Young America’s Foundation was established in 1960 by conservative political commentator William F. Buckley Jr. and has been active in college and university circuits as Young Americans for Freedom chapters since the 1960s.
According to its mission statement, “Young America’s Foundation is committed to ensuring that increasing numbers of young Americans understand and are inspired by the ideas of individual freedom, a strong national defense, free enterprise, and traditional values.”
YAF has made headlines in the past several years for bringing conservative speakers to liberal college campuses and challenging campus speaker policies under the First Amendment.
Due to YAF’s “controversial” stances, Principal Michael Cagle of Kennedale High School unilaterally decided not to approve a school YAF chapter, despite previously informing students that he would present their submitted materials to the school district’s legal team for approval.
YAF submitted a warning letter to Kennedale High School, explaining that legal action will be taken if the school does not reverse its unconstitutional decision.
“The students of KHS YAF are asking for nothing more than the ability to express their views on campus consistent with all other student clubs, and have done nothing to warrant the treatment Principal Cagle and the KHS administration subjected them to,” wrote YAF Deputy General Counsel Steve Mairella in the letter.
Mairella warns that although they would prefer to settle this without legal action, “the students and YAF are prepared to take whatever legal action is necessary to correct this injustice.”
According to YAF, other nationally affiliated groups have chapters at Kennedale High School that were not subjected to the same treatment. “It’s time for Principal Cagle to wake up and realize that YAF activists will not tolerate being treated as second-class citizens. Cagle should not let his own personal biases get in the way of students’ free speech rights—and YAF is here to make sure that won’t happen.”
Cagle did not respond to Texas Scorecard’s request for comment before publication.
