Good morning, 

Texas school board members and other officials will meet in San Antonio this weekend – at the taxpayers’ expense, of course – to learn how to more effectively ignore parents and taxpayers.

Here is the Texas Minute for Thursday, Sept. 22, 2022.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

31 Counties Say Texas Is Being Invaded

• Earlier this week, Collin County joined 30 Texas counties in declaring an invasion at the county level and calling upon Texas’ governor to “repel the invasion at our border” per Article I, Section 10, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution. Sydnie Henry has the details. 
     
• Collin County’s resolution highlighted the “health, safety, and welfare of Texas residents” as being under “imminent threat from the unprecedented level of illegal immigration, human trafficking, and drug smuggling coming across the United States border from Mexico.”

Transgender Group To Target Kids In Legislative Session

• With the state’s next legislative session less than four months away, the Transgender Education Network of Texas is preparing an all-out assault on the Legislature. Katy Drollinger reports TENT plans to pressure lawmakers into passing legislation supporting transgender ideology.
   
• The radical-left organization is hosting weekend events in Dallas, McAllen, Houston, and West Texas to train activists.
     .
• TENT also promotes child gender mutilation, which often includes providing children with sterilizing puberty-blocking drugs and cross-sex hormones as well as surgical procedures for “gender transition” purposes. 

POLL: Texas GOP Voters Oppose Biden Student Loan Plan

• Texas Republicans strongly object to President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan, according to a poll commissioned by the Defend Texas Liberty PAC. Emily Wilkerson has the story.
     
• Last month, the Biden administration announced a three-part plan to forgive up to $20,000 per person in student loan debt. Among Republican voters, 89 percent of respondents had an unfavorable opinion about the plan. 

• The Defend Texas Liberty PAC also asked voters about the phrase “MAGA.” Turns out, 78 percent have either a favorable or somewhat favorable view of it.
   

• Not surprisingly, then, if Donald Trump were to run in 2024, he continues to lead the field with the support of 49 percent of Texas Republican primary voters. Should Trump not run, 58 percent said they would support Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, while U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz has 10 percent.

A&M’s Abortion Advocacy?

• Texas A&M, the largest conservative-leaning university in the nation, seems to have turned a blind eye toward abortion advocacy by on-campus organizations. In a revealing commentary, Blake Martin explains how university resources are being used to promote abortion seminars that risk putting their students in legal danger. 

School Boards Get Woke Training This Weekend… At Your Expense

• Thousands of Texas public school administrators and school board members will descend on San Antonio for the annual Texas Education Conference (txED22) to learn, among other topics, “how to respond to parent concerns over instructional issues.” Sydnie Henry reports the conference is hosted by the Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA) and the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB).
     
• Both entities are funded by taxpayers, and use their influence to fight against parental oversight of curriculum, oppose property tax relief, and undermine popular reforms such as school choice. The conference website boasts, “This is the largest convening of Texas public education decision-makers.”
     
• School attorneys will teach attendees strategies for responding to “challenges to instructional resources” as well as “complaints about social studies curriculum categorized as ‘critical race theory.’”
     
• Apparently the educrats have gone ahead and dropped their “critical race theory doesn’t exist in the classroom” lie…
      
• A presentation by Victoria ISD Superintendent Quintin Shepherd is scheduled to “discuss the barriers of implementing SEL frameworks.” (SEL – or social and emotional learning – is the new name for CRT.)
      

• Another workshop, titled “From Disruption to Engagement through the Prosper ISD School Board Promise,” will be presented by Prosper ISD trustees Bill Beavers and Debra Smith, as well as Superintendent Holly Ferguson. Prosper ISD, and Ferguson in particular, have been the subject of parental ire this past month after the school district covered up a sex abuse scandal involving a bus driver victimizing two young girls.
       

• The workshop claims “Prosper ISD trustees found themselves in disbelief about the level of disruption at school board meetings and ongoing attacks on social media regarding the district’s work.”
     

• Gee, I wonder why…

Understanding Texas’ Win Over Big Tech

• In her latest video, Kambree Nelson explains why a court ruling in support of a Texas law granting citizens the right to sue Big Tech platforms over wrongful account termination is a big deal.
      
• Earlier this week, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was a guest on the Salcedo Storm podcast here at Texas Scorecard, talking about the victory and the challenges ahead.

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.