Government officials recently expressed a desire to expand Turning Point USA’s presence in Texas high schools. However, local students had started a chapter of the organization months earlier.
Governor Greg Abbott hosted a press conference on December 8 with Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, TPUSA Senior Director Josh Thifault, Texas Education Agency (TEA) Commissioner Mike Morath, and other state and local officials.
During the conference at the Governor’s Mansion, Abbott stressed the importance of TPUSA Club America chapter enrollment and participation in Texas schools.
“What’s exciting to me about the future of our state is that Texas is ranked number one in the United States for the most high school Club America TPUSA programs,” Abbott said. “There are already chapters in over 500 high schools, and what Lieutenant Governor Patrick is doing will expand on what the state is doing.”
Club America is the high school division of Turning Point USA, a conservative youth network founded by Charlie Kirk, a divisive political activist who was murdered while organizing an event at Utah Valley University in September.
Kirk was known for hosting public political conversations on college campuses, where he would often talk and debate students.
“We want to have a chapter on every high school campus and every college campus in Texas,” Patrick said. “That’s our goal and we’re going to accomplish that goal.”
According to Club America’s website there are more than 1,200 clubs with more than 14,000 students. The club has one chapter in the Copperas Cove Independent School District, while there are two chapters in Killeen ISD.
Abbott also issued a warning to schools that seek to disrupt the organization. He said any school that gets in the way of the Club America program should be immediately reported to TEA.
“I am hopeful that meaningful disciplinary action will be taken to stop TPUSA in the great state of Texas,” Abbott said.
State Representative Hillary Hickland of House District 55, which covers half of Bell County, was also in attendance at the conference.
Hickland told KDH News she fully supports Abbott and Patrick’s effort to bring a Turning Point USA chapter to every high school in Texas, including Bell County.
“Our students deserve to know the story of America – the Constitution, our founding principles, the free market and individual liberty,” Hickland said. “These voluntary, student-led clubs will deepen civic understanding and instill pride in the values that make Texas and America exceptional.”
Copperas Cove High School senior Brenna Butler started a chapter at her school this fall semester.
“I always watched him and I always thought it was interesting how he could interact with people and turn it around in a respectful way,” Butler said. “When he was murdered, it was something inside me.”
Butler said she looked up TPUSA before talking to Cove ISD’s superintendent, Brett Hawkins, and saw it did not have a chapter.
“I signed up. I got in touch with the lady who runs it here in Texas, and I talked to Dr. Hawkins and said, ‘This is something I want to do, I’m really passionate about it. I want to start this,'” Butler said.
She said that about two weeks after Kirk’s death, she started looking for sponsors, putting out flyers and looking for students who might be interested in joining.
“Some people said yes, some said no. After that, we took it from there,” Butler said.
According to Butler, Cove High School’s Club America held its first meeting in late October and is slowly growing.
He said the Copperas Cove School community has been supportive of the club and there has been no pushback.
Butler said, “It’s either you want to be a part of it, or you don’t want to. We’re never going to force this on anyone.” “If you don’t want to be a part of it, that’s okay.”
Butler said that, for him, the purpose of Club America and TPUSA is to bring people together for civil discussion.
“I think it’s really good for us as young people to have that conversation,” Butler said. “Just because we disagree doesn’t mean we have to hate each other. We’re young adults, we’re going out into the real world. How can we learn to respect someone in the future and not have the same opinions? That was actually a big reason why I wanted to start it.”
TPUSA area representative Megan Stanford helped launch the Cove High School chapter along with students at Chaparral High School and Early College High School in Killeen ISD.
According to Karen Rudolph, chief spokesperson for Killeen ISD, the Chaparral chapter was launched in August, while the Early College High School chapter was launched in September.
Stanford said each chapter of Club America is created and run by students. Stanford said that in addition to providing educational resources, TPUSA helps chapters with things like teaching how to raise money and helping students secure funding for small projects.
He said the purpose of Club America is to educate students about American history, civics and culture rather than engage in political activism and debating beliefs like TPUSA college chapters.
According to Stanford, Club America allows students to delve deeper into the subjects they can learn, but also adds different perspectives to the educational environment. Instead of just hearing an opinion, students can challenge it if they want.
