It is no surprise to most families that the family and children are under assault in our society and culture today, and Texas is no exception. Almost four decades ago, a small group of activists started a grassroots organization to defend the rights of parents in Texas to teach their children at home. The basis of that right, we argued, was the fact that parents have a God-given right to raise their children.

It is no surprise to most families that the family and children are under assault in our society and culture today, and Texas is no exception. Almost four decades ago, a small group of activists started a grassroots organization to defend the rights of parents in Texas to teach their children at home. The basis of that right, we argued, was the fact that parents have a God-given right to raise their children.

Last year, THSC launched a new organization called the Family Freedom Project (FFP). Our reasoning was simple. The work of THSC has evolved over the years to the point that a great deal of our work is defending parental rights and the family, not just homeschooling.

The FFP’s work includes:

  • Continued litigation at the Supreme Court of Texas (SCOTX) defending parental rights. The Kalenic family case is one example of that litigation.
  • Focus on passing a parental rights amendment to the Texas Constitution
  • Empowering parents to make medical decisions for their children and to protect their children from sexualization in public schools
  • Protecting innocent families from the overreach of state agencies like Child Protective Services (CPS)

One new threat is related to a California law just passed which seeks to usurp the rights of parents by providing children from any state with permanent medical and surgical transgender treatments without parental consent.

FFP joined a coalition of organizations across the country to fight this unconstitutional law. This law has recently become the focus of a Supreme Court of Texas (SCOTX) case brought by a Texas father, Jeff Younger.

While pro-family advocates must rally to fight this horrible abuse of power coming from California, the Supreme Court of Texas found that the facts of Younger’s case left him unable to challenge the law properly.

Younger urged the Supreme Court of Texas to issue an emergency order requiring that Younger’s ex-wife return the parent’s children to Texas from California. The mother moved with the children to California in September 2022. Younger argued that an emergency order from the court was necessary to prevent the mother from seeking gender reassignment surgery for Younger’s son while in California.

The SCOTX denied his petition, pointing out that the mother had already agreed to a court order preventing the medical transitioning of the child without Younger’s permission. The court found that the mother is unable to obtain gender reassignment surgery in CA without first obtaining Younger’s consent. Consequently, the court also found that there is no emergency that would justify ordering the return of the mother and no threat posed to the family by California’s new law.

The Court did leave the door open for possible future action should circumstances change. You can read the SCOTX opinion here. Attorney General Ken Paxton supported the father’s case, and you can read his letter to the court here.

It is also worth remembering that in 2020, the Supreme Court of Texas released the strongest parental rights decision in Texas history. The court is also actively considering another major parental rights case, which the Family Freedom Project is working on heavily.

California’s power grab against parents is unconstitutional. It is possible that a federal lawsuit may be filed against California, and I would not be surprised if Texas were involved. In the meantime, it is clear that we must continue to wage the battle in our culture to defend parental rights and the family.

The Family Freedom Project will be leading the way in the fight by God’s grace and with your help.