REP. PATTERSON FILES SUITE OF BILLS AIMED AT PROTECTING MINORS ONLINE, IN SCHOOLS, AND EMPOWERING PARENTS TO DO THE SAME

(Austin, TX) As pre-filing began for the 89t Legislative Session, Texas State Representative Jared Patterson (R-Frisco) filed a suite of priority bills aimed at protecting minors online, in schools, and empowering parents to do the same.

“Heavily addictive social media platforms are destroying the lives of children in Texas. Record increases in anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicide have coincided with the rapid rise in social media use by minors.” said Rep. Patterson. “This has been proven not only by independent third parties, but by the research conducted by the platforms themselves. Social media is the most dangerous thing our kids have legal access to in Texas.”

HB 186 filed today by Patterson restrains social media companies from conducting business with minors, requires age-verification for new users, and provides parents with the means to have a child’s account removed from the platform.

“Our kids deserve better… Last session, we made it clear that parents are the ultimate authority in charge of their child’s education. However, school district administrators have the advantage of unlimited funds for hired-gun attorneys to derail and delay efforts of parents seeking justice.” said Rep. Patterson. “Whether it’s activists pushing sexual content on Texas schoolchildren or district administrators thumbing their nose at state laws passed and supported by the People of Texas, parents will be given an equal playing field.”

Last session, Rep. Patterson passed historic legislation protecting children from sexually explicit content in public schools, named the READER Act. This law established first-ever mandatory library standards for public schools and definitions for sexual content in library materials. As legal proceedings continue on portions of the READER Act related to vendor book ratings, Rep. Patterson is doubling down by filing the following pieces of legislation.

HB 267 removes the current affirmative defense to prosecution for educational purposes known as the “obscenity exemption”. This exemption allows educators to provide sexual content to children that would otherwise be illegal to distribute to minors in Texas. Originally designed to protect educators teaching health, anatomy, biology, and for other legitimate educational purposes, the exemption is currently being used as a legal shield for groomers and activists pushing sexual content on Texas schoolchildren.

HB 183 creates a new statewide library material review process for the elected State Board of Education (SBOE). This new process provides the SBOE an ability to create rules necessary to review and approve library materials similar to how it currently approves textbooks and provides an avenue for parents to directly request a review of library materials to the state based on state standards.

HB 284 levels the playing field between parental rights and public school administrators ensuring state and federal law is followed without parents being forced to fund expensive and time-consuming lawsuits. It does so by directing the elected State Board of Education to create the position of Ombudsman. The state Ombudsman would field complaints filed by parents of public school children when state or federal law isn’t being followed and would have the authority to investigate and recommend corrective actions.

Jared Patterson represents House District 106, in Denton County. Patterson serves as Chairman of the Select Committee to Protect Texas LNG Exports and Joint-Chairman of the Study Committee on Effects of Media on Minors. He also serves on the House Committees on Calendars, Transportation, and Licensing & Administrative Procedures, and as Policy Chair of the Texas House Republican Caucus. His family resides in Frisco.