Moments ago I received a phone call from Governor Perry's office to let us know that he will announce shortly that he is going to veto SB 1440. He has heard the outcry from parents all over Texas (and many other parts of the country) and is responding.
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home : Legislative Session Archives: Legislative Session 2009
Read the wrap-up of the 2009 Texas Legislative Session. Issues of Importance to Texas Home Schoolers During the Texas 2009 Legislative Session
Friday, June 19, 2009 Governor Perry Vetoes SB 1440!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009 Letter to Governor Perry Concerning Veto of SB 1440
Monday, June 15, 2009 Veto SB 1440Yesterday the Ft. Worth Star Telegram printed an editorial by supporters of SB 1440 calling on the governor to sign the bill into law. I have sent the following response to several papers in the state.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009 CPS Blank Check IISB 1440 was delivered to the governor on June 3. He has twenty days after the end of the session to take action on the bill by signing or vetoing it or allowing it to become law without his signature, which means he has until the 21st or 22nd of June to veto the bill.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Wednesday, June 3, 2009Giving CPS a Blank CheckSB 1064 by Senator Kirk Watson was filed early in the session, and it sought to allow CPS, in the course of an investigation of abuse or neglect, to get the medical or mental health records of children who are the focus of an investigation. In order for CPS to accomplish this, the person refusing to give the records and parents must be given notice and a court hearing and CPS must show "good cause" for the action before the court would order the release of said records to CPS.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009 Beating Back Efforts to Undermine Parental RightsThe
last couple of weeks, the Texas Legislature has heard from
home school parents, who are the driving force to defend and
protect parental rights in Texas. On May 14 we sent an
Alert to our list
asking home schoolers to call their state senators in
opposition to
HB 1232, a bill requiring mental health screening for
certain children and the sharing of health care information
with CPS and other agencies.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009 Coping with Daytime CurfewsThe Dallas City Council recently followed the city of Houston in adopting a daytime curfew. In spite of assurances that enforcement would not begin until the fall, we received a report from a home school mom whose eleven-year-old child was stopped by a Dallas police officer and asked why he was not in school. When the child explained that he was homeschooled and his school year was ended, the police officer instructed him to "go home." This is just one example of how this curfew will impact home school families.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009 Alert - HB 1232 - Mental Health Screening
Wednesday, May 13, 2009 Parental Rights - Never Give Up!The battle for restoring or defending parental rights goes on. In April, hundreds of home schoolers met on the steps of the Texas State Capitol to rally for the Texas Parental Rights Restoration Act (TPRRA), and Governor Rick Perry announced his support along with several state legislators. Later that week, well over a hundred showed their support in a public hearing, and on the 29th of last month the bill was voted out of the Human Services Committee on a 5-3 vote.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009Victory over Daytime Curfew Bill - We ThinkThe battle against daytime curfews has continued to take many forms over the last few years. We have opposed HB 1886 since early spring because it would expand the possibilities of daytime curfews in Texas. We opposed the bill in the Urban Affairs Committee; it passed. We opposed it in Calendars Committee, and it was finally brought to the floor last Friday for consideration.
Saturday, May 2, 2009 Alert - HB 710 - State Board of Education
Saturday, May 2, 2009Texas House Battles Over Daytime CurfewsHB 1886 by Miklos is a bill requested by the mayor of Balch Springs, which has little or no police force. The bill would allow them to ask the county sheriff and deputies to enforce the city's daytime curfew. It was on the House floor today (Friday, May 1) for a vote. Our good friend Representative Wayne Christian asked if we would support an amendment that would exempt home school students from the bill, and we said, "yes." Unfortunately we did not clarify that while we supported such an amendment, it would neither resolve our concerns nor cause us to support the bill. That caused confusion and put him in a difficult position. Representative Miklos accepted the amendment on the second reading, and the bill passed as most of the House members believed our concerns were resolved.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009Bedford Battle Moves to the Voting BoothFreedom-loving people have been fighting the adoption of daytime curfews in cities all over Texas, which we have covered for some time. Bedford has been ground zero since last fall as the city council there adopted the curfew without a public hearing; this week they voted again to keep the curfew in the face of growing opposition from business owners, civil liberty activists, and parents of public, private, and home school students.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009 Legislators Seek to Gut SBOEOne thing that seems to be constant is that if conservatives have power and are making policy, they will be accused of being divisive and "political" and even "not caring about the children." This year is no different, as a contentious debate over science standards on the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) resulted in a compromise that took a conservative position.
Monday, April 13, 2009TPRRA Gains Ground in AustinLast week was a busy one in Austin for THSC. On Tuesday almost 400 home schoolers attended the second of three THSC Capitol Days. They learned about the legislative process and lobbied all 150 Texas House members and 31 Texas State Senators to support the Texas Parental Rights Restoration Act (TPRRA).
Saturday, April 4, 2009Restoring Parental Rights in TexasLate yesterday we learned that the Texas House Committee on Human Services will hold a hearing on April 9 on the Texas Parental Rights Restoration Act (TPRRA) (HB 2084). In my view this is providential, since two days before that, THSC Association will sponsor a rally on the south steps of the Capitol to draw attention to and support for this bill, which is designed to protect fit parents from litigation. The rally will be from 3:45 p.m. to 5 p.m.; Governor Rick Perry and other statewide elected officials and legislators will speak, as will parents who have been the victims of these devasting lawsuits. (See overview.) We are asking for home schoolers to come to this rally in large numbers to show support for the measure and, while there, to visit with their own state representatives and ask for their support of the TPRRA.
