Parental rights have been a key part of the battle to defend homeschooling for over three decades in Texas and nationwide.
In the 1980s, a Texas Attorney General infamously said he did not believe parents were qualified to raise their children, much less teach them at home.
Thus, homeschool parents in Texas sued the state in the Leeper v Arlington ISD case and clarified that homeschooling was clearly legal in Texas.
In the last gubernatorial election in Virginia, the nominee said parents should not be able to tell public schools how to choose curriculum. The opposition disagreed and said parents SHOULD have a say in the curriculum in schools. The parents’ rights advocates won, and that was the beginning of the recent parental rights movement.
Now we see battles all over the state with parents pushing public schools to remove sexually explicit books from public school libraries and to keep sexually explicit curricula out as well. Teacher unions and the public school lobby oppose these efforts, as do the radical left.
The parental rights battle is raging not only at the public school level but at the policy level in the Texas Legislature, as the battle over opposition to Critical Race Theory and LGBTQ policy in public schools is hotly debated.
A recent law passed in Utah requires porn websites to ensure that children cannot gain access to such “mature” content. The largest such website declared that it would simply make the site inaccessible to everyone in Utah. Some commentators say this is a subtle admission that the goal of purveyors of such materials is, in fact, children.
In so many areas, the role of parents is being challenged in regard to their children. In fact, President Biden said recently, “There is no such thing as someone else’s child. No such thing as someone else’s child. Our nation’s children are all our children.”
So the battle rages, and in contrast to this radical position, parents are being castigated for wearing t-shirts that say, “I don’t co-parent with the government!”
That pretty much states the positions regarding who makes decisions for the children. The answer is the same today as it was in the 1970s. Parents have a God-given right to raise their children free from government interference!
That is our position, and we will continue to fight for that right in the legislature, the courts, and with any government agency that attempts to take away that right!
Make sure you are signed up for our email and text messages so you can be ready to take immediate action to protect the parents and families of Texas.
Please sign our petitions to support these measures and get updates as parental rights reforms move through the Texas Legislature.
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.
Parental rights have been a key part of the battle to defend homeschooling for over three decades in Texas and nationwide.
In the 1980s, a Texas Attorney General infamously said he did not believe parents were qualified to raise their children, much less teach them at home.
Thus, homeschool parents in Texas sued the state in the Leeper v Arlington ISD case and clarified that homeschooling was clearly legal in Texas.
In the last gubernatorial election in Virginia, the nominee said parents should not be able to tell public schools how to choose curriculum. The opposition disagreed and said parents SHOULD have a say in the curriculum in schools. The parents’ rights advocates won, and that was the beginning of the recent parental rights movement.
Now we see battles all over the state with parents pushing public schools to remove sexually explicit books from public school libraries and to keep sexually explicit curricula out as well. Teacher unions and the public school lobby oppose these efforts, as do the radical left.
The parental rights battle is raging not only at the public school level but at the policy level in the Texas Legislature, as the battle over opposition to Critical Race Theory and LGBTQ policy in public schools is hotly debated.
A recent law passed in Utah requires porn websites to ensure that children cannot gain access to such “mature” content. The largest such website declared that it would simply make the site inaccessible to everyone in Utah. Some commentators say this is a subtle admission that the goal of purveyors of such materials is, in fact, children.
In so many areas, the role of parents is being challenged in regard to their children. In fact, President Biden said recently, “There is no such thing as someone else’s child. No such thing as someone else’s child. Our nation’s children are all our children.”
So the battle rages, and in contrast to this radical position, parents are being castigated for wearing t-shirts that say, “I don’t co-parent with the government!”
That pretty much states the positions regarding who makes decisions for the children. The answer is the same today as it was in the 1970s. Parents have a God-given right to raise their children free from government interference!
That is our position, and we will continue to fight for that right in the legislature, the courts, and with any government agency that attempts to take away that right!
Make sure you are signed up for our email and text messages so you can be ready to take immediate action to protect the parents and families of Texas.
Please sign our petitions to support these measures and get updates as parental rights reforms move through the Texas Legislature.
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.
