(The Hill) — Texas officials announced Monday they are partnering with Turning Point USA (TPUSA), the conservative organization whose co-founder Charlie Kirk was assassinated earlier this year, to put a club in every high school in the state.
Gov. Greg Abbott (R), Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) and TPUSA Senior Director Josh Thifault announced the initiative at a press conference, praising the “Club America” chapters — the high school branches — and warning schools not to interfere.
“Let me be clear: Any school that stands in the way of a Club America program in their school should be reported immediately to the Texas Education Agency,” Abbott said.
The Turning Point chapters were originally meant for college campuses but the group expanded to high schools with a self-reported more than 1,200 chapters.
“This is about constitutional principles,” the governor continued. “This is about a restoration of who we are as a country.”
Texas is the third state to announce a partnership with the group after Florida and Oklahoma.
The Texas Tribune reported the announcement came after a private conversation between the Lone Star State’s education commissioner and Thifault. Not long after the meeting, Patrick announced $1 million in campaign funds to support the effort.
The organization has been pushing forward after Kirk was fatally shot during an event at Utah Valley University in September.