Texas Democratic U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico, while serving in the Texas House of Representatives, questioned a Republican-backed effort to require parental permission for sex education, arguing that changing the policy to an opt-in system would reduce the number of students receiving instruction on a subject he described as “maybe the most important topic” they would encounter in school.
Breitbart News reported on the remarks, which came during a July 2022 Texas House hearing on HB 1525, a wide-ranging education bill that ultimately won passage with Talarico’s vote — even as he made clear from the floor that he opposed its sex education provisions.
What HB 1525 Changed
The legislation flipped the default for sex education in Texas schools. Instead of requiring parents to sign a form removing their children from those lessons — an opt-out model — HB 1525 made the instruction opt-in, meaning parents had to affirmatively choose to let their children participate. The bill also obligated school districts to fully inform parents about the content of any sex education curriculum.
Talarico, according to the reporting, objected to those changes on the grounds that requiring active parental consent would shrink the pool of students receiving the instruction. He called sex education “maybe the most important topic” Texas students would learn about in school, a characterization that drew attention because of his broader record on education and social issues.
Spending Record and DEI Ties
The report notes that Talarico rarely, if ever, opposed large education spending measures while in the Legislature. Those bills, according to the outlet, served as vehicles for directing taxpayer dollars to a diversity, equity, and inclusion consulting agency where Talarico worked and from which he received compensation approaching six figures.
Talarico has also drawn scrutiny over his interactions with middle school students, including reports that he provided students with his personal cellphone number, encouraged them to read books described as sexually explicit, and sent them text messages late at night.
Republican National Committee spokesman Zach Kraft told Breitbart News that the questions surrounding Talarico’s record warrant closer examination. Kraft criticized the candidate in sharply personal terms, saying Texas voters could not allow someone he described as a “pervert” who refers to himself as a “freako” to represent them in the Senate.
‘Trans Children’ Comments Resurface
This was not the first time Talarico’s answers about what he values most attracted attention. In a 2023 podcast interview, when asked to name something he loved aside from friends or family, he pointed to transgender children who had come to the State Capitol to advocate for their humanity, calling the experience an inspiration even as he said they should not have to make that trip.
Amid his Senate campaign, references to “trans kids” appear to have been removed from his website, according to the report. An archived version of his state representative site said he had “led the fight against their efforts to bully trans kids, ban books, whitewash our history curriculum, gut public education with a private school voucher scam, and force their Christian Nationalist agenda onto the people of Texas.”
Talarico has more recently said he opposes gender-reassignment surgeries for minors. The report notes he previously voted against Texas legislation banning certain “gender-transition” procedures and treatments for children, said doctors have a “moral obligation” under the Hippocratic oath to treat children’s gender dysphoria, and once described denying children sex-change treatments as “child abuse.”
He has also said white men carry a “greater responsibility” to love transgender children, framing the conversation around “responsibility” rather than “privilege,” and argued that such responsibility means people must love those who show up at the Capitol to advocate for their basic humanity so they do not have to.
Other Controversies
During debate over a Texas law requiring Ten Commandments displays in classrooms, Talarico said the measure “does violence to both Christianity and Judaism” and later called such displays “a deeply unChristian decision.”
He has pointed to his teaching experience when discussing immigration, saying undocumented students he taught in San Antonio “tended to be my most patriotic students” and that they understood the United States was meant to be a land of opportunity. He argued immigration enforcement should prioritize cartels, gang members, and human traffickers over small-business owners, mothers, and children.
Talarico has also named Alyssa Edwards — the drag performer whose legal name is Justin Dwayne Lee Johnson — as his favorite drag queen. Edwards operates the Beyond Belief Dance Company and has spoken publicly about mentoring children, calling himself a positive role model and referring to a 10-year-old student as his “mini-me.”
Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/09/21/video-james-talarico-called-sex-ed-maybe-the-most-important-topic-students-learn-in-school/