Electing Officials Who Will Protect Families

This week we're discussing the controversy surrounding Texas Representative Keith Bell. Bell expressed reluctance to defend a homeschooling family whose son was wrongfully removed by CPS, fearing political repercussions. Despite his proclaimed pro-family stance, his voting record, including opposition to homeschooling rights and educational choice, suggests otherwise. This stance contrasts with other lawmakers who actively defended the family. We'll delve into the implications of Bell's actions and the broader impact on homeschooling rights and political accountability.

See Our Endorsements

Donate to THSC!

Become a Member! 

Transcript

Welcome to the Family Freedom Caller brought to you by the Texas Home School Coalition and the Family Freedom Project. 

It is not uncommon this time of the election cycle for new families that have not been part of the Texas Home School Coalition or the Family Freedom Project for very long to ask why we spend so much time and resources focused on campaigns and endorsements. Let me give you a real-life example.

In 2019, a family in Kaufman County reached out to us because Child Protective Service (CPS) had taken their 4 year old special needs son from their home with police without even an investigation and refused to tell them why. 

It was a horrible situation that every parent prays will never happen to them. Our team launched what became a five-month legal battle on behalf of the family to get the child returned to his family. 

We battled for that family on three different fronts. On the legal front we had attorneys representing the family in the local court in Terrell. At the hearing known as “the 14 day hearing” in which the state has to justify its taking of the child, the courtroom was filled with supporters of the family. They were shocked to see the judge ignore the lack of evidence of abuse and leave the child with CPS. 

At the appellate level, our attorneys were filing briefs asking the higher courts to take extraordinary action on behalf of the family. The court of appeals denied the request and so we filed the same action at the Texas Supreme Court. 

On another level we were fighting a public relations battle for the family who had been told by the local court they could not speak publicly about the case. If they did so, they could be jailed. So we created and posted a video that went viral and took their case to the court of public opinion. 

Finally, we fought for this family on the political front. We asked elected officials to sign on to the briefs that we were filing with the Supreme Court of Texas to increase the validity of the family’s case. There were some officials who came to the aid of this family in that way including their State Senator Bob Hall. In fact, he was in court locally for every hearing to show his support for that innocent family. 

However, one elected official who never helped in any way was the family’s own State Representative Keith Bell. He never attended a single hearing, never contacted the family, never intervened on their behalf with CPS, never joined other lawmakers in signing our legal briefs, never made a single public statement defending the family, and didn’t make any contributions towards legislation that would protect future families from similar harm. 

In fact, we were recently provided with a recording of a phone conversation where Rep. Bell told a constituent that it would have been like putting a noose around his own neck and waiting for someone to pull the lever to hang him if he were to get involved publicly in that case. He refused to come to the aid of an innocent family that lived in his district because he was concerned about how it would affect his political career.

Eventually, the Supreme Court of Texas forced the return of that little boy to his family because CPS had never shown the child was in danger! Keith Bell stood by and watched CPS abuse an innocent family in his own district and did NOTHING!

It won't surprise you to know that Keith Bell was one of 21 Republican House members who voted with all the Democrats to kill Governor Abbott's parental choice in education bill last year. It didn't surprise us either because he also voted against the legislation in 2021 to allow homeschooled children to take part in extracurricular activities in the school district in which they live. 

The voters of HD 4 need a representative who will represent them not just when it is convenient or politically beneficial for him, but even when they are being attacked by a state agency. That is why THSC is endorsing Joshua Feuerstein for State Representative in HD 4. That is also why it's critically important to vote for elected officials who will protect and defend the families of Texas. 

Please go to THSC.org and click on the endorsement page to see the candidates that we have vetted and endorsed and please go vote!