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“In Texas, it’s easy to homeschool because there is a lot of flexibility and little regulation. In Texas, you have to teach reading, spelling, grammar, math, and good citizenship. So other than a few other paperwork things, this gives parents an enormous amount of flexibility, and a lot of other states are more onerous than the homeschooling community in Texas…” -Jeremy Newman, THSC Vice President of Policy and Engagement

[CBN News] Tens of thousands of parents in the state of Texas are choosing to homeschool their children following the COVID-19 pandemic. (Image: Pixabay)

Recent data from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) showed almost 29,765 students switched to homeschooling after withdrawing from public or private schools during the 2021-22 school year. The information was part of an open records request by the Texas Home School Coalition (THSC).

“This high has previously only been matched during the COVID-19 peak in the 2020–2021 school year when the number was 29,845,” the coalition said.

THSC Vice President of Policy and Engagement Jeremy Newman told KBTX-TV that the TEA numbers for the 2022-23 school year will be released in 2024. Although the TEA only tracks student withdrawals from the 7th to the 12th grade, Newman thinks a very large number of younger students are also switching to homeschooling.

“This is certainly anecdotal because we don’t have the hard numbers from the TEA, but in our experience, the lower grade levels are the most prominent grade levels where families choose to withdraw,” Newman said. “So if the total number were north of 40,000 or higher, that would not surprise me at all.”

The THSC has cited the following three main reasons for parents withdrawing their children from public schools: “concern about safety, parental involvement, and the school environment.”

The bottom line: Homeschooling in Texas is rising rapidly, The Federalist reported. According to a THSC study, “Since 1998, a total of 379,815 students between grades 7-12 have withdrawn from public schools in Texas to homeschool. This number has increased at an average of 6.5% per year.”

Newman told The Federalist homeschooling is attractive to parents in the Lone Star State partly because the transition process is easy.

“In Texas, it’s easy to homeschool because there is a lot of flexibility and little regulation,” he said. “In Texas, you have to teach reading, spelling, grammar, math, and good citizenship. So other than a few other paperwork things, this gives parents an enormous amount of flexibility, and a lot of other states are more onerous than the homeschooling community in Texas. It’s more developed than in other states so it’s comparatively easier.”

And the homeschooling trend also continues across the country. The National Home Education Research Institute’s data shows that from late March to early May of 2022, 5.22% of all school-age children were homeschooled. So far, homeschooling has had a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.1% between 2016-2021.

Public Schools Saw Student Exodus During the Pandemic

As CBN News has reported, although the homeschooling move may have started before the COVID-19 pandemic, the exodus from public schools certainly sped up during the health crisis.

Many parents pulled their kids out of the public school systems after educators and administrators flip-flopped repeatedly on virtual versus in-person learning and mask mandates from 2020 into 2021.

The mishandling of the government-sanctioned education system saw many parents enrolling their children in private and charter schools. In addition, about five million children are now homeschooled.

Along with frustrating COVID-related policies, viral social media accounts like “Libs of TikTok” have alerted parents to concerning—and oft-sexually explicit—content being taught to their young children. Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

Steve Warren is a senior multimedia producer for CBN News. Warren has worked in the news departments of television stations and cable networks across the country.

Sunol Glen School District and Temecula Valley Unified School District are the latest districts banning the display of the rainbow flag on school property.

(California) — [LifeSiteNews.com] Earlier this week, two California school boards voted to adopt policies that prohibit all flags on school property except those representing the state and the nation. (Image: Pixabay)

All flags—including the rainbow “pride” symbol of the LGBT movement—are no longer allowed in the Sunol Glen School District and the Temecula Valley Unified School District. Only the California flag and the American flag are permitted to be displayed.

The decision was made in both districts during their respective board meetings on Tuesday.

READ: Ontario high school student tears down LGBT ‘pride’ flag: ‘Put it in the garbage!’

