AT A GLANCE
- Gov. Greg Abbott wants more Turning Point USA “Club America” chapters in Texas high schools.
- TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk was assassinated three months ago on a Utah campus.
- Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick pledged $1 million to expand the program.
- Abbott warned schools that blocking new chapters will trigger disciplinary action from TEA.
- This comes as Abbott already faces lawsuits over his Ten Commandments classroom mandate signed in June 2025.
Gov. Greg Abbott Pushes ‘Club America’ Into More Texas Schools, Seeks Disciplinary Action If Schools Don’t Comply
Gov. Greg Abbott is doubling down on conservative messaging in public education, this time vowing to expand Turning Point USA’s “Club America” chapters across Texas high schools. The move follows a year marked by increasingly ideological interventions in school policy, including Abbott’s signing of Senate Bill 10 (SB 10) in June 2025, which mandates that a specific 16×20-inch poster of the Ten Commandments be displayed in every public school classroom.
Civil liberties groups like the ACLU have already launched lawsuits over SB 10, arguing it violates the separation of church and state as court battles begin rolling through late 2025.
Turning Point USA, founded by conservative activist Charlie Kirk, has remained under intense public scrutiny after Kirk was assassinated on a Utah college campus three months ago. Its high school branch, Club America, promotes conservative political ideas through student-led chapters. Abbott said roughly 500 Texas high schools already host one, including dozens in North Texas.
During an announcement at the governor’s mansion on Monday, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick committed $1 million in campaign funds to help launch even more chapters statewide. State leaders maintain that no school will be required to create a chapter, but Abbott issued a pointed warning: any school that interferes with students forming one will face consequences from the Texas Education Agency.
“Let me be clear,” Abbott said. “Any school that stands in the way of a Club America program in their school should be reported immediately to the Texas Education Agency, where I expect meaningful disciplinary action to be taken for any stoppage of TPUSA in the great state of Texas.”
The organization continues to grapple with the fallout of Kirk’s killing, which has intensified debates about political influence and safety on campuses nationwide.
This weekend, TPUSA CEO Erika Kirk, who is also Charlie Kirk’s widow, is scheduled to speak about his death during a town hall moderated by CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss.