Friday, April 3, 2009Sausage Making and Friendly FireThis week was a busy one in Austin for THSC Association. It seems like I have been in Austin two or three days a week for months. One of the most important things we try to do in Austin is to maintain our credibility as an organization by making sure that our information is correct and that we only call for appropriate action and at the right times. In January I explained how we approach monitoring legislation and taking action when the time is right. I also talked about how taking action at the wrong time or with incorrect information can make us look bad and hurt our cause.
Thursday, March 26, 2009Daytime Curfew Onslaught ContinuesOpponents to current and proposed daytime curfews rallied recently in Dallas and Bedford. The Dallas City Council held a hearing two days later to consider adopting the curfew. Many home schoolers testified against the measure as ineffective and dangerous to the liberty of law abiding citizens. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a group known for their liberal leanings, is also heavily involved in the battle to stop or roll back daytime curfews.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009HB 319 HearingA THSC representative testified yesterday at the hearing of HB 319, a bill by State Representative Richard Raymond, that will change the current statute that allows adults to be exempt from jury duty if serving on a jury would cause a child ten years of age or younger to be left alone. The Judiciary Committee hearing was to begin at 2PM, but we did not give testimony on the bill till almost 6:30PM.
Friday, March 20, 2009Summary of HB 1886 Hearing
House Urban Affairs Committee hears bill that would allow
county officers to enforce city daytime curfews...
Wednesday, March 18. 2009Legislature Considers Daytime Curfew ExpansionHB 1886 by State Representative Miklos of Mesquite is an effort to expand daytime curfews by empowering cities that adopt such curfews to have county law officers enforce the city curfews. This is a backdoor approach to adopt daytime curfews by county, which is already allowed by statute. However, instead of county commissioners having to adopt the controversial curfews, which negatively impact home schoolers and minorities, the county law officers can enforce the ordinances of cities which are part of the county.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009 Alert - Parental Rights and Daytime Curfew
Tuesday, March 17, 2009 North Carolina and Restoring Parental Rights in TexasThe Internet is awash with reaction against a judge in North Carolina who acknowledged in a custody case that the children had done very well academically in their home school, but he ruled that they must be placed in public school to "test" their biblical beliefs.
Saturday, February 28, 2009 Alert - Driver Education and Teen Safety
Thursday, February 26, 2009 Driver Education and Teen Safety Next Tuesday, March 3, the Public Education Committee in the Texas House will hold a hearing on HB 339, which is authored by State Representative Larry Phillips. This bill is designed to address teen driver safety and includes almost everyone's ideas about how improve it. One of the ideas it contains is a suggestion of Pat Barrett of Driver Ed in a Box®. His idea is that the state would be required to publicly post on an annual basis the teen crash rates of every entity that offers driver education. This would allow the public to examine each school or program and see what kind of record their graduates have. This would be similar to public schools being rated on the performance of their students.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009Change is Good - or NotThe New York Times ran a story recently on the takeover of the speakership of the Texas House by moderate Republicans. "When the Republicans nearly lost their majority in the Texas House in November, a small group of moderates from the party joined with Democrats to oust the archconservative speaker, Thomas Craddick of Midland." The article also reported that Staus, the new speaker, "voted against banning gay men and lesbians from serving as foster parents and against a ban on late-term abortions. (His wife, Julie Brink Straus, was on the board of Planned Parenthood in the early 1990s.)"
Tuesday, January 27, 2009Don't Shoot Till You See the Whites of Their EyesI continue to see from different sources e-mails and comments that quote a comment or policy proposal by President Obama or a Texas legislator calling on the recipient to take action or we will lose either our freedom to homeschool or some other freedom. The danger of such messages is twofold. Friday, January 23, 2009Gather Your Children and Watch Your Property - The Texas Legislature Is in SessionThe 81st Texas Legislature officially began the 2009 legislative session almost two weeks ago. In 1866, Gideon J. Tucker said, “No man’s life, liberty or property are safe when the legislature is in session.” That is particularly true for home school families. This year there is a great deal of uncertainty around the country regarding our home school freedom.
Thursday, January 15, 2009UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in Texas?HB 188 is a bill filed by State Representative Roberto Alonzo from Dallas that has a very strong potential to undermine the right of parents to direct the education and upbringing of their children.
Bills (in order by House Bill [HB] number)
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in Texas?HB 188 by State Representative Roberto Alonzo HB 316 by State Representative Richard Raymond
HB 319 by State Representative Richard Raymond
Driver Education and Teen Safety HB 339 by State Representative Larry Phillips
Possession of or Access to a Child in a Suit Affecting the
Parent-Child Relationship by State Representative Vaught
Enforcement of a Juvenile Curfew Ordinance HB 1886
by State Representative Robert Miklos Texas Parental Rights Restoration Act HB 2084 by State Representative Phil King
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