Good morning,

A federal program has been launched by the Trump administration providing newborns $1,000 in an investment account, and now Texas' lieutenant governor is proposing to do the same thing in the Lone Star State. In today's One Click Survey, we want your opinion. 

This is the Texas Minute for Monday, Dec. 8, 2025.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Paxton Sues EPIC City To Halt ‘Illegal Development Scheme’

• Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against the East Plano Islamic Center, Community Capital Partners, and several of their leaders, alleging that they engaged in an illegal land development scheme that violated Texas securities laws. Brandon Waltens reports on this latest development.
   
• At issue is EPIC City, recently rebranded as The Meadow. It is a proposed Islamic housing development in North Texas that has drawn controversy throughout the year. The lawsuit follows months of investigations into the project, not only by Paxton's office but also several other state and federal agencies.
     
• Paxton is accusing CCP—formed by EPIC as a vehicle to purchase and develop more than 400 acres in Hunt and Collin counties—of engaging in fraudulent practices while soliciting investments. Promotional materials allegedly described the development as the “epicenter of Islam in North America” and implied it would be reserved for Muslims, despite assurances to the contrary.
      
• Gov. Greg Abbott has described EPIC City’s backers as attempting to create a community governed by Sharia law, calling the development “religious segregation disguised as religious liberty.”

China Taking ‘New Approach’ To Influence K-12 Education

• According to a new report from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, the Chinese government is taking “a new approach” to influence American K-12 education by buying up schools, including in Texas. Robert Montoya has the details.
     
• The Spring Education Group is a national network of private schools with 28 brands spanning 16 states. The group is owned by Hong Kong-based Primavera Holdings, whose founder—Fred Hu—has served as an economic advisor to the Chinese government.
     
• The Florida Department of Education suspended four SEG-owned schools from receiving school choice funds in 2023. It found "direct ties" between SEG and the Chinese Communist Party through Primavera.
      
• SEG owns 13 schools in Texas; nine in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, two in Austin, and two in the Houston area. They operate under various brand names, including Xplor Preschool & School Age Care, Honor Roll School, and Paragon Prep.

A.G. Candidates Reject Casino Lobby

• During a forum in Wise County last week, candidates seeking the GOP's nomination for attorney general rejected the expansion of gambling and the crony casino push in Texas.
      
• State Sen. Joan Huffman, originally listed as a participant, pulled out of the forum shortly beforehand. The other three candidates—U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, State Sen. Mayes Middleton, and former DOJ official Aaron Reitz—pledged not to accept donations from the gambling industry. The Sands casino group, which operates almost exclusively in China, has been spending large amounts in the Lone Star State to secure a government-enforced monopoly.
     
• Middleton cast casino interests and their state allies as repeat offenders, pointing to what he called unlawful expansion efforts through the Lottery Commission and Racing Commission.
       
• Roy framed the issue as a moral and technological threat to young Texans, while Reitz asserted that gambling will make the state "financially and spiritually impoverished."

New Law Lets Pharmacists Dispense Ivermectin Without Prescription

• Texas is now the fifth state to make ivermectin available over the counter, reports Addie Hovland, though pharmacies are not required to do so. Under the law, pharmacies can still require customers to have a doctor's prescription.
     
• The new law, which took effect last week, also protects pharmacists from criminal, civil, or professional disciplinary liability for responsibly dispensing ivermectin.

Fourth Lawsuit Filed Against Celina ISD

• A fourth lawsuit has been filed against Celina Independent School District over the alleged cover-up of coach Caleb Elliott’s illicit recordings in the middle school boys’ locker room, which date back to the last school year and continued up until Elliott’s arrest in October. Erin Anderson has the story.
      
• This latest lawsuit means 34 of the students known to have been targeted by the now-former coach are suing both the district and Elliott. Elliott is the 26-year-old son of Celina ISD’s “legendary” Head Football Coach and Athletic Director Bill Elliott. The lawsuits each allege that district officials knew Caleb Elliott posed a risk to young male students but continued to employ him. Locker room images of students that investigators found in Caleb Elliott’s cell phone are dated from April 8, 2024, to October 2, 2025.
      
• Plaintiffs in the groundbreaking lawsuits are seeking monetary damages under a new law passed this year that waives governmental immunity for public schools and abolishes official immunity for school employees when districts are grossly negligent in enabling their employees to sexually abuse students.
      
• One of the attorneys representing families in the latest lawsuit is State Rep. Mitch Little (R–Lewisville), who authored the new law. He noted last week that federal authorities have indicted Caleb Elliott for transmitting some of the materials he collected on social media. Elliott is also facing state criminal charges.

MORE SCHOOL NEWS

• In a statement, Harper ISD Superintendent Bonnie Stewart told families that "there is no evidence to suggest that any inappropriate conduct occurred on school grounds, within the school, or involving any current students during school hours."

Masking Requirement During Trial Ruled Unconstitutional

• Texas’ Court of Criminal Appeals has ruled that a requirement to wear surgical masks during trial violates the constitutional right to confront one’s accuser. Travis Morgan explains the case and ruling.
   
• At the center of the case is Champagne Smith, who was indicted for a second-degree felony offense of aggravated assault in Harris County. During the 2023 trial, the district court judge's policy required everyone, including witnesses, to wear surgical masks. Following her conviction, Smith appealed the policy, arguing her rights were violated under the Confrontation Clause. According to the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, any person accused of a crime has a fundamental right to confront their accusers.
     
• Smith's legal counsel asserted that masking witnesses during live testimony would inhibit the jury’s ability to fully assess witness demeanor and credibility. The jury found Champagne Smith guilty.
      
• Last month, the Court of Criminal Appeals agreed that her rights were violated under the Confrontation Clause, but asked a lower court to properly determine the extent to which this violation influenced her conviction.

Quote-Unquote

"One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors."

– Plato​

Today In History

On Dec. 8, 1914, eight institutions of higher education formed the Southwest Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, commonly known as the Southwest Conference. Those eight inaugural institutions were the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (now Texas A&M), Arkansas, Baylor, Oklahoma, Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State), Rice, Southwestern, and the University of Texas. The conference was broken up in 1996.

One Click Survey

The Trump Administration is setting up accounts for every newborn citizen with $1,000 that cannot be accessed until adulthood. The funds will be invested in a broad U.S. stock-market index. Last week, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick proposed Texas double that in the Lone Star State with what he calls the "New Little Texan Savings Fund." His plan would put an additional $1,000 in similar accounts for newborn Texans, costing taxpayers roughly $400 million per year.

Do you support these programs?

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