Amid all the discussion about diversity, equity and inclusion bans, the most stringent restrictions in Texas are those that govern gender identity and sexual orientation.
Civil rights groups and student advocates are awaiting a ruling from a federal judge on whether a temporary injunction will be granted on Senate Bill 12, which limits or outright bans classroom instruction on DEI topics and prohibits school-sponsored clubs on those subjects for public K-12 schools and charter schools.
SB 12 went into effect on September 1 and the ACLU promptly filed a lawsuit challenging its constitutionality. Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath, who is named as a defendant along with Houston, Katy and Plano school districts, filed a 47-page motion to dismiss the lawsuit in October, arguing in favor of parental rights.
SB 12 specifically prohibits school districts from discussing gender identity and sexual orientation, and no public or charter school can sponsor a student club based on sexual orientation or gender identity. That includes Gay-Straight Alliances and LGBTQ+ support groups.
Plaintiff Adrian Moore, a trans student in Katy ISD, said at a December 18 press conference that he’s concerned that youth who don’t feel safe and supported will stop showing up to school.
“I’ve struggled with mentally keeping myself present at school and emotionally being able to handle it,” he said. “Being able to connect with our peers and teachers is vital to every student’s education, and if teachers are forced to disregard our identities and who we are as people, and students are banned from forming clubs and support groups with their peers, that opportunity for connection is damaged.”
“Ignoring and refusing trans kids’ existence won’t make us disappear,” Moore added. “Censoring and whitewashing the history we are taught will not change what has happened in the past.”
The new law also dictates that schools can’t continue or create policies, training, activities, or programs that reference race, color and ethnicity unless they are specifically required by state or federal law. That can include DEI training about racial diversity or understanding.
“Many schools are avoiding lessons about systemic racism, racial equity, historical discrimination, or related subjects even in history or social studies, for fear of violating the law,” according to the Texas Freedom Network.
Brian Klosterboer, a senior staff attorney with ACLU of Texas, called the legislation “a ban on education” and said the lawsuit aims to reaffirm that students have access to a safe, inclusive learning environment.
“Students should be free to learn about themselves and the world around them, but SB 12 aims to punish kids for being who they are and ban teachers from supporting them,” he said in a statement. “It sends the false message that Black, Brown, LGBTQIA+, and other students don’t belong in the classroom or in our state.”
U.S. District Judge Charles Eskridge heard arguments in a Houston courtroom last week from attorneys representing plaintiffs and defendants. An ACLU of Texas spokesman said Monday that a ruling on the temporary injunction could come as early as January.
The law puts trans kids in danger by normalizing transphobia in the classroom, Moore said, noting that a lack of support increases suicide risk. A 2024 study by San Francisco-based advocacy group The Trevor Project found that anti-transgender laws can increase suicide attempts among transgender and nonbinary youth by up to 72 percent.
Former Katy ISD student Cameron Samuels said they were bullied and harassed “because of my Jewish faith, my LGBTQ identity and my neurodivergent disorders.”
“For me, I wanted to be seen, heard and valued,” Samuels said. “My high school Pride Club was a lifeline for me in discovering my LGBTQ identity and feeling safer at school. Every student deserves the freedom to learn and the right to see themselves reflected in school programs and activities.”
Some advocates have questioned what they refer to as the hypocrisy of Republican lawmakers supporting and, in some cases, funding the addition of Turning Point USA chapters at Texas high schools and colleges. The conservative Christian movement was founded by Donald Trump ally Charlie Kirk, who was murdered on a college campus in Utah in September.
“Texas’ partnership with Turning Point marks the latest attempt by Republican officials to push education further to the right, after years of them accusing public schools of indoctrinating students with left-leaning beliefs about race and gender,” the Associated Press reported earlier this month.
SB 12 is “unconstitutionally vague and far-reaching,” said Dale Melchert, a senior staff attorney with the Transgender Law Center.
“It chills the speech of school employees in both their professional and private lives and it harms students’ freedom to organize safe and affirming spaces for themselves,” he said.
Klosterboer said he’s hopeful the court will block four key aspects of Senate Bill 12, including the bans on Gay-Straight Alliances, inclusivity, “don’t say LGBTQ+” and social transition.
“On their face, each of these provisions is unconstitutional, impermissibly discriminates based on viewpoint, is vague, is over-broad and has a harmful, chilling effect on the constitutional rights of students, parents, educators and others across the state,” he said. “It’s an attempt by the Texas legislature to censor and whitewash our history.”
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2025.