A local ABC affiliate noted that the new policies come a month after the Temecula board established protocols to alert parents of any gender confusion their child may be experiencing. The flag policy is effective across the district but exceptions to displaying other flags may be allowed if approved by the superintendent. 

Sunol district voted 2-1 in favor of its resolution after community members both in favor and against the policy broke into passionate arguments during the meeting. According to a local news outlet, the resolution was initiated after parents began requesting various flags be flown on school property. Some questioned why flags representing the LGBT agenda could be used while those representing Christian and pro-gun views were frowned upon.

“Neither federal nor California law requires elementary school districts to display any other flags besides the flag of the United States of America and the flag of the State of California,” the resolution reads, citing the California Government Code… Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

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[ChristianPost.com] From LGBT-themed books on the shelf to the promotion of Marxism, various concerns have arisen at public libraries throughout the country, prompting some states to sever ties with the American Library Association. The organization opposes the banning of books, including those that some parents deem harmful because they promote pedophilia and sexual experimentation at a young age … Elsie Arntzen, commission superintendent of public instruction in Montana … defended the decision, asserting that “Marxist ideologies directly oppose our Montana values.” In a statement at the time to Fox News, Arntzen also criticized Drabinski’s support of critical race theory, which he asserted “has no place in our schools and libraries”… Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here Click Here to read.

(Image: Pixabay)

“The deadly wildfire in Maui shocked the nation and left many, especially those directly impacted by the tragedy, with serious questions that remain unanswered today.” -House Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer

[DailySignal.com] House Republicans have launched a probe into the Biden administration’s controversial response to the Maui fires in August. (Screengrab image)

House Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer, R-KY, announced the investigation into the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s handling of the situation on Friday. Comer announced the probe in a joint press release with Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, who heads the subcommittee on government operations and the federal workforce.

Hawaii locals have criticized the administration’s response to the wildfires on many fronts, including the timing of the disaster response, the measure of aid given to those who were affected by the fires, and the lack of transparency from FEMA as questions piled up before and after recovery efforts began.

Maui locals who began local aid operations during the fires told The Daily Signal that FEMA was “nowhere to be found” for days after the fires subsided, though Hawaii Gov. Josh Green claimed that FEMA was on the ground “in six hours.”

“The deadly wildfire in Maui shocked the nation and left many, especially those directly impacted by the tragedy, with serious questions that remain unanswered today,” Comer and Sessions said in the press release. (Screengrab image)

…[Joe] Biden built his entire reputation on empathy and compassion but failed to deliver an appropriate response when it mattered most. To ensure locals are receiving the assistance they need, and taxpayer dollars [are] being used effectively, the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability is taking action and seeking information from FEMA on all ongoing recovery efforts in Maui. The Oversight Committee has a responsibility to ensure FEMA is utilizing every tool at their disposal efficiently and will work to ensure FEMA delivers assistance in a seamless, swift timeframe.

This probe into FEMA’s response to the Maui fires is not the first time the agency has faced scrutiny. The subcommittee on government operations and the federal workforce focused on FEMA’s disaster response in Fort Myers, Florida, in a recent hearing.

The hearing aimed to shed light on the challenges FEMA faced in providing timely and efficient assistance to communities affected by Hurricane Ian in September 2022. The Fort Myers recovery effort highlighted the need for a comprehensive review of FEMA’s procedures and protocols.

Comer, Sessions, and other Oversight Committee Republicans have written a letter to FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell seeking official details concerning the scope of FEMA’s recent responses that have, so far, been unavailable to the public—including demanding to know whether FEMA staff were housed in expensive resort hotel rooms during their stay on Maui. Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

The Daily Signal team on the ground in Maui observed federally-marked vehicles in the parking lots and garages at hotels like the Grand Wailea, which charges close to $1,000 per night. A Daily Mail report confirmed that FEMA officials stayed in three five-star resorts during their stay on Maui, while National Guardsmen were housed in the cheaper Westin hotel in Lahaina.

