Tennessee’s backing of Turning Point USA Club America chapters in public schools is not supported by legislation, but rather the threat of political pressure.
On Dec. 12, Republican leaders including U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn and the state’s Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson attended an event announcing a partnership with Turning Point USA, a right-wing advocacy group co-founded by Charlie Kirk in 2012. The state’s partnership with the group was formed, according to Johnson, “with a shared goal of establishing Turning Point chapters at every high school, every college.”
On Jan. 22, TPUSA senior director Josh Thifault spoke to around 100 Williamson County Republicans at Franklin’s Temple Hills Country Club, where he boasted about a new partnership with the Indiana state government in addition to partnerships with Tennessee, Texas, Oklahoma and Florida.
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“There are a lot more conservative high schoolers than there are ones who show up at Turning Point meetings, and they feel like this is something that might hurt [their] future,” Thifault told Scene sister publication the Williamson Scene. “I want to remove that stigma.”
“We need to create a culture that values free speech so that these high schools can become free marketplaces of ideas,” said Thifault. “I think that’s how everyone wins, and I think that actually will reduce a lot of conflict when you can freely talk about what you believe, with your faculty members, with your fellow students, then you don’t secretly hate people because you think they’re against you. … When free speech wins, students win, and you have an open environment for learning.”
Thifault told attendees that finding staff sponsors at schools in “liberal” areas is “the number one thing that keeps Turning Point from growing.”
“It’s actually a considerable administrative hurdle to find a staff sponsor in very liberal areas, liberal states, but also liberal areas of red states like inner-city Nashville, inner-city Memphis,” he said. “Because if you’re the coach or the teacher or the administrator who’s putting your name down as the sponsor of your Club America, I mean, you’re probably not going to get promoted. You might get fired. So we need to give these people some sort of legal backing.”
During the Dec. 12 partnership announcement, Johnson said that any schoolteacher, administrator or staff member “who attempts to impede the organization or the establishment of these chapters, or attempts to stifle the voice of any young conservative in the state of Tennessee” would “face serious consequences, including possible legal action.”
But it appears the threat is largely toothless, as Johnson has said the state’s push for Club America chapters does not have any legislation attached to it.
“It’s a handshake statement of intent,” Johnson told Scene sister publication the Williamson Scene on Dec. 21. “There’s no money. There’s no legislation. I know the left is going crazy, but it’s no different than a chess club. It’s no different than Fellowship of Christian Athletes, or drama club or something. If a group of students wish to form a chapter, they go through the oral process, and then they can have it.”
“Ultimately, that would be up to the school board to hopefully take appropriate action to make sure that doesn’t happen,” said Johnson. “I hope it never is an issue, but if someone does try to thwart the efforts of a group that’s following all the other rules to start an organization, then we’ll hope the [school] district takes appropriate action. If not, then we’ll pursue something.”
When asked to clarify on Jan. 5, Johnson said he wouldn’t assert political pressure on a school or school board, but was confident that some Tennesseans would push back if the establishment of a Club America chapter was impeded in their local schools.
“Williamson County already has Club America chapters,” said Johnson. “It hasn’t been an issue here, and I really applaud our school administration and our school board for being open to any group that follows rules. So I’m very proud of Williamson County, and I don’t expect any problems anywhere else in this state, but if there are, then we’re gonna have to have a conversation.”
Thifault told the Williamson Scene that TPUSA could push for future supportive state legislation “if it’s needed.” He also told the crowd at last week’s event that his organization is actively working to strengthen the power of the partnership with the help of lawyer Kelly Shackelford, the president and chief executive officer of the Texas-based First Liberty Institute, to “draft the language for executive orders for these governors to sign that actually lock in some of these promises that are made at the press conferences.”
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First Liberty Institute describes itself as being “dedicated exclusively to defending religious liberty for all Americans.” Thifault declined to go into further detail about the proposed executive orders.A request for comment from the Scene was not returned by Gov. Bill Lee’s office in time for publication.
Charlie Kirk’s Sept. 10 killing sparked vigils across the country, as well as the firings of several people in state and university roles who criticized Kirk and his political views. Among those was an Austin Peay State University professor who was fired and then reinstated, receiving a $500,000 legal settlement. Both the Tennessee House of Representatives and Senate have approved a Republican-sponsored resolution memorializing Kirk, with legislators set to debate a bill that would annually recognize Sept. 10 as “Charlie Kirk Day.”
TPUSA partnerships in public schools mark not just another battle in America’s culture war, but an opportunity for the conservative group to mobilize young and future voters ahead of a critical midterm election.
“We have at this point an active, vibrant chapter on almost every midsize major college in all 50 states, and pretty soon, I think we’re going to hit the 4,000 mark on chartered Club America high school chapters,” Thifault said. “Pair that with an enormous voter registration effort, and you’ve just created a machine to activate and track, and then using the Turning Point Action staff, drive out to vote a lot of young America.”
