As I mentioned in a previous video, I have dubbed this Texas Legislative Session the Parental Rights Session.

I call it that because many bills that are being filed and heard are related to the fundamental, God-given right of parents to raise their children as they see fit. 

Another evidence of that is the fact that several Texas Constitutional Amendments have been filed and are moving in both the Texas House and Senate.

The process for amending the Texas Constitution requires the support of ⅔ of both the Texas House and Senate in order to be placed on the ballot, and a majority of the voters’ support to become effective.

It is an extremely rigorous process.

For that reason, it has never appeared feasible to pass an amendment to protect parental rights and homeschooling… until this session. 

There is a renewed interest and support for the rights of parents.

This is largely the result of the pandemic shutdown of schools. The shutdowns caused parents to observe and have first-hand experience with what their children were actually being taught in public schools. 

Now, many of the measures to protect the rights of parents have been filed and are making their way through the legislative process. This includes three different amendment proposals.

Why do we support these measures? 

Currently, the constitutional rights of parents rest in federal case law. A few bad appointments of federal judges could result in those rights being rolled back or lost.

Adding this language to our constitution makes it much more difficult to attack these rights and significant protection for families and homeschoolers.

Let’s look at three of these amendments and why we support them:

SJR 70 by Senator Hughes and HJR 85 by Representative Burrows will ensconce in the Constitution the fundamental right of parents to raise their children. SJR 70 already passed the TX Senate by a vote of 28-3.

SJR 29 by Senator Paxton would enshrine the right of parents to educate their children into the Bill of Rights in the Texas Constitution.

SJR 72 by Senator King and HJR 37 by Representative Vasut would amend the Texas Constitution to prohibit any agency of the local or state government from regulating private and homeschools.

Because THSC supports the fundamental, God-given right of parents to raise their children, we strongly support all of these measures! Please sign our petitions to support these measures and get updates so you can join us when calls are necessary to pass these critical issues.

Thank you for standing with us in that critical mission.

Tim Lambert, THSC President

Tim Lambert, THSC President

Tim Lambert, has been the president of the Texas Home School Coalition since 1990 and involved in homeschool leadership since 1984. He and his wife Lyndsay taught their four now-grown children at home for 16 years, graduating the last two in 2000. As the head of the organization for the leading home school state in the country, he is recognized as an authority on home education issues.

Tim has testified before numerous Texas legislative committees on issues related to homeschooling and often deals with state government agencies, including the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. He has also addressed such conferences as the Texas Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers on the topic. He holds a B.A. in political science from Texas Tech University and is active in the political arena, serving eight years as Republican National Committeeman for Texas. Tim is committed to serving the homeschooling community and to protecting parents’ right to choose the method of education of their children.