The conservative organization “Turning Point USA” is partnering with the state of Texas to establish chapters in every high school in the state. This move comes after the organization, founded by co-founder Charlie Kirk who was assassinated in September, reached a similar comprehensive agreement with its third state nationwide.
On Monday, December 8th, Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick announced the plan at a press conference with Josh Thifault, a senior executive of Turning Point USA, praising the organization’s high school chapters and warning schools not to interfere with their operations.
Turning Point USA refers to its high school chapters as “Club America.”
Abbott warned that those obstructing Turning Point USA’s activities in Texas would face “substantial disciplinary action.”
“I want to make it clear: any school that obstructs the ‘Club America’ project from entering campus should immediately report to the Texas Education Agency,” Abbott said. “This is a matter of constitutional principles.”
Turning Point USA’s chapters initially targeted university campuses but have now expanded to high schools. The organization claims to have over 1,200 high school chapters.
Texas is the third state to announce a partnership with Turning Point USA, following similar actions taken by Oklahoma and Florida.
Turning Point USA, founded by the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk, saw a surge in influence following his assassination in early September at Utah Valley University. His widow, Erika Kirk, was subsequently appointed CEO and Chair of the Board of Turning Point USA. The organization currently operates 900 university chapters and over 1,200 high school chapters.
After Kirk’s large memorial service, Turning Point USA received over 120,000 requests to establish chapters on more campuses in less than 20 days.
The ideal operation of “Club America” includes holding two meetings per month to allow conservative students to express their values and ideas. Each chapter sets up promotional booths on their high school campuses to promote Turning Point USA and typically invites conservative speakers for a lecture each semester.