Club America: TPUSA Program Governor Braun Supports
Texas Officials Are Hiding the Curriculum. Indiana Parents Should Ask Why Before It's Too Late.
By Todd Smekens
Muncie Voice Investigative Report
February 11, 2026
MUNCIE, IN — Governor Mike Braun recently announced his commitment to bring Turning Point USA’s “Club America” program into every Indiana high school, mirroring a push already underway in Texas and other Republican-controlled states. The initiative, marketed as an after-school civics program promoting “patriotic values,” has received enthusiastic support from conservative officials—and aggressive legal protection from those same officials when parents and journalists ask what’s actually being taught.
In Texas, where Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick committed $1 million in his campaign funds to expand Club America statewide, the curriculum itself remains a closely guarded secret. My attempt to obtain these materials through a public records request has revealed a troubling pattern: officials who publicly champion the program are the same officials blocking transparency about its content. And the organizational structure coordinating this expansion traces directly back to a recent, controversial change in Turning Point USA’s leadership.
Indiana parents should pay attention. What’s happening in Texas is a preview of what Governor Braun has planned for Hoosier students—and the secrecy surrounding the curriculum should raise immediate red flags.
The Charlie Kirk Connection: New Leadership, Aggressive Expansion
On September 10, 2025, Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was assassinated during a campus speaking event in Utah. Within weeks, his widow, Erika Kirk, assumed leadership of the organization, with her mother, Lori Frantzve, serving as a key advisor. Frantzve, a former defense contractor with expertise in “risk assessment” and institutional resilience, appears to have brought a more strategic, state-focused approach to TPUSA’s educational initiatives.
The timing is notable: Charlie Kirk had begun questioning core TPUSA donor positions in the months before his death, particularly regarding Israel’s actions in Gaza and the influence of billionaire funders like Bill Ackman over the organization’s messaging. His assassination—which remains under investigation despite significant forensic evidence contradicting the FBI’s “lone wolf” narrative—removed a volatile personality and installed leadership more amenable to systematic, state-by-state institutional expansion.
Club America’s aggressive rollout into Republican-controlled state education systems accelerated immediately after this leadership transition. Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick announced his $1 million commitment in late 2025.
Today at TPUSA HQ, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick presented a $1 million donation to support the expansion of Club America in Texas 🇺🇸 @tpusastudents
— Turning Point USA (@TPUSA) February 3, 2026
Thank you for helping us bring a Club America chapter to every Texas high school, @DanPatrick! pic.twitter.com/DewlWIrPNB
Indiana Governor Braun followed with his own announcement in early 2026. The coordinated timing suggests a deliberate strategy: capitalize on MAGA political dominance at the state level to embed TPUSA programming directly into public schools before parents fully understand what’s being taught.
What Texas Is Hiding: The Public Records Fight
On January 25, 2026, I submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Texas Education Agency seeking copies of the Club America curriculum, production contracts, partnership agreements, and communications between TEA officials and Turning Point USA representatives. The request was straightforward: show parents and taxpayers what content is being taught in publicly funded after-school programs.
TEA’s response revealed the political sensitivity of these materials. Rather than releasing public educational records, TEA referred my request to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s Open Records Division for a ruling on whether the curriculum could be withheld from disclosure.
This referral is significant for two reasons.
First, under Texas law, a governmental agency must seek an Attorney General opinion only when it intends to withhold records and needs legal justification for doing so. TEA’s referral confirms that state education officials want to hide the Club America curriculum from public scrutiny.
Second, Attorney General Paxton is not a neutral arbiter in this matter. Paxton has publicly supported Turning Point USA’s initiatives and, according to published reports, has issued directives or threats to educational officials who speak critically of the Club America program. His political ally, Lieutenant Governor Patrick, committed $1 million in state funds to expand the program. Asking Paxton to rule on whether the public can see Club America materials is like asking a program’s marketing director to decide whether customers can read the fine print.
When I raised this conflict of interest in correspondence with the Attorney General’s office, a representative responded that Texas law provides no mechanism for recusal based on bias. In other words: Paxton’s public support for the program he’s now reviewing is legally irrelevant. He controls access to the curriculum regardless of his obvious political alignment with TPUSA.
