It’s legitimately hard to keep track of all the crappy laws our Legislature passes and the lawsuits filed to block them.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas asked a federal judge Thursday to put a preliminary injunction on a new state law that bans diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in public schools.
The law, Senate Bill 12, has banned gender and sexuality alliance clubs at high schools across the state, among other provisions. The ACLU of Texas, the Transgender Law Center and the Baker McKenzie law firm sued Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath and Houston, Katy and Plano ISDs in August, trying to block the law from being enforced. But four months into the school year, attorneys are asking for an injunction to prevent further harm to students.
The organizations filed the suit on behalf of Students Engaged in Advancing Texas, the Gender and Sexuality Alliance Network and two anonymous individuals. They say the new law violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments and the Equal Access Act.
The case — GSA Network, et al. v. Morath, et al. — is being heard by U.S. District Judge Charles Eskridge. Attorneys for the defendants have filed a motion to dismiss the case, citing sovereign immunity. The judge has not yet made a ruling on the injunction.
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The state ban follows policies at area districts, like Katy ISD. It has made headlines in recent years when it became the first Houston-area district to enact a strict gender policy that forced staff to “out” transgender students to their parents in certain circumstances.
The law mirrors some clauses in Katy ISD’s policy, which has since been adopted by at least five large Houston-area districts. The state law did not go as far to require school districts to notify parents of a child’s request to change their pronouns — a step some area school districts have taken. But it goes further in another away. It requires school boards to adopt a policy barring employees from helping a student with a gender transition in any way, including providing information about how to pursue one. School districts without existing “gender policies” will now have to adopt some version.
Brian Klosterboer, senior staff attorney at the ACLU of Texas, said the law has already imposed harm upon Texas students and teachers. He called it “one of the most extreme censorship education bans in the entire country.”
“This law is imposing real harm right now on Texas students. It’s an attempt by the Texas Legislature to censor and whitewash our history, to censor our speech and to infringe on the constitutional rights of countless people,” he said.
See here for the background. This seems like yet another clear case of viewpoint discrimination. I mean, the Governor wants a chapter of T*****g P***t USA in every high school, but it’s illegal for those same high schools to have a gay-straight alliance. Don’t worry, though, I’m sure all those free-speech warriors will be riding to the rescue any minute now. Anyway, we know how this one should go, and we know it will have to go through the Fifth Circuit and SCOTUS to get there. Keep your expectations modest. Texas Public Radio has more.