Back-To-School Toolkit! Know Your Rights!
Parents have many rights including:
• The right to review your child’s educational records and request corrections
• The right to protect your child’s and your family’s faith
• The right to weigh in on school district matters
• The right to a reasonable expectation of privacy
• The right for you and your child to say “Merry Christmas”
• The right to pray on public school grounds
• The right to control sex education content for your child (school must have “opt-in” permission from parents first)
• The right to have your child participate in sex-separated sports and athletics
Students have the right to:
• Engage in student-led prayer;
• Have student led Christian clubs;
• Hold student led bible studies on campus;
• Express their Christian values in class;
• Share their faith with other students; and
• Acknowledge Christian holidays.
Click here for a one-page summary to print and take with you to school or save to your phone for quick reference.
Students across Texas are heading back to school soon, and it’s important for students and parents to know their rights. As a parent, you may be concerned with what your child will be learning in the classroom or whether you are allowed to know what it being taught. As a student, you may be wondering if you can pray, lead a religious club, or even say “Merry Christmas” at school. Texas Values is here as a resource to guide you through the school year and its challenges as it relates to parental rights, schooling options, and curriculum.
Parental Rights
Parents have the right to direct the education of their children. This is a U.S. Constitutional right. This is part of the larger right of parents to raise their children free from government interference, and it is a fundamental right protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Texas Constitution and U.S. Supreme Court precedent also offer protection to this fundamental right.
Parents have the right to know what their child is learning and should take every opportunity to know who is teaching their children. This is becoming even more necessary in a time where kids are exposed to sexually explicit content and inappropriate materials in school libraries and databases.
Many public school teachers read books about gender-confused children to the whole classroom and wrongfully encourage kids to keep things from their parents or actively withhold information themselves.
In the 87th Texas Legislature (2021), legislators passed SB 3, banning the teaching of critical race theory in the classroom including (1) that one race is inherently better than another, and (2) because of their race or sex, people can bear responsibility for past wrongs committed by members of the same race or sex.
During the 88th Texas Legislature (2023), House Bill (H.B.) 1605 was enacted requiring, among other things, that curriculum publishers establish an online portal and give parents access to browse their child’s textbooks.
Religious Liberty Rights for Students
In addition to a reasonable expectation of privacy, students have numerous freedoms protected by laws such as the Texas School Children’s Religious Liberty Act and the Merry Christmas Law (both of which Texas Values team members helped to pass through the legislature).
Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, 597 U.S. — (2022), also known as “The Coach Kennedy Supreme Court case” solidified the fact that teachers, coaches and school employees all have the constitutional right to pray on a public school campus. In other words, the Supreme Court clarified that praying on school property is protected speech under the First Amendment. Coach Kennedy was fired for praying, alone, at the 50-yard line before football games. However, the United States Supreme Court found his firing unconstitutional under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. School employees can now have the freedom to pray and express their religious beliefs without punishment from the school district, as the Court returned its rulings back to rulings and interpretations it originally established before rulings in the 1970s wrongfully allowed hostility to religion or an imbalanced approach to the First Amendment, that almost always favored government censorship. Not any more.
Senate Bill (S.B.) 797 from the 2021 legislative session requires schools in Texas to display the national motto if signs with “In God We Trust” are donated to the school district or purchased from private donations.
After some teachers were reprimanded for displaying “In God We Trust Signs” in the classroom, the Texas Legislature decided in 2023 to pass HB 2012 that says schools cannot punish teachers for abiding by the law of displaying “In God We Trust” signs in the classroom.
U.S. Supreme Court precedent upholds the student’s right to religious freedom at school. If you as a student or a student’s parent face an infringement on any of the rights listed above, please contact Texas Values at (512) 478-2220 or email info@txvalues.org.
Save Women’s and Girls’ Sports
Texas has complete protection for women and girls who compete in sports. In 2021, the Texas Legislature passed HB 25, the Save Girls’ Sports Law that protects girls who compete in K-12 University Interscholastic League (UIL) sports from being forced to compete with boys. Recently, the UIL in Texas reaffirmed their enforcement of the Save Girls Sports law by rejecting a public proposal to have boys on girls’ volleyball teams. In 2023, the Texas Legislature passed SB 15, the Texas Save Women’s Sports Law that ensures fair competition for college female athletes in the state of Texas. Texas Values composed a letter that was sent to all Texas public colleges to give them guidance on how to follow the law that protects fairness in college sports. If you learn of the possibility of a male competing in women’s sports, please notify our team. In May, a 31-year-old male water polo player was planning to compete against the women’s club water polo team from Texas State University on the campus of Texas A&M. Thankfully, the appropriate parties, with the help of Texas Values, intervened and the 31-year-old man stayed in his home state and did not compete against Texas women. To learn more about the laws on protecting female athletes, visit savewomensportstexas.com.
Opt- In for Sex Education
In 2021, the Texas legislature passed a law that required schools to get permission from parents before teaching a kids Sex-Ed. This policy was known as Sex-Ed Opt-In because historically parents had to Opt-Out of human sexuality instruction. Recently, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) clarified that the policy of Opt-In can continue and schools do not have to go back to Opt-Out. You can read more about this policy guidance from the TEA website here.
Title IX Re-write
The United States Department of Education drafted a rule that redefines “sex” to include “gender identity”. This “re-write” of Title IX would mean girls would be forced to compete against boys and share their private spaces (locker rooms, bathrooms, hotel rooms on overnight trips) with boys. The re-write would also state that using the wrong pronoun would be considered sexual harassment and that teachers and schools could hide gender transitions of students from their parents. Thankfully, federal courts in Texas intervened and Texas will not be subject to this new Title IX rule that went into effect on August 1st.
Carroll ISD received a court victory for their individual school district to be exempt from following Biden’s radical Title IX re-write. Shortly after the Carroll ISD decision, a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Ken Paxton on behalf of the state of Texas received a favorable decision that enjoined the new Title IX rule from being enforced in Texas. If you learn that your school district is trying to implement the new Title IX rule or any policies related to gender identity, please contact Texas Values, notify us.
School Choice
Many parents are making the choice to homeschool their children this school year. Parents have the right to withdraw their children from public schools and choose private schools or homeschool them instead. Texas Values offers resources to help you understand your rights when withdrawing your child from public school. In addition, much groundwork has been laid to continue empowering parents with private and charter school options and we are working towards success on this during the upcoming 89th Legislature.
We pray that these resources are helpful as you prepare to send your children back into the classroom. Texas Values will continue to fight for parental rights in our state.