Download: House-Republicans-Letter-to-FEMA-on-Maui-Wildfires 

Tony Kinnett is an investigative columnist for The Daily Signal.

(Eagle Pass, TX) — [Breitbart.com] …Multiple sources within CBP told Breitbart Texas that the 1,500 border crossers apprehended in Eagle Pass this morning forced the shutdown of the local migrant processing center. The shelter, designed to hold about 1,000 migrants, had already tripled its capacity, with more than 3,000 migrants being detained on Friday … It is unclear where the migrants will be held as the processing center is well beyond capacity. It is likely, the mass release of migrants into Eagle Pass witness[ed] on Sunday will continue or even expand. Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here Click Here to read and view photos.

(Screengrab image)

[TheBlaze.com] …Fox News national correspondent Griff Jenkins posted an alarming video of the migrant train on the X social media platform on Sunday afternoon. Griff captioned the video: “FOX News sources capture a FerroMex train bursting with migrants out of Zacatecas heading to our southern border right now… cheering and clearly not heeding the message: ‘do not come'”… Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here Click Here to read.

(Screengrab image: via X)

“I pray that this would wake up Christians to be courageous, to be open about their faiths and worship. [I hope] it would also encourage people to read the Bible, and, so I, I pray for awakening of our society.” -Dr. Päivi Räsänen

(Finland) — [CBN News] A Finnish politician who recently faced her second trial for sharing her Biblical views on sexuality described her legal nightmare as “absurd,” “crazy,” and akin to “medieval times.” (Screengrab image)

“It was absurd and it was crazy that I had to defend the Biblical truths and my interpretation about the Bible, my faith, and my beliefs in front of the judges,” Dr. Päivi Räsänen, the embattled member of Finland’s parliament, told CBN’s Faithwire of her recently completed trial. “It is like in medieval times.”

Räsänen said the prosecutor gave “false statements” about her writings and comments, claiming Räsänen had “said that some people are inferior to others”—something the politicians said is patently untrue.

“I think that all people are equal,” Räsänen said. “We all are sinners; we all are … in need of grace, what Jesus has given, but the prosecutor was very stubborn with these arguments, even though the district court had already said that they didn’t find such statements in my writings or in my pamphlet.”

She added, “But the prosecutor said that it is not important if it is true or not, but if the interpretation is insulting, then it is criminal.”

Räsänen explained why she believes the entire ordeal is truly “dangerous,” explaining why the government’s role in defining truth and morality is so concerning.

“It is not a court that should decide what is the right interpretation of the Bible and what is not,” she said. “Because I think that this kind of interpretation of discussions … it is not the court who starts to teach about the Bible or discuss what is the right interpretation of the Bible.”

Prosecutors also reportedly argued there are many Protestant churches that accept gay marriage and same-sex relationships, thus underscoring Räsänen’s views.

As CBN’s Faithwire has reported, Räsänen’s plight began June 17, 2019, when she tweeted the text of Romans 1:24-27, which condemns homosexuality as sinful. She was alarmed over a decision by her denomination, the Evangelical Lutheran Church, to support an LGBTQ Pride event, so she responded by sharing Scripture on her X account, sparking a criminal complaint.

Then, a pamphlet detailing Biblical views on sexuality she wrote nearly 20 years ago and a radio interview also landed her in legal hot water, culminating in a trial last year. She was acquitted in the first legal battle before the prosecutor appealed and she ended up back in court again in the most recent legal debacle.

In the latest trial, Räsänen said the prosecutor argued she’s allowed to “believe in her mind whatever about the Bible, but it is illegal to express it outwardly.”

A verdict is expected by the end of November.

“The maximum punishment would be two years of jail, but the prosecutor is demanding a heavy fine—the heaviest fine that we have in our law,” Räsänen said. “The most dangerous consequence of this case [is the] censorship … because then it would have some big consequences to our freedoms.”

The politician, Finland’s former minister of the interior, the leader responsible for overseeing the very police who came to interrogate her, said the most shocking part of the court case was being labeled as hateful.

