80th Legislature Recap: Returning to Mainstream Values

The 80th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature (2007) brought evidence that resistance to the far right's agenda in Texas was gaining momentum. By the end of the session, much of that agenda lay in pieces, with major defeats on issues including public education, religious freedom, medical research and civil rights.

To be sure, far-right pressure groups did claim a handful of victories. Many of those victories, however, were superficial. At the same time, those groups revealed their contempt for religious freedom and the rights of all Texans to practice their own faith without outside interference especially interference from the government.

Following is a summary of the session’s legislative history.

Neighborhood Public Schools
In March supporters of private school vouchers suffered their biggest defeat ever in the Texas Legislature. During debate on the state appropriations bill, House members voted 129-8 to bar public funding for private school vouchers. A House-Senate conference committee later dropped the provision, but the message was clear: voucher schemes stood no chance in the House this session.

Voucher supporters fared poorly in the Senate as well. One bill S.B. 1000 by state Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano would have drained hundreds of millions of dollars from public school special education budgets to provide private school vouchers for students with autism. Voucher supporters had used similar schemes in other states as a first step toward broader and even more expensive voucher programs. Another Senate bill S.B. 1506 by state Sen. Kyle Janek, R-Houston would have created a massive pilot voucher program in the state’s largest urban counties. Neither bill made it to the Senate floor, however.

Religious Freedom
The far right chalked up one victory in the last weekend of the session, barely passing a bill promoting organized prayer and other religious activities in public schools. TFN and other groups that support religious freedom warned that House Bill 3678 by state Rep. Charlie Howard, R-Sugar Land, would permit organized efforts to promote the religious views of some over all others in our state’s public schools. Supporters of the so-called “freedom of religious expression” bill even stripped out a provision prohibiting schools and students from using such expression to discriminate against those who don’t share the same religious beliefs. But in doing so, far-right pressure groups and their legislative supporters revealed their own intolerance of any religious beliefs but their own.

On the other hand, bipartisan efforts led by TFN thwarted an attempt by state Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, to require that all of the state’s public high schools teach classes about the Bible. TFN worked with House Public Education Committee Chairman Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands, and state Rep. Scott Hochberg, D-Houston, to add key safeguards to Rep. Chisum's bill, H.B. 1287. Those safeguards include stronger protection for the religious freedom of all students, training for teachers, and sound curriculum and textbook standards. In addition, the bill no longer requires schools to offer classes about the Bible. The nearly unanimous votes for the revised bill in both chambers were stunning defeats for far-right groups that sought to turn our state’s public schools into Sunday schools. TFN will now join with families across the state to monitor these classes and ensure that public schools adhere to the bill’s safeguards.

Science and Medical Research
TFN worked closely with coalition partners to promote and protect hopeful medical research into embryonic and adult stem cells. Strategically timed press events and grassroots action prevented any bill barring embryonic stem cell research from ever reaching the House or Senate floors. Even attempts to bar public funding for this promising form of medical research failed to pass. The defeat of anti-stem cell research legislation helped set the stage for passing bills in 2009 that will promote this research and give hope to families with medical conditions such as juvenile diabetes, Parkinson’s disease and spinal cord injuries.

Efforts by Rep. Chisum and other far-right lawmakers to further restrict access by students to critical information on sex education also failed to pass. Rep. Chisum’s H.B. 311 would have placed even more obstacles in the way of students seeking information about responsible pregnancy and disease prevention. But TFN worked hard successfully to bottle up this irresponsible legislation in committee.

Civil/Equal Rights
Far-right groups have long attacked the rights of gay and lesbian Texans, seeking to divide our state for political gain. This session TFN joined with Equality Texas and other partners to prevent efforts to bar or restrict gay and lesbian families from caring for foster children. In the face of continuous communications from TFN, Equality Texas and other activists, lawmakers never considered one such bill or amendment. TFN will continue to oppose mean-spirited, divisive attacks on gay and lesbian families.

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TFN Resources
2005 Recap: The 79th Legislature
2003 Recap: The 78th Legislature
2001 Recap: The 77th Legislature
1999 Recap: The 76th Legislature

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