A Session of Missed Opportunities

The 89th Legislative Session in Texas has come to a close, and for pro-family Texans across the state, the final verdict is a mix of celebration, disappointment, and frustration. If one phrase captures this session best, it's "missed opportunity."

From the very beginning, the Texas Senate gave us a reason to hope. They came out swinging, boldly defending the traditional family unit, our children, and the values that built this state. Two shining examples:

• Senate Bill 12 by Senator Brandon Creighton: This bill establishes a parental bill of rights in the classroom, as well as putting safeguards against DEI. Plus, the Texas House strengthened the bill by adding an amendment to ensure woke teachers will no longer socially transition children without ever telling their parents what’s going on.

• Senate Bill 13 by Senator Angela Paxton: This essential legislation gets rid of the disgusting books in Texas public schools. Our children don’t need to be exposed to vulgar content, and this does the job. We passed legislation to try to address this issue last session, but that bill didn’t withstand federal scrutiny. This one was improved so it can stand up to court challenges.

Both bills passed swiftly and made it to the Governor's desk. For a moment, it felt like the tide had turned—that the Senate was poised to be the steady hand guiding Texas back to its roots in faith and family.

But the momentum didn’t last.

The Senate allowed key pro-family bills to die, including House Bill 3225 by Rep. Daniel Alders (R-Tyler), which would have protected children from explicit, sexually inappropriate material in public libraries. This common-sense bill, so obviously in the interest of protecting children, was left to wither on the vine.

Meanwhile, the Texas House got off to a sluggish start. Delays, procedural games, and backroom politics meant many good bills never even got a vote. And while the House did manage to pass several bills the Senate passed, it was too little, too late for other important legislation.

So what did the House kill?

• A bill that would have stopped schools from using taxpayer dollars to purchase LGBTQ pride flags—symbols of a radical agenda that has no place in publicly funded classrooms.

• Senate Bill 18, which would have banned drag queen story hours targeting children, was yet another casualty. This isn’t about personal liberty. It’s about protecting innocence and upholding public decency! Yet the House failed to act.

As we look back on this session, we see the wasted potential of what could have been a historic turn back toward righteousness. With many new freshman legislators, we hoped the pro-family movement finally had the numbers they needed to be effective.

Thankfully, accountability is coming. Texas Family Project is preparing a comprehensive report card, grading each legislator on their commitment to pro-family, pro-faith principles. Texans deserve to know who stood for them—and who didn't. We sent out vote notices to all legislators when family issues were coming up for a vote so they had no excuse to vote the wrong way. This will be the most accurate report card for pro-family Texans to use between now and the next session in 2027! 

To the faithful families of Texas: stay engaged, stay informed, and keep up the pressure. We made progress, but we cannot afford to be complacent. The fight for our children, our faith, and our freedoms is far from over. Let this session be a wake-up call so the next one is defined by action, courage, and taking advantage of every opportunity we have to protect our children.