• February 27, 2019—Protecting Texas Families
• February 20, 2019—Suing Families For Their Children
• February 13, 2019—College or Not (For the Homeschool Graduate)?
• February 6, 2019—Father Desperate to Protect His Son From Court Decision

February 27, 2019

Protecting Texas Families

As you may know, the Texas Legislature is in session and THSC’s team is in Austin Keeping Texas Families Free. I often quote an old sage who said, “No man’s freedom or property is safe when the Texas Legislature is in session.” Our first charge to our team in Austin is to make sure that no bill harmful to Texas families becomes law.

However, we are also working to pass a critically important bill to protect families in Texas Family Courts.

We are calling this bill The Family Unity Act because it seeks to update the Texas Family Code with established case law from both the U.S. Supreme Court and the Texas Supreme Court. This case law says that parents have the fundamental right to raise their children and that the state may not overrule the parent simply because it disagrees.

Half of the cases in Texas courts are family law cases. A significant portion of these cases involve children. When a child is involved in the case, the judge is required to make decisions for that child that the judge deems to be in the child’s best interest.

What many people don’t know is that when a judge and a parent disagree on what is best for a child, the judge is not allowed to overrule the parent. Constitutionally, the judge is required to defer to the parent unless evidence is presented that proves the parent’s decision would be detrimental to the child.

However, many Texas judges and attorneys are entirely unaware of this requirement. In practice, when a judge and a parent disagree, the parent usually loses.

For this reason, THSC is working to amend the Texas Family Code to reflect this constitutional requirement, ensuring that local judges and attorneys are aware of the rule and that families are not unnecessarily intruded upon.

In a day and age when families are under attack from virtually every corner, it is critical that we give clear direction to Texas Courts on how these difficult cases should be handled.

We believe that the Texas Family Code must be reformed to reflect the constitutional requirement that parents have the right to raise their children and the state may not overrule the parent unless it is necessary to protect the child.

If you agree, visit our Legislative Action Center and sign up for key action alerts regarding The Family Unity Act. You may also text “TXHOMESCHOOL” to 919191 to receive legislative alerts!

Read the rest of The Family Freedom Caller, including Tim’s Weekly Tweets

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February 20, 2019

Suing Families For Their Children

Every legislative session in Texas, we always use the famous quote that “No man’s freedom or property is safe when the Texas Legislature is in session.” That is particularly true of families and homeschoolers.

THSC’s top priority every session is to prevent any legislation from passing that would limit or undermine our current freedom. We work hard to ensure that nothing slips past us because families’ lives are at stake.

Enter the Family Law Foundation

One group that seems to be constantly at odds with us is the Family Law Foundation (FLF). The FLF opposed our efforts last session on some of our CPS reform measures and have worked hard to defy our efforts to protect parents and families from abusive litigation that intrudes on a family’s right to raise its children.

The FLF has filed legislation for years now to make it easier for non-parents to sue fit parents in order to get possession of or access to children over the family’s objections.

Parents who have not been accused of any abuse or neglect can find themselves facing years of litigation and even lose their children just because they restricted access to their children by certain non-parents.

These kinds of cases typically see single-parent, low-income families—especially single moms—targeted by affluent non-parents:

• Chassidie Russell lost her daughter for three years for the “crime” of restricting her time with non-parents who wanted more.
• Heather Wyatt and her family were dragged through court for years by her boyfriend’s family after the man was convicted of sexually abusing Heather’s daughter. After defending him, they then sued Heather for access to her daughter.

Texas Families’ Vigilance

Time after time, Texas families have responded to our calls for action and have killed efforts every session to expand the statute that allows for these abuses.

Now, the FLF is trying again. HB 575 is in the Texas Legislature. The bill loosens restrictions in the current law, making the abuse of families described above even easier.

In four cases since 2006, the Texas Supreme Court has reprimanded lower courts for abusing their discretion and allowing non-parents to illegitimately obtain access or possession of children. However, in all four of these cases, the families had to resort to extraordinary and legally-specialized remedies, which typically generate astronomical legal costs.

What happened to the families who could not afford those costs? More than likely, they lost their battles.

