John, I am writing this letter today to share the latest update from the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE), our highlights from the past 10 years of Texas Values, and our excitement for the upcoming Texas Faith, Family, and Freedom Forum Event!! But first, we moved our offices to 1005 Congress Avenue. And, take a look at the view of our Capitol from our office elevator! Come see us! We are excited to be in our new space and blessed to continue to do good work for you and the State of Texas. We can now keep a closer eye on what happens at the capitol and we have more room for you and your family to come see us at our office!  Tuesday, August 30, the Texas State Board of Ecuation met to discuss the revision of the Social Studies TEKS. However, they did not schedule to have a first reading as planned. This resulted in a success as the SBOE eventually decided to stop the work on Social Studies and dealy for the next 2 years! To recap, Moses, God, and Critical Race Theory dominated the debate. One major issue our team raised during testimony was the removal of the national motto “In God We Trust” from the U.S. History standards for high school students, which I noted was also under attack for removal in 2010 and 2014. We also pointed out that Governor Abbott recently signed SB 797, authored by Senator Bryan Hughes, that requires the national motto “In God We Trust” to be prominently displayed in every public school classroom in Texas. Many parents testified about their concerns which included whether standards were developmentally appropriate and how much Texas History would be taught. Some left-leaning testifiers advocated for LGBT history to be taught to public school students, while many conservative SBOE members expressed disappointment in the standards for a new framework that teaches history chronologically and would remove the 4th Grade standalone Texas History course. In addition to stopping the egregious drafts, the board also voted 12-1 to stop the ethinic studies courses that were full of Critical Race Theory. The SBOE will need to finalize these decision on Friday, Sepetmeber 2.  And with your help and support over the last 10 years, Texas Values has helped in: • Passing the Texas Heartbeat Law (2021) • Passing statewide religious freedom protection for churches (2021) • Protected girls sports in high school (2021) • Protecting teaching Christian Heritage in Texas History & Social Studies (2018) • Cutting taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood & abortion-based sex education (2017 & 2019) • Banning dismemberment abortions (2017) • Passing Freedom to Service Children Religious Liberty Law (2017) • Passing the Pastor Protection Law (2015) • Passing the Merry Christmas Law (2013) Finally, the 5th Annual Texas Faith, Family and Freedom Policy Forum will be held September 23-24 at Great Hills Baptist Church in Austin. The largest faith and family educational and policy event in Texas, it focuses on our core issues of religious freedom, life, and marriage and family through the lens of our Christian worldview. Senator Ted Cruz will be the keynote speaker for the policy dinner. The 2-day event will feature many special guest speakers including Coach Joe Kennedy, who won the prayer case before the U.S. Supreme Court, and Attorney General Ken Paxton, and Father Frank Pavone with Priests for Life. This event sells out every year, so get your tickets today! | 