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From left: Lt. Gov Dan Patrick and Gov. Greg Abbott listen as Turning Point USA Senior Director Josh Thifault speaks at the Governor\u2019s Mansion on Dec. 8, 2025.Credit: Bob Daemmrich \/ The Texas Tribune<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tOverview:<\/p>\n
Texas has partnered with Turning Point USA to establish chapters of the right-wing organization in every high school in the state. Governor Greg Abbott and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick announced that they expect “meaningful disciplinary action” to be taken against any school that prevents the establishment of a Club America program. Turning Point USA, founded by the late Charlie Kirk, has been criticized for promoting “hate speech” towards LGBTQ+ communities, non-Christians, people of color, and women. The group’s aim is to have 20,000 chapters in high schools across the nation.<\/p>\n
From left: Lt. Gov Dan Patrick and Gov. Greg Abbott listen as Turning Point USA Senior Director Josh Thifault speaks at the Governor\u2019s Mansion on Dec. 8, 2025.
Credit: Bob Daemmrich \/ The Texas Tribune<\/p>\n
Texas has launched a partnership with Turning Point USA to create chapters of the right-wing organization on every high school campus in the state.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gov.\u00a0Greg Abbott<\/a>, Lt. Gov.\u00a0Dan Patrick<\/a>\u00a0and Turning Point USA Senior Director Josh Thifault revealed the initiative during a news conference at the Governor\u2019s Mansion on Monday. They did not outline any plans that would require schools to initiate the clubs, but Abbott said that he expects \u201cmeaningful disciplinary action\u201d to take place against \u201cany stoppage of TPUSA in the great state of Texas.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cLet me be clear: Any school that stands in the way of a Club America program in their school should be reported immediately to the Texas Education Agency,\u201d the governor said, referring to the name of the high school clubs.\u00a0<\/p>\n The announcement comes after Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath, who stood behind Abbott at Monday\u2019s gathering, privately met with Thifault in early November to discuss expanding the organization\u2019s presence in the state\u2019s schools, which was\u00a0first reported<\/a>\u00a0by The Texas Tribune. Four days after that meeting, Patrick said he would\u00a0commit<\/a>\u00a0$1 million in campaign funds to help bring the project to fruition.\u00a0<\/p>\n Turning Point USA was founded by Charlie Kirk, the late right-wing activist who was often praised by conservatives as a champion of free speech and criticized for comments that many other Americans found hateful toward LGBTQ+ communities, non-Christians, people of color and women. Kirk was killed in early September while speaking on a college campus in Utah.\u00a0<\/p>\n Following Kirk\u2019s death, Abbott and Morath accused some teachers of posting social media remarks promoting violence and mocking the conservative activist. The state has since begun investigating\u00a0hundreds of complaints<\/a>\u00a0submitted to the education agency about educators\u2019 alleged comments \u2014 a move that\u00a0raised questions<\/a>\u00a0considering teachers\u2019 First Amendment protections. The agency has typically conducted such investigations for violations like threats or abuse.\u00a0<\/p>\n Kirk\u2019s organization has traditionally operated on college campuses, promoting itself as a hub for young people committed to conservative values. The group is also known for having created a so-called professor watchlist, which allows users to search for educators perceived as supporting and promoting liberal viewpoints in the classroom. Turning Point\u2019s work has at times caused tension, particularly among\u00a0students and faculty members<\/a>\u00a0who have\u00a0reported being harassed<\/a>\u00a0because of the negative spotlight placed on them by the organization.\u00a0<\/p>\n The group\u2019s \u201cClub America\u201d chapters, meanwhile, operate in high schools. The clubs aim to \u201cbuild strong networks, spearhead impactful initiatives, help students register to vote, and inspire meaningful conversations about the foundations of a free society,\u201d according to\u00a0their website<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Turning Point organizers say they have received\u00a0tens of thousands of new inquiries<\/a>\u00a0about starting local chapters since Kirk\u2019s death, while claiming that some students wanting to launch chapters have faced pushback from their schools\u2019 administrators.\u00a0<\/p>\n Republican officials in Oklahoma and Florida have also announced partnerships with Turning Point to expand the organization\u2019s presence. Those partnerships rely on interested students to initiate the clubs, while Turning Point provides them with organizational support.\u00a0<\/p>\n Oklahoma\u2019s former right-wing superintendent, Ryan Walters, had\u00a0threatened<\/a>\u00a0to go after the accreditation of schools that refused to welcome the conservative group.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Petitions calling for\u00a0the<\/a>\u00a0removal<\/a>\u00a0of the school chapters have also emerged, with some students and parents\u00a0criticizing<\/a>\u00a0the national organization for what they describe as \u201cracist, homophobic, and sexist hate speech on college campuses across America.\u201d The Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights group that tracks extremism,\u00a0describes<\/a>\u00a0Turning Point as an organization with a strategy of sowing fear \u201cthat white Christian supremacy is under attack by nefarious actors, including immigrants, the LGBTQ+ community and civil rights activists.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Texas\u2019 partnership with Turning Point marks the latest attempt by Republican officials to push education further to the right, after years of them accusing public schools of indoctrinating students with left-leaning beliefs about race and gender. The state, for example, has passed laws\u00a0requiring<\/a>\u00a0schools to post the Ten Commandments in classrooms \u2014 an effort currently facing\u00a0legal challenges<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 and\u00a0imposing restrictions<\/a>\u00a0on how educators teach America\u2019s history of slavery and racism.\u00a0<\/p>\n Abbott on Monday sought to distance Turning Point from any particular political party, comparing it to organizations like the Fellowship of Christian Athletes currently present in many public schools.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis is about values,\u201d Abbott said. \u201cThis is about constitutional principles. This is about a restoration of who we are as a country.\u201d<\/p>\n The governor acknowledged that it is highly unlikely he would endorse a similar initiative for more progressive, left-leaning causes, but added that \u201cit would not be illegal\u201d for them to exist in public schools. Abbott signed\u00a0Senate Bill 12<\/a>\u00a0earlier this year, a sweeping state law that\u00a0banned student clubs<\/a>\u00a0with an LGBTQ+ focus.\u00a0<\/p>\n