THSC is here to ensure that families retain the right to raise their own children. HB 575 allows for non-parents to invade intact families and destroy that right. THSC is already preparing for battle to block this bill.

The homeschool community has consistently stepped up to the plate to defend Texas families. Keep watch for a call to action to help stop this bill.

Please sign up for our legislative updates and be prepared to take action when the bill is heard in committee. The attack against families is real and we must stand together to protect our children and families.

Text “TXHOMESCHOOL” now to 919191 to receive legislative alerts!

Read the rest of The Family Freedom Caller, including Tim’s Weekly Tweets

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February 13, 2019

College or Not (For the Homeschool Graduate)?

Discussion about the success of homeschooling often centers around the success of homeschool graduates in college, and that is certainly appropriate.

Homeschooling allows families to offer their children experience that give them opportunities to experience real life situations that can, and often do, help them learn what they enjoy doing and what they might want to do with their lives.

As I have discussions with people about college, I often find that many people still believe that it’s not possible to succeed in life without a college degree. I love to remind them that neither Bill Gates or Michael Dell have a college degree and are both highly successful.

In fact, stories abound of homeschool graduates who have become successful business owners and employees without a college degree, and there are many ways to accomplish that.

One of the great things about homeschooling is parents get to learn what the talents, skills and interests of their children are and then find ways to help develop them. In homeschooling, real life experiences can serve as a much more effective education than the classroom.

My oldest son is the owner of a software company today that serves the cotton industry. He gained the necessary experience by apprenticing for a friend of ours who taught him computer programing and later hired him. My son later ran the company, ultimately bought it and continues to run it today.

There are a host of reasons why not every student should attend college. The astronomical cost is one obvious consideration.

Sometimes our children prefer a job or career that doesn’t involve a college degree, and pursuing that doesn’t make them unsuccessful. In fact, one has to question the merit of a college degree if it doesn’t teach a marketable skill set that the student can use.

Homeschoolers have taught the world that non-traditional styles of education work. Some degrees are well worth the cost. Many are clearly not. Consider whether college is actually teaching your student a valuable skill set that will aid them later in life or just burying him or her in student loan debt without providing a job to pay it off.

Read the rest of The Family Freedom Caller, including Tim’s Weekly Tweets

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February 6, 2019

Father Desperate to Protect His Son From Court Decision

Recently, the news of New York state removing virtually all restrictions on abortion has been shocking the people who believe that all children deserve to be protected.

The vast majority of Americans believe that abortion should be restricted, but the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that abortion is legal without restriction and thus legislatures in eight states have no restriction on how late in a pregnancy an abortion can be obtained.

Interestingly, many people who love to talk about how much they care for children are in the forefront of taking legal protections away from the unborn and even arguing for infanticide.

The same sort of child-harming policies related to gender dysphoria are undermining parents and allowing—and sometimes requiring—life-altering decisions for children that often lead to tragic situations.

A recent rally by people from both sides of the political spectrum who were calling for changes to protect children in these situations was generally ignored by the mainstream media, of course. One report said, “A common theme in all the stories was how ‘gender identity’ laws and policies had tied parents’ hands behind their backs, demonized them, and destroyed their relationship with their child.”

The same battle over what is “in the best interest of the child” is being fought in North Texas.

A couple engaged in a divorce case involves a mother who is a pediatrician and has, with the help of “experts” convinced a judge, so far, that one of their twin six-year-old sons has identified as a girl. The father has launched a website to tell his story of his efforts to save his son from the life-altering decisions being forced on the child.

Walter Heyer has written an article on the Texas case because he says he lived through the same thing. “My grandmother didn’t intend to harm me,” Heyer wrote, “but her actions destroyed my childhood and my family and consumed nearly 50 years of my life. James has no idea what he is in for, or how his gender journey will play out, but with an incorrect diagnosis it will be ugly.”

Our culture is clearly experiencing a crisis of faith, truth and reason. Our best, first response should always be to pray and to speak the truth.

All of this highlights the critical issue of not only protecting children through legislation but also electing judges who will render decisions that protect children and not just follow radical policies.

THSC believes parents should be empowered to raise the next generation of leaders.

Read the rest of The Family Freedom Caller, including Tim’s Weekly Tweets

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