The Bureaucratic Shell Game: ORD vs. Paxton
The response from Paxton’s office grew increasingly defensive as I documented the coordination between TEA and the Attorney General’s review process. When I copied the AG’s Public Information Request email address on correspondence to TEA, a coordinator from Paxton’s office sent a sharp rebuke instructing me to stop using that email for “general correspondence” and directing me instead to the “Open Records Division.”
The distinction is cosmetic. The Open Records Division is a subdivision within the Office of the Attorney General. It does not operate independently. Rulings issued by the ORD are published under the name and authority of Attorney General Paxton. When TEA submitted its request for a ruling, the letter was addressed to “General Paxton,” not to an abstract bureaucratic division.
The attempt to create rhetorical distance between “political Paxton” and “administrative ORD” serves a transparent purpose: deflect criticism of the Attorney General’s conflict of interest by pretending the decision will be made by neutral legal staff rather than by the official who publicly champions the program under review.
But the shell game fails basic scrutiny. Whether the determination is signed by Paxton personally or by staff attorneys acting under his authority, the structural conflict remains. An official who has advocated for a program should not simultaneously control whether the public can access information about that program. The fact that Texas law provides no recusal mechanism doesn’t eliminate the bias—it only makes it legally unassailable.
What the Secrecy Suggests
Public educational materials should not require this level of legal maneuvering to access. If Club America’s curriculum consisted of neutral civics content—lessons on the Constitution, the structure of government, the rights and responsibilities of citizenship—there would be no reason to withhold it from public review. Parents would be shown the materials. Teachers would receive copies. Transparency would strengthen the program’s credibility.
The fact that Texas officials are instead deploying legal exemptions, bureaucratic deflection, and structural conflicts of interest to prevent disclosure suggests the curriculum contains content they know would be controversial if examined publicly.
Based on TPUSA’s established ideological positions and the political alignment of officials promoting Club America, the likely concerns include:
Partisan Political Content: Lessons presenting conservative policy positions as objective truth while framing progressive viewpoints as dangerous or un-American.
Religious Indoctrination: Christian nationalist themes embedded in supposedly secular civics instruction, potentially violating Establishment Clause protections.
Historical Revisionism: “Patriotic” narratives that downplay or whitewash uncomfortable aspects of American history, including slavery, indigenous genocide, and civil rights struggles.
TPUSA Recruitment Pipeline: Materials designed not merely to educate but to funnel students into Turning Point USA’s broader organizational network and donor apparatus.
Billionaire Influence: Curriculum shaped by the ideological preferences of TPUSA’s major funders—figures like Bill Ackman, whose financial interests extend far beyond education policy.
Any of these elements would generate significant public backlash if disclosed. Hence the secrecy. Hence, Paxton’s gatekeeping. Hence, the coordinated expansion into states where Republican governors can implement the program before parents mobilize opposition.
Indiana’s Turn: What Governor Braun Isn’t Telling You
Governor Mike Braun’s announcement that Club America will be brought into every Indiana high school follows the exact playbook Texas is executing: enthusiastic political support from state leadership, minimal public detail about curriculum content, and rapid implementation designed to establish the program before scrutiny can build.
Indiana parents should ask the questions Texas parents are being prevented from asking:
1. What exactly will be taught in Club America sessions?
Demand to see the actual curriculum materials, not marketing summaries or vague descriptions of “patriotic values.” If the content is genuinely educational and non-partisan, there is no reason to withhold it.
2. Who created this curriculum, and what are their qualifications?
TPUSA is a political advocacy organization, not an educational institution. Who designed these lessons? What pedagogical standards were applied? Were licensed educators involved, or is this content developed by political operatives?
3. How much taxpayer money is being committed?
What is Indiana’s financial commitment? How will these funds be spent? Who benefits financially from the program’s expansion?
4. What oversight exists to prevent partisan indoctrination?
Public schools are required to maintain political neutrality. What safeguards ensure Club America materials comply with this requirement? Who reviews the content? What happens if violations occur?
5. Why is this being implemented through executive action rather than legislative debate?
Governor Braun announced this initiative unilaterally. The Indiana General Assembly has not debated the merits of embedding TPUSA programming in public schools. Why bypass the democratic process?
