Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced this week that hundreds of schools across the state are prepared to host chapters of Turning Point USA’s high school initiative.
Speaking Monday at the Governor’s Mansion, Abbott underscored the importance of TPUSA’s Club America program for young people.
The organization was founded in 2012 by conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot on Sept. 10 during Turning Point USA’s “America Comeback Tour” stop in Orem. Authorities later arrested 22-year-old Tyler James Robinson, who allegedly targeted Kirk because of his conservative Christian views, particularly regarding transgender issues.
Abbott appeared alongside Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, TPUSA Senior Director Josh Thifault, Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath, and other officials. He revealed that more than 500 Texas high schools now have active Club America chapters, including numerous campuses in North Texas, and praised the state for having more chapters than any other in the nation.
“There has been no moment in time during the course of this century when there was such an urgency and a need for an organization like TPUSA and Club America,” Abbott said. “They have helped to restore moral clarity, constitutional principles, and our founding values. I am grateful for the young men and women behind me and their peers across the state for stepping up and identifying themselves as the future leaders of the Lone Star State.”
During the press conference, Abbott—who formally launched his reelection campaign last month—paid tribute to Kirk’s impact on the conservative youth movement. He reiterated his administration’s commitment to ensuring that Club America can “expand and flourish” in Texas, warning that schools that interfere with student efforts to start chapters may face repercussions.
Although Abbott noted that the state does not intend to require schools to form these clubs, he stressed that students have the right to organize them.
“Let me be clear,” he 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 place for any stoppage of TPUSA in the great state of Texas.”
According to TPUSA, Club America is the “leading youth movement for freedom-loving American values,” with more than 1,200 high school chapters across the country. The program focuses on empowering student leaders to “promote the principles of fiscal responsibility, free markets, and limited government.”
