Talarico Put Sex Ed First. Parents Must Have the Final Say.

Parents, not politicians, decide what their children learn about sex, and Vice President JD Vance put that principle on the Texas Senate ballot on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026¹. Vance said: “Talarico says that sex ed is maybe the most important topic for kids to learn at school. You know what Ken Paxton thinks the most important topics for kids to learn at school? Reading, writing, and arithmetic.”² He added: “We want Talarico to keep his freaky paws out of our schools.”³

Who decides what a Texas child is taught about sex: the parent, or the politician?

“We want Talarico to keep his freaky paws out of our schools.”

Talarico called sex ed a top subject

Fox News Digital places Vance’s charge in a 2022 Texas House hearing, where Talarico discussed the importance of sex education for Texas students. In a 2020 discussion with Texas Rising, which Fox describes as a progressive youth activist group, Talarico said, “I was trapped in a system that was focused purely on academics, reading, writing, arithmetic.”⁴

Fox also reports that his 2019 Whole Student Agenda, a series of 24 bills, included modifications for “scientifically-accurate” sex education⁴. The list he says trapped him is the one Vance says Paxton puts first.

1. 2020Talarico criticized an academics-focused school system in a discussion with Texas Rising
2. 2022Talarico called sex education “maybe the most important topic” during a Texas House hearing
3. August 1, 2024The statutory opt-in requirement expired, and TEA advised districts to continue requiring parental consent
4. June 27, 2025The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Mahmoud v. Taylor that parents were entitled to a preliminary injunction
5. Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026Vance criticized Talarico over sex education while urging Texans to elect Ken Paxton

HB 1525 made sex ed opt-in

The hearing where Talarico made that remark was on House Bill 1525, according to Breitbart News⁵. The Texas Education Agency says HB 1525 required school systems to obtain written parental consent before human-sexuality instruction⁶.

Breitbart reports that Talarico voted for HB 1525, an all-encompassing education bill, but made clear that he opposed its sex education reforms. His stated worry, per Breitbart, was that the policy would reduce the number of students receiving instruction⁵. Fewer students in the room is what a parent's choice looks like when parents say no. That call belongs to the family, not to a district that wants higher attendance.

Parents must keep control of sex ed

The consent rule HB 1525 created came with an end date: TEA's Aug. 1, 2024, guidance says the opt-in requirement expires on August 1, 2024. It was the only change to Section 28.004 of the Education Code that carried an expiration date⁶.

TEA tells districts that they should continue requiring parental consent, which local authority under TEC §11.151 fully permits. Parents also keep the right to remove a student from any part of the instruction without a disciplinary action, academic penalty or other sanction⁶.

The Supreme Court has already pointed the way. In Troxel v. Granville it called parents' care, custody and control “perhaps the oldest of the fundamental liberty interests.”⁷ On June 27, 2025, in Mahmoud v. Taylor, it ruled 6-3 that parents were entitled to a preliminary injunction after Montgomery County, Md., schools added LGBTQ+-inclusive storybooks and then rescinded the notice-and-opt-out policy⁸. If parents can win an opt-out in Maryland, Texas can put one in its statute.

Lawmakers should protect parental choice

Texas lawmakers should restore a statewide written-consent rule for human-sexuality instruction, so no family’s say depends on its local school board. The questions for every candidate on the ballot need a yes or no.

Parents should put both to James Talarico, to Ken Paxton and to their own state representatives, and ask their school boards to keep requiring consent until the Legislature acts.

Sources

1. Vance tells James Talarico to keep his 'freaky paws out of our schools’
2. @dcexaminer on X, 2026-10-13: Vice President @JDVance slammed Texas Democratic Senate nominee @jamestalarico over his views on sex education in schools and urged voters to elect Republican nominee @KenPaxtonTX . “Talarico says that sex ed is maybe the most important topic for kids to learn, 2026-10-13
3. @FoxNews on X, 2026-10-13: “We want Talarico to keep his freaky paws out of our schools.” VP JD Vance goes after James Talarico, claiming the Democrat places sex education among the most important school subjects while pointing out that Republican Ken Paxton's priorities are on reading, wr, 2026-10-13
4. Texas Senate hopeful James Talarico pushes social-emotional learning | Fox News
5. James Talarico Called Sex Ed ‘Maybe the Most Important Topic’
6. Updated Guidance on Parental Opt-In Requirement | Texas Education Agency
7. Justia Supreme Court opinions
8. Cornell LII opinion text (No. 24-297)