6. What is the relationship between state officials and TPUSA leadership?
Are there financial ties, campaign contributions, or coordination between Governor Braun’s administration and Turning Point USA? Transparency about these relationships is essential to understanding whose interests this program serves.
The Erika Kirk Factor: Post-Assassination Strategic Pivot
The aggressive, state-focused expansion of Club America represents a notable shift in TPUSA’s operational strategy—one that coincides directly with Erika Kirk’s assumption of leadership following her husband’s death.
Charlie Kirk built Turning Point USA as a personality-driven, media-focused organization centered on campus activism and provocative messaging. The Club America model is different: institutional, systematic, embedded within state education bureaucracies rather than operating as an external agitator.
This pivot required political relationships that Charlie’s combative style often undermined. His questioning of pro-Israel positions alienated billionaire donors. His alliance with Tucker Carlson created friction with establishment Republican figures. His volatility made him a liability for the kind of sustained, bureaucratic coordination required to place programming in every high school across multiple states.
Erika Kirk, by contrast, presents a more palatable face for institutional partnerships. Her mother, Lori Frantzve, has a background in defense contracting and organizational risk assessment, suggesting a more strategic, less improvisational approach to expansion. The result: governors like Braun and Abbott embracing TPUSA with unprecedented enthusiasm, and resistance to transparency intensifying as the program scales.
The question Indiana parents should ask is whether this leadership transition—occurring under violent and suspicious circumstances—has made TPUSA more accountable or simply more effective at avoiding accountability.
The Authoritarian Playbook: Suppress Information, Expand Control
What Texas Attorney General Paxton is doing—using government power to block public access to educational materials while simultaneously promoting the program those materials support—follows a pattern familiar to anyone who studies authoritarian information control.
Step One: Position yourself as the defender of a politically popular cause (“patriotism,” “American values”).
Step Two: Embed that cause in institutional structures where it can operate with official legitimacy (public schools).
Step Three: Suppress scrutiny by controlling information flow, using legal mechanisms to prevent transparency.
Step Four: Punish dissent through threats, professional retaliation, or legal action against those who challenge the program.
Paxton has executed all four steps. He publicly champions Club America. He uses his official authority to review—and block—records requests related to the program. He has reportedly threatened educational officials who criticize it. And he faces no meaningful check on this power because Texas law provides no mechanism for recusal on grounds of bias.
Governor Braun is positioned to follow the same playbook in Indiana. The question is whether Hoosier parents, educators, and journalists will allow it to proceed unchallenged.
What Indiana Can Do Differently
Texas parents are discovering they have limited recourse once a program is embedded in the education system and protected by sympathetic state officials. Indiana still has time to demand transparency before implementation begins.
“The Nebraska State Education Association supports students’ constitutional rights to form non-curriculum-related clubs that foster civic engagement and personal growth. These rights are well established under federal law, including the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that involved a case right here in Nebraska, Board of Education of Westside Community Schools v. Mergens (1990).
At the same time, there is a clear and important distinction between clubs that are initiated by students based on genuine interest and a statewide initiative directed by the governor’s office. Decisions about student activities are best made locally by school boards, administrators, educators, parents and students – not through a statewide mandate.
Public schools must remain politically neutral environments. Educators and school leaders have a responsibility to ensure that no political organization is perceived as endorsed by the state or embedded within public school systems in a way that compromises that neutrality.”
Immediate Actions for Parents and Educators:
1. Demand Curriculum Disclosure Before Implementation
Contact Governor Braun’s office and your state legislators. Demand that Club America curriculum materials be made publicly available before the program is introduced into any Indiana school. Insist on transparency as a precondition for implementation.
2. Invoke Parental Rights
Indiana law grants parents significant authority over their children’s education. Assert those rights explicitly: you have the right to review and approve all materials presented to your children in school-affiliated programs.
3. Attend School Board Meetings
Local school boards will ultimately decide whether to allow Club America into their buildings. Attend meetings. Ask questions. Demand answers. Make board members publicly justify their decision to partner with a political organization.
4. Request Legal Review
Ask your school corporation’s legal counsel to assess whether Club America materials comply with constitutional prohibitions on government establishment of religion and requirements for political neutrality in public education.
5. Document Everything
If the program proceeds despite opposition, document what is taught. Record materials distributed to students. Preserve evidence of partisan content, religious messaging, or historical distortions. This documentation will be essential if legal challenges become necessary.