“Of course, it was very painful to be accused [of] hate speech—of hatred against some people, because I think that these opinions, these views, they do not rise from hatred, but from love,” Räsänen said. “They are something that is … from what is classical Christianity, what is taught in classical Christianity about humanity and sexuality.”

Räsänen believes the Bible is on trial in Finland, despite the fact the nation has freedom of faith and speech enshrined in its constitution.

If she loses, she believes, it could reverberate throughout Finnish culture.

“It would start the time of persecution of Christians in Finland, if I would be convicted,” Räsänen said. “Many lawyers agree with me, and then it would have … ramifications to other European countries.”

As Räsänen awaits her verdict, she encouraged Christians to see her plight as an inspiration to stand up and share their views. Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

“I pray that this would wake up Christians to be courageous, to be open about their faiths and worship,” she said. “[I hope] it would also encourage people to read the Bible, and, so I, I pray for awakening of our society.”

Billy Hallowell writes for CBN’s Faithwire.com.

We have had slavery, Civil War, attempted racial genocide, and the current woke sickness. But we always had our magnificent founding documents, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, to return to. And every time, heroes arose to rescue and renew America. We must be the heroes of today. Patriotism is most necessary when the Republic is in peril…

[PJMedia.com] [Yesterday was] Constitution Day, commemorating the signing of the US Constitution and the establishment of our Republic on Sept. 17, 1787. On this Constitution Day, we celebrate America. But what does that mean? (Image: iStock)

It is sad but true that many Americans are unable to distinguish between the current administration or the current political and societal crisis and America. America, unlike every other country in history, is not fundamentally an ethnicity or an administration or even a geographical location; America is an idea, the idea that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, the idea that We the People have the right to choose and control our form of government.

The men who believed in that idea founded a particular form of government for us on this day—men who, for all their faults and sins, were great. And, with all our faults and sins, we must take up the torch as others have since and fight for liberty, even to the shedding of our blood.

I have heard some say recently, “I want to move out of America.” And where will you go? It is not just that the rest of the world is either war-torn, ruled by vicious tyrannies, plagued by terrorism, or just as woke as the United States now.

Where else in the world has the right to free speech been taken for granted? Where else has religious freedom been implemented with such effort to make all religions exist in harmony? Where else was it recognized that the right to keep and bear arms staves off tyranny? And what other country can boast such a large collection of exceptionally great men as its founders?

Of course, we have fallen many times from those ideals. The Democrat Party almost since its founding has defined itself on explicitly anti-constitutional policies and principles. Many, too many, members of all political parties have violated the Constitution, engaged in corruption, and even betrayed the country (actually most of our federal government now is unconstitutional).

We have had slavery, Civil War, attempted racial genocide, and the current woke sickness. But we always had our magnificent founding documents, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, to return to. And every time, heroes arose to rescue and renew America. We must be the heroes of today. Patriotism is most necessary when the Republic is in peril… Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

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“Let us prepare our hearts and align our lives with God’s purposes in this Year of the Open Door. As we step through the threshold, let us embrace the divine opportunities, breakthroughs, and blessings that await us. May we walk in faith, knowing that God’s favor goes before us, and His presence will guide us every step of the way…” -Charlie Stamp

[ElijahList.com] Introduction: Our last interview with Charlie Shamp was powerfully “off the charts,” so to speak. He had mentioned that the beginning of Rosh Hashanah is an important time for us to fast and pray.

Some of our viewers asked if Charlie had some specific prayer points to offer, so we asked him if he could write some up… he did not disappoint!

As these are quite long and extensive, we encourage you to read though these slowly and carefully…and use them as daily decrees over you, your family and your region as the Lord leads.

Happy Rosh Hashanah… We are praying with you!

