SAN ANTONIO – A new bill has been proposed to prevent the alleged “non-human” behavior at Texas schools, and it has the Governor’s backing.
H.B. No. 4814, otherwise known as the Forbidding Unlawful Representation of Roleplaying in Education, or F.U.R.R.I.E.S. Act, was introduced officially into the Texas House of Representatives Rep. Stan Gerdez of District 17.
The proposed piece of legislation aims to target students who exhibit “any type of behavior or accessory displayed by a student in a school district other than behaviors or accessories typically displayed by a member of the homo sapiens species.”
The prohibition extends to “surgical or superficial means” of features that are non-human, such as:
- Tails.
- Leashes, collars, or other accessories designed for pets.
- Fur (other than naturally occurring human hair or a wig made to look like human hair).
- Artificial, animal-like ears.
- Barking, meowing, hissing, or other animal noises not indicative of human speech.
- Licking oneself for the sake of grooming.
- Using a litter box for the passing of stool, urine, or other human byproducts.
Excpetions have been carved out in the bill for school mascots and certain “theme-days,” of which Texas public schools are allowed five.
The bill also outlines that “allowing or encouraging the child to develop a dependence on or a belief that non-human behaviors are societally acceptable,” in an educational setting, constitutes child abuse.
If an educator is found to support these tendencies, in violation of the act, the attorney general may fine the district up to $25,000.
This act comes after Governor Abbott, in a recent interview, raised concerns that “Kids go to school dressed up as cats with litter boxes in their classrooms.”
There have been no confirmed instances of educators, schools, or school districts permitting or providing litter boxes for students to use in the State of Texas or anywhere else in the country.
There are also no confirmed instances of “surgical means” being implemented to give a student non-human features.
The full text of the bill can be read here: