese government has been quietly infiltrating Texas’ schools for years.)
      
• These standards for Texas classrooms will be up for discussion when the SBOE meets next Tuesday; a final vote is not expected until they meet in November.
      
• Don’t know who your SBOE member is? Check the listing below or visit our directory of elected officials.

No, Keller ISD Did Not Ban The Bible

• For the past few days, leftist media organizations across Texas and beyond have blared headlines that Keller Independent School District “banned the Bible” and put “Anne Frank’s Diary” on a book “hit list.” That is a massive media fail, explains Erin Anderson, in which policies designed to empower parents were taken out of context.
     
• Keller ISD Board of Trustees President Charles Randklev calls it “shoddy reporting.”
     
• Anyone following the news over the past year knows that parents in Keller (and across the state and country) have been asking school officials to remove sexually explicit and age-inappropriate books from their minor students’ library shelves.
       

• “As one of the moms who broke ‘Gender Queer’ in Keller ISD in October of 2021, I have been following this ‘book process’ for almost a year,” said Keller parent Kathleen May. “What the media, and even conservative media, got wrong was not fully understanding the process and policy. They all screamed ‘Fire’ in a movie theater without knowing how the process was laid out and how our new conservative board was actually fixing an old, broken, and ‘stacked against parents’ system.”
     

• Taking facts out of context to spin a false narrative is a favored tool of the leftist media. Conservatives shouldn’t let the establishment media define our heroes and enemies.

‘In God We Trust’ Heading To School

• As public schools start classes around the state, students are being greeted with new posters celebrating the nation’s “In God We Trust” motto – thanks to Patriot Mobile and groups like Moms for Liberty. Emily Wilkerson has the details.
      
• State law requires schools to post these signs – with certain design requirements. The motto signs can be donated to public schools, providing an opportunity for civic-minded organizations to step up.
     
• Of course, some leftist groups are really upset.
     
• The “Southlake Anti-Racism Coalition” issued a statement saying they are “disturbed” by the “blatant intrusion of religion in what should be a secular public institution.”
     
• Ahh, the sound of melting snowflakes…
     
• The four words have appeared on U.S. coinage since the 1860s. It became the nation’s official motto in 1956. 

Are Higher Property Taxes Heading Your Way?

• Taxpayers in Fort Worth are about to learn about a nasty bomb hidden inside the “property tax reform” passed by state lawmakers several years ago.
   
• While touting a 2-cent tax rate decrease, Fort Worth officials are planning to nonetheless increase residents’ city property tax burdens to pay for a double-digit increase in spending—and even though the proposed tax hike exceeds the voter-approval limit, the city doesn’t have to put it to a public vote.
     
• So, what gives?
     
• A property tax reform measure passed in 2019 lowered the “vote trigger” on tax increases from 8 percent to 3.5 percent for cities with more than 30,000 residents. But, that “reform” also allowed those cities to bank a three-year rolling total of “unused” tax hikes—the differences between each year’s adopted tax rate and the voter-approval rate. Those “unused increments” can then be added to the current year’s rate, without requiring a vote even if it exceeds the threshold.
      
• Don’t like this sneaky way to hike taxes? Talk to your state representative and state senator.

Our Shows And Podcasts

• Texas Scorecard is producing some amazing weekly content in video and audio formats. I hope you're checking them out.
   
• Podcasts: The Salcedo Storm, The Luke Macias Show, Liberty Cafe, Reflections on Life and Liberty
     
• Videos: The Kambree Show, The Headline, Conversations
      
• Our popular EXPOSED podcast series is coming back for Season 3! More details to follow soon...

ONE CLICK SURVEY

Should Texas teachers who intentionally expose children to pornographic material have their teaching license permanently revoked?

Once you’ve clicked an answer, reply to this email with any thoughts you’d like to share!