In Christ,

Steve Shultz and Julie A. Smith, Co-Editors
Elijah List Publications

‘5784: The Year of the Open Door’

Charlie Shamp, Moravian Falls, NC (Image: via Elijah List)

As we enter the Jewish New Year of 5784, we step into a season of divine favor and unprecedented opportunities. The Lord has declared this year the “Year of the Open Door,” where new pathways will be revealed, and blessings will flow abundantly. Let us gather our hearts and seek prophetic insights into what lies ahead.

The Open Door

In the Hebrew calendar, the number eight symbolizes new beginnings, and the open door represents a gateway to God’s blessings and breakthroughs. Just as the Israelites crossed the Red Sea on dry land, leaving behind their bondage and entering into freedom, this year will mark a significant transition for God’s people. Additionally, the number 80 in Hebrew is represented by the letter “pey.” Moreover, the number four in Hebrew is represented by the letter “dalet,” which symbolizes a doorway or a path. It signifies stability, foundation, and the four corners of the earth. Therefore, as we step through the door of this new beginning, the number four reminds us to establish a solid foundation in our faith and embrace the divine path that lies ahead.

The open door signifies not only physical doors of opportunity but also spiritual portals unveiling fresh encounters with the divine. As we align our hearts with God’s purposes, we will witness the fulfillment of His promises and experience a greater outpouring of His Spirit. It is a time to seek His face, listen intently to His voice, and step boldly through the doors He opens before us.

This year calls us to rise above limitations and step into the fullness of our God-given potential. The Lord is releasing an anointing for innovation, creativity, and strategic thinking. He will equip His children with wisdom and discernment to navigate the challenges that lie ahead. As we trust in His guidance, we will find ourselves in positions of influence, impacting our communities and spheres of influence for His glory.

Moreover, the Year of the Open Door will bring restoration and reconciliation. Broken relationships will be mended, families will be reunited, and unity will prevail. The power of forgiveness will flow, healing wounds that seemed irreparable. God’s love will break down barriers and create an atmosphere of harmony and understanding.

Financial breakthroughs will also be a hallmark of this year. The Lord is positioning His people for prosperity, not only for their well-being, but also to bless others. As we faithfully steward our resources and walk in obedience to His principles, financial doors will swing wide open, releasing provision and abundance.

In this year, the Church will experience a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Revival fires will ignite, spreading across nations and awakening hearts to the truth of the Gospel. God will raise up mighty apostles to steward new movements, evangelists and prophets who will boldly proclaim His Word, leading multitudes to salvation.

Let us prepare our hearts and align our lives with God’s purposes in this Year of the Open Door. As we step through the threshold, let us embrace the divine opportunities, breakthroughs, and blessings that await us. May we walk in faith, knowing that God’s favor goes before us, and His presence will guide us every step of the way.

The Ten Days of Awe

As the Jewish New Year dawns upon us, it heralds the beginning of the Ten Days of Awe, a sacred period of introspection and repentance. During this time, the call of the Divine echoes within our souls, beckoning us to turn our gaze inward and evaluate our actions and attitudes. It is a time of seeking forgiveness, both from our Lord Jesus Christ and from others.

In these days of Teshuvah, the process of repentance and return, we are called to acknowledge our shortcomings, take responsibility for our actions, and commit to sincere change. It is a time of self-reflection and surrender as we seek to repair and restore our relationship with God and others.

As the Ten Days of Awe reach their pinnacle, we find ourselves standing on the threshold of Yom Kippur the Day of Atonement. On this sacred day, we come before the Most High with humble hearts, seeking forgiveness and reconciliation. Through fasting, prayer, and deep introspection, we surrender our burdens and sins, trusting in God’s mercy and grace to cleanse and purify us.

Let us heed the call of these sacred days. Let us enter into the depths of our souls, acknowledging our humanity and our need for divine intervention. As we engage in fasting and prayer, may our hearts be open to the transformative power of repentance.

For on the day of atonement, as the shofar resounds in the heavenly realms, a new beginning emerges. In the confession of sins, we find release and liberation. We are reminded that our fate is sealed not only for the coming year but for eternity, as we surrender to the Divine’s will… Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

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