Religion, schools, tech: Assessing what Legislature did for (or to) Texas kids | Opinion

Lawmakers of all parties love to cast their preferred policies as “for the children.”

With the Texas Legislature, though, you sometimes have to evaluate what the politicians have done “to the children” instead.

Much of the focus this year was on schools and online behavior. Lawmakers frequently pitch policies as improving on the future. Here are some areas where the majority may have helped the next generation and some in which they still seem to be mired in the past.

GOVERNING WHAT KIDS CAN SEE, HEAR, READ IN TEXAS SCHOOLS

The COVID pandemic and the need for virtual learning gave parents a wider view of what their children were learning, and many didn’t like what they saw. The question is whether lawmakers, in the sessions since, have gone too far in trying to respond.

Library books: Once again, lawmakers have opened the door to messy fights over materials that a relative handful of parents might find objectionable.

Two years ago, they tried to bar “sexually explicit” material from school libraries, losing part of the battle in court. This time, in the name of local community values, as few as 50 parents could challenge a book and force a review by the school board or a council that trustees appoint.

We thought this wave had passed, but expect a whole raft of challenges and difficult fights over classics. In our view, it’s not hard to find common-sense boundaries on most books: Materials should be age-appropriate and have redeeming educational value. Parents should be able to exert control over what their children see, but not necessarily someone else’s. By creating such a wide-open system, lawmakers haven’t just empowered parents; they’ve activated busybodies.

Religion in schools: If the bad books aren’t purged, legislators gave students somewhere else to turn against wickedness. Every classroom will be required to post a copy of the Ten Commandments, and schools must provide time for private prayer (assuming Gov. Greg Abbott signs both bills and they survive court challenges).

Once again, implementation and context matter. If the commandments are merely on display as the kind of general rules that most religions tout, posting them is fairly harmless. If prayer doesn’t become coercive or teacher-led, it’s a reasonable measure to protect religious freedom. But in a time of educational crisis across the state, we’d rather have fewer distractions from catching kids up on math and reading, not more.

LGBTQ club bans: Texas leaders seem eager to test the boundaries of the Constitution in governing schools. Telling schools en masse that they cannot allow student-formed pride clubs begs for a First Amendment smackdown.

This is another area where allowing local communities to decide their standards is preferable. Schools don’t have to sponsor a club, as long as they approach decisions in a viewpoint-neutral way.

Financial literacy: House Bill 27 would require that students take a financial literacy course in high school to graduate. This is an unquestionably good move. The old lament that students learn algebra but not how to balance a checkbook is overstated and outdated. But young adults, especially those whose parents might not be able to teach them the basics, need a grounding in responsible use of money and credit — along with an understanding of the magic of compound interest.

IMPROVING STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IN TEXAS SCHOOLS

Education savings accounts: The years-long debate over letting parents use state money for private-school tuition or other educational expenses has been thorough. Now that Abbott has signed legislation to create a $1 billion program, it’s time to see if it works and how effective it can be.

We’ve said frequently that a pilot program such as this one will neither save nor sink the public schools. So, let’s find out if it can help some kids do better in circumstances more suited to their needs and whether public schools will improve as a result.

Sorry, kids, the STAAR test lives: For a while, it looked like this would be the session in which lawmakers drove a heart through the standardized-testing regimen that so many teachers, parents and students hate. But in the end, the Senate and House couldn’t agree on what comes next.

With so many Texas schools struggling to teach the basics, getting school measurement and accountability right is paramount. Before lawmakers gather in 2027, legislative committees should deeply study the issue and figure out the best method, especially to determine whether real progress is being made.

In the meantime, we’ll see how much difference comes from lesser-noticed legislation that did make it, such as boosting teacher pay, driving more resources to help young children learn reading and math, and reforming school discipline practices.

PROTECTING TEXAS CHILDREN FROM TECHNOLOGY, SOCIAL MEDIA

School cellphone ban: Barring phone use during the school day might be the most impactful of the many bills that affect children. The evidence is overwhelming: Smartphones change and often harm young minds, and their use should be strictly limited and monitored.

The ban might seem like overkill. But lawmakers gave school districts flexibility on how to ensure phones aren’t readily accessible. The measure has the potential to improve student discipline, reduce bullying and boost students’ focus on academics.

App store age verification: Abbott has already signed into law a bill that will require app stores to verify a user’s age as 18 or older, despite personal lobbying from Apple CEO Tim Cook. The idea is to give parents direct control over what’s available on a child’s phone, associating the child’s account with a parent’s.

We favor more tools for parents to police online activity. And if the state is going to do this, it’s better to lean on the behemoths, primarily Apple and Google, rather than thousands of individual app developers. But it remains to be seen how big a regulatory headache the law causes.

Social media ban: Similar to the app store approach, many lawmakers wanted to stop children from being able to access certain social apps. This bill surprisingly fell short, approved by the House but never coming up for a Senate vote. Lawmakers should take a deep breath and see how the app store law works (or doesn’t) before proceeding on social-media legislation.

And ultimately, if more parents don’t step up to monitor their kids online, no law can adequately address the social ills internet life exacerbates.

This story was originally published June 6, 2025 at 5:25 AM.