WHEREAS, the Republican Party of Texas established at the 2024 State Convention as a top Legislative Priority the need to “Stop Sexualizing Texas Kids,” with the objective of protecting minors from abuse, exploitation, and trafficking; and

WHEREAS, this Legislative Priority calls for:

  • Prohibiting taxpayer funding to any entities that permit or promote sexually inappropriate content to minors, and banning instruction on sexual orientation and gender ideology in schools and libraries;
  • Repealing affirmative defenses in Texas Penal Code (Sections 43.24 and 43.25) and redefining “harmful materials” to eliminate the loopholes provided by the Modified Miller Test;
  • Establishing an independent Inspector General for Education to investigate criminal conduct, fraud, waste, and abuse within Texas schools and refer findings to prosecutorial authorities;
  • Compelling school superintendents to report allegations of sex crimes to outside law enforcement and removing immunity from civil liability for schools and their employees who negligently fail to protect students; and

WHEREAS, during the 89th Texas Legislative Session, the Stop Sexualizing Texas Kids Subcommittee of the State Republican Executive Committee’s Legislative Priority Committee – composed of parents, subject matter experts, and grassroots leaders – reviewed over 120 bills, coordinated strategic testimony, assisted in drafting bills, and helped defeat harmful legislation that would have undermined child protection efforts; and

WHEREAS, the following bills were successfully passed and signed into law, marking a historic victory in child protection legislation:

  • SB 12 (Sen. Creighton): Banning sexual orientation and gender identity instruction, gender ideology clubs, and school-facilitated social transitioning in PK–12 schools.
  • SB 13 (Sen. Paxton): Removing sexually explicit, indecent, and profane content from public school libraries.
  • SB 20 (Sen. Flores): Criminalizing obscene visual depictions of minors, including cartoons.
  • SB 412 (Sen. Middleton): Repealing outdated obscenity exemptions for school settings.
  • SB 2420 (Sen. Paxton): Blocking sexually explicit content from digital learning platforms in public schools.
  • HB 100 (Rep. Leo Wilson: Prohibiting school districts from using curriculum rejected by the SBOE.
  • HB 4623 (Rep. Little): Creating civil liability for schools that fail to prevent student abuse; and

WHEREAS, the Subcommittee and the grassroots coalition successfully defeated HB 497, which would have allowed inappropriate discussions of family planning and human sexuality to bypass parental oversight under the guise of mental health services; and

WHEREAS, several notable and essential child protection bills failed due to lack of action, not opposition, including: HB 3225 (Rep. Alders), SB 2392 (Sen. King), SB 1743 (Sen. Campbell), SB 240 (Sen. Middleton), SB 88 (Sen. Hall), and HB 1012 (Rep. Toth); now

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Republican Party of Texas commends the Texas Legislature for passing these landmark child protection laws and expresses our deep appreciation to the authors and sponsors of the legislation, the advocacy of grassroots Texans, and the strategic work of the Stop Sexualizing Texas Kids Subcommittee; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Republican Party of Texas reaffirms its unwavering commitment to this Legislative Priority, calls for continued action to advance remaining reforms at the federal, state, and local levels and urges ongoing collaboration between grassroots advocates and elected officials.