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ACTION ALERT: Your Input Needed!

We Need Your Input To Make Sure Texas Students Have Access to Accurate Information About Vaccines While Maintaining Parental Rights

In 2020, the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) will update the Health Education TEKS to include information about “the importance of vaccines.” The new proposed TEKS have passed first reading and can be found here

There is STILL Time to Make Amendments!

The proposed TEKS are up for SECOND reading this Tuesday, November 17, which means we need your help to make sure Texas students get access to accurate information about vaccines while also maintaining parental rights.

Often, when vaccines are brought up in the classroom, tactics used involve outing children and openly creating distrust in students that their parents are making good decisions for them.

TFVC doubts that lessons created from these TEKs will express both sides because “the importance of vaccines” implies that the only viewpoint that will be taught is that they ARE important, leaving little room for dissension, discussion, or focus on informed consent.

THREE WAYS YOU CAN HELP BEFORE TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17:

1-Write to the SBOE members
and ask for their support in removing the immunization/vaccine standards in the proposed Health Education TEKS. 
Find the SBOE Directory HERE.

2- Provide PUBLIC comment
at the Texas Register NOW through November 13.
Share your feedback and comments on the proposed TEKS HERE
On the form: Select “19 TAC Chapter 115 (Health Education TEKS)” from the drop down menu. In the proposed Rule Comments section, you will need to provide your feedback and concerns on specific issues, including our proposed changes. More information on how to provide effective testimony and comments is below.

3- Consider providing oral testimony
at the November 17th SBOE hearing. The Health TEKS will be discussed as Agenda Item #1 at Tuesday’s meeting. Testimony will be conducted virtually and will be limited to 2 minutes. If you’d like to testify, you need to register immediately HERE.
Please contact [email protected] if you would like any testifying assistance. Please put “SBOE Testimony” in the subject line.  


Tips to Provide Effective Feedback/Comments:

1. Encourage the SBOE members and thank them for their hard work and long hours. 

2. Ask them to remove the immunizations and vaccine TEKS at Second Reading and Final Adoption.

3. Focus on specific issues:
What should be in the TEKS or should have more emphasis in the TEKS.
What should not be in the TEKS and why.
An area you are specifically concerned about.

4. Explain your specific concerns about the Student Expectations (SEs):
Vaccine are parents’ responsibility.
SEs undermine the informed consent message.
SEs do not address vaccine risks or their contraindications
SEs direct students to “trusted adults” rather than parents
SEs often lead to hostile classroom discussions that do not protect students’ medical privacy and overtly lead to distrust in students that parents are making good decisions for them

5. MOST IMPORTANTLY: include our proposed changes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rqc5qE1zCeZic1YrPtAXZRpg9EebiUgvvJsIQNqPkcg/edit?usp=sharing

2 thoughts on “ACTION ALERT: Your Input Needed!”

  1. Thank you so much for proposing the changes in the TEKS on Health Education.

    The proposed changes document I assume is for public access – so there is no need to download it and save it from the URL specified in the email.

    Thank you again,
    Arvind

  2. School is not a healthcare facility, nor do the teacher’s within it have accurate or adequate training to instruct on this.
    My son is vaccine injured, and 3 other boys in my extended family have also been vaccine-injured (MTHFR gene)… This is not something that would ever be fairly taught or informed through schools, so should not be mentioned at all.

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