Faith-based child welfare agencies have mounted legal efforts to gain religious protections, as LGBT advocates cry discrimination. Meanwhile, thousands of children needing homes are left in the crosshairs. A new Texas bill—similar to laws passed in Virginia, Michigan, the Dakotas, and, just recently, Alabama—may ensure that faith-based agencies remain open to serve and recruit more foster and adoptive families. Will other states follow?

Six years ago Dallas residents Stephen Reiff and David Luttrell, two recent college grads with steady jobs and incomes, found they both had the same question: “How would God have us steward His money?” Out of their conversation came an idea: Why not form a group of young professionals with a heart for Biblical stewardship of resources?

On a quiet stretch of Ross Avenue, in the shadow of the downtown Dallas skyline, a familiar pattern emerges: vacant lot, vacant lot, cluster of construction equipment; vacant lot, vacant lot, gleaming luxury apartment building. Call it urban renewal, gentrification, or what the Dallas City Council visualizes—gateway to a flourishing Arts District—but for one man, the word is unjust.

FORT WORTH, Texas—Alison Kelley, yoga teacher, mother of four, and Fort Worth Independent School District (FWISD) taxpayer, spent much of this spring firing off emails to board members and district officials, hosting meetings in her home, and organizing others to do the same via social media. She wasn’t alone. Community members opposed to a controversial set of “transgender student guidelines” created Stand for Fort Worth, an organization with a Facebook group now boasting more than 3,500 members.

Despite many European countries’ statist policies making home education difficult or even illegal, homeschooling appears to be on the rise in Europe.

In England, data recently gathered by the BBC from 190 local school systems show a 65 percent increase over the last six years in students learning at home. The U.K. now has more than 36,000 home-educated children. But experts say this number might be vastly understated.

DALLAS—Just a few days after celebrating victory over a so-called “bathroom bill” in Houston, Texas conservatives found themselves blindsided by the approval of a similar measure in Dallas. Pro-family groups say the measure puts women and children at risk, while supporters say the new language adopted last week doesn’t significantly change an ordinance that’s been in place for more than a decade.

DALLAS—The Texas Supreme Court heard oral arguments this week in a case that at first glance would appear to have far-reaching effects on the state’s more than 120,000 homeschool families—about one-sixth of the nation’s total homeschool population.

At issue is how much latitude local and state officials have in requesting proof—in the form of lesson plans or curricula—that homeschool students are being educated in a way that satisfies vague standards laid out by the Texas Education Agency.