“We allow any and all students to join, and regardless of whether they agree on an opinion or disagree on an opinion, these clubs are not inherently political,” Stanford said.
The Standard stated that they are non-profit and non-partisan and do not endorse any candidate.
“Students of any belief system can join this club and learn more about American civics, history, culture and current events,” Stanford said. They may also challenge many of the topics being presented, but we encourage them to do this in a healthy and educational setting.
Dennis Faulkner, president of the West Side Conservative Coalition, whose daughter graduated from Harker Heights High School, said he is a big fan of Abbott and Patrick’s push for TPUSA.
“I think it’s a great initiative,” Faulkner said. “I think Turning Point has proven to be a highly effective organization that focuses on some core values and makes that kind of central to its goals and coming back and connecting with youth groups.”
However, not everyone in the community is a supporter of Club America.
Alanna Daniels contacted KDH News in early November when her daughter, who attends Chaparral High School, told her a student had recently started a chapter there.
Daniels claimed that the student posted flyers containing Charlie Kirk’s images around campus to promote the club.
Daniels said, “I take significant issue with this. Charlie Kirk is a documented bigot who has made publicly available racist, xenophobic and sexist comments – statements that can be easily verified through major news outlets and public recordings.”
Daniels said he contacted Chaparral Assistant Principal Michael Donella regarding the posters.
Daniels said, “I was told that the club and its promotional materials fall under KISD policies for student organizations, and that they could not remove posters containing Kirk’s image.” “After several minutes of further discussion, he agreed to speak with the Student Activities Coordinator, but would not commit to removing the imagery.”
However, Daniels later sent KDH News an email from Donella stating that he had spoken with student activities and the posters were being removed.
When asked about the situation, KISD’s chief spokesperson Rudolph said, “Chaparral’s group had a poster removed simply because it did not go through the school’s approval process.”
Rudolph also shared that there were two separate incidents involving the removal of Club America promotional posters earlier this fall at Early College High School.
“One incident involved a student, and the other involved two staff members,” Rudolph said. “The principal addressed each situation promptly and in accordance with Killeen ISD guidelines and expectations of appropriate conduct.”
However, he said due to state and federal privacy laws, KISD cannot share specific disciplinary outcomes.
Rudolph said, “There have been no further incidents, and the Club America group is thriving at Early College High School. It was founded at ECHS in late September and is one of approximately 80 active student organizations on campus.” “The club already has more than 40 members, with about 15 students attending its weekly meetings.”
When Daniels contacted KDH News, parents sent numerous comments, as reported by news outlets, which they categorized as racist, xenophobic and sexist.
In one of these examples, Daniels cited a January 2024 Newsweek article that reported Kirk’s comments on Black pilots and DEI.
On episode 29 of Kirk’s show, “ThoughtCrime”, the panel watched a clip of an interview with United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby, in which he said that the company is committed to ensuring that 50% of its flight training program classes are made up of women or people of color. She also said that United Airlines needs to include women and people of color in the interview process for every position.
“If I see a black pilot, I’ll be like ‘Boy, I hope he’s qualified,'” Kirk said. “I’m not, I don’t believe that. But I want to be as clear as possible, because now I’m connecting the two points. The CEO just said he’s being pushy, that a white qualified person won’t get the job, so I look at this guy, he might be a good person… I say, ‘Boy I hope he’s not a Harvard-style affirmative action student, and he’s completed half of his flight simulator tests.’ It creates unhealthy thinking. It’s patens. I don’t want to think like that and no one should think like that.”
Kirk also commented on Black surgeons during the DEI-related episode.
“Surgeon and flight are like the top two; when it’s human resources managers nobody really cares, when it’s just paper shufflers or even engineers nobody really cares,” Kirk said.
He then gave the example of a man who was surprised to receive medical care from a black surgeon.
“It’s like, ‘Wait, wait a second — you’re going to remove my appendix and you’re a black lesbian?'” Kirk said.
Daniels said TPUSA is empowering what he described as a “protected version of the kid” whose worldview has not yet been broken with reality.
“Kids at that age don’t know anything; it’s all about what their parents are giving them and what their bubbles are giving them,” Daniels said. “I don’t think a lot of kids are doing that, but I think that organization is applying pressure. They’re trying to find these kids so these kids can find other kids. And I think that’s a dangerous thing.”
