Screenshot from Houston ISD board meeting
The Texas Education Agency said it is “reviewing” a claim that teachers at Bellaire High School were “socially transitioning” a student against the will of their parents.
Gov. Greg Abbott called for the state agency to investigate Houston ISD based on comments made during the district’s Thursday board meeting by Denise Bell, chair of the Harris County chapter of Moms for Liberty. The politically conservative organization expresses anti-LGBTQ+ views and also has advocated against teaching students about critical race theory and books that address gender identity.
Bell said she was speaking on behalf of an anonymous Bellaire parent last week, claiming the parent was upset that teachers were calling the student “by a different name and pronoun” than the student’s biological sex and “went as far as to cross out (the student’s) legal name that she had written on her paper and write her chosen name in red ink.”
Abbott, in a post on the X social media platform, responded to a video of Bell speaking to the board by saying, “No parent should have to endure this.”
The governor tied the situation to his push for a school voucher-like program in Texas, one of his priorities during the biennial state legislative session that began in January.
“Another reason why parents deserve school choice,” Abbott wrote. “No school should be involved in ‘transitioning’ a child. If this is not already illegal, it will be after this session. I have instructed TEA to investigate this matter.”
Neither the TEA nor Houston ISD, which did not respond to a request for comment Monday, has policies regarding students’ use of preferred pronouns.
A spokesperson for the TEA, which is led by Abbott-appointed Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath, said Monday it is “reviewing the matter” and did not answer questions seeking clarification and additional information.
The TEA took control of HISD in 2023, installing a state-appointed superintendent and board of managers, after Wheatley High School received a string of failing ratings from the agency.
Gender-related policies at schools have become a hot topic in the Houston area as trustees for two large suburban districts – Katy ISD and Cy-Fair ISD – have passed protocols requiring staff to notify parents if a student asks to use pronouns that differ from their biological sex. Katy ISD’s policy is under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights for possibly being discriminatory.