For Journalists:
File Freedom of Information Requests Now
Request all communications between Governor Braun’s office and Turning Point USA regarding Club America. Request any contracts, partnership agreements, or financial commitments. Request curriculum materials. Do this before the program is implemented and before officials have time to coordinate suppression strategies.
For State Legislators:
Demand Legislative Oversight
Governor Braun’s unilateral announcement bypassed the General Assembly. Legislators should assert their authority by requiring legislative approval before taxpayer funds are committed to this program. Hold hearings. Compel testimony. Demand transparency.
The Larger Pattern: MAGA Institutionalization
Club America’s expansion is part of a broader strategy to institutionalize MAGA ideology within government systems before political winds shift. Republican governors are racing to embed conservative programming in education, using the current political moment to create structures that will outlast any future electoral losses.
The calculation is straightforward: get Club America into schools now, while Republican supermajorities control state governments. Establish the program as “normal” before opposition can organize. Protect it legally and politically so that removing it becomes more difficult than preventing it in the first place.
Indiana Governor Braun is executing this strategy. Texas officials are protecting it. And Turning Point USA—under new leadership following Charlie Kirk’s suspicious death—is coordinating the implementation.
Conclusion: The Cost of Silence
When government officials champion a program while simultaneously blocking public access to information about that program, citizens should assume the worst. Transparency serves the public interest. Secrecy serves power.
Texas parents are learning this lesson the hard way. Attorney General Paxton controls whether they can see what their children are being taught, and Paxton has made clear his priority is protecting the program, not informing the public.
Indiana parents have a narrow window to avoid the same outcome. Governor Braun has announced the program. He has not yet implemented it. Demand transparency now, before Club America becomes entrenched in Hoosier schools and before the bureaucratic machinery Paxton deployed in Texas gets replicated here.
Ask what’s in the curriculum. Ask who created it. Ask how much it costs. Ask who benefits. And if officials refuse to answer—if they hide behind legal exemptions, deflect to bureaucratic divisions, or claim transparency threatens security—recognize those responses for what they are: admissions that the program cannot withstand public scrutiny.
The officials promoting Club America are counting on parental passivity, bureaucratic complexity, and political tribalism to prevent meaningful opposition. Prove them wrong.
Because once the program is embedded in every high school, once the contracts are signed and the political capital committed, extracting it becomes exponentially harder. Texas shows what happens when citizens discover too late what their government has introduced into their children’s classrooms.
Indiana doesn’t have to repeat that mistake. But the window is closing.
Todd Smekens is an investigative journalist and the founder of Muncie Voice. His ongoing investigation into Charlie Kirk’s assassination and TPUSA’s institutional evolution has revealed coordinated efforts to suppress transparency about the organization’s educational programming. He has filed formal comments with the Texas Attorney General’s Open Records Division challenging the withholding of Club America curriculum materials and is currently appealing records denials through multiple state agencies. Tips and documents can be sent via encrypted email to toddsmekens@protonmail.com. All sources are protected.
ADDENDUM: Questions for Governor Braun
The following questions have been submitted to Governor Braun’s press office. As of publication, no response has been received:
- What is the total financial commitment the State of Indiana is making to the Club America program?
- Will the complete Club America curriculum be made publicly available before implementation in Indiana schools?
- What oversight mechanisms exist to ensure Club America materials comply with constitutional requirements for political neutrality and separation of church and state in public education?
- What communications have occurred between your office and Turning Point USA leadership regarding the implementation of Club America in Indiana?
- Were you aware that Texas officials are currently blocking public access to Club America curriculum materials? Does this raise concerns about transparency?
- Will Indiana parents have the right to opt their children out of Club America programming?
- What qualifications did the curriculum developers possess? Were licensed educators involved in content creation?
- Given that Turning Point USA is a political advocacy organization, what safeguards prevent the partisan indoctrination of students?
- Why was this program announced through executive action rather than legislative debate and approval?
- Are there any financial, political, or organizational relationships between your administration and Turning Point USA that the public should be aware of?
Readers are encouraged to contact Governor Braun’s office and demand answers to these questions. The time to ask is now—before the program is implemented and secrecy becomes the default.
