Adam Zuvanich/Houston Public Media
Community members walk into Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center for a school board meeting on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024.
Two Houston ISD parents have filed a lawsuit against the district after teachers and staff allegedly continued to use their child’s preferred pronouns despite requests from the parents not to do so.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court on Monday, pertains to a student at Bellaire High School who had asked teachers to be referred to with masculine he/him pronouns and a different name. The parents claim that upon discovering their child was using a different name and pronouns, they repeatedly spoke with various teachers and administrators to express their objection.
The lawsuit was filed with assistance from Alliance Defending Freedom, a nonprofit committed to “protecting religious freedom, free speech, the sanctity of life, marriage and family, and parental rights,” according to its website.
“During the 2022-2023, 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 school years, multiple HISD employees treated the [parents’] daughter as a boy without their knowledge or consent, while actively concealing it and even over the [parents’] express objection pursuant to such policy and practice,” the lawsuit states.
The school district declined to comment on the lawsuit.
“Given there is pending litigation, at this time, the District is unable to discuss any aspect of this incident,” an HISD spokesperson told Houston Public Media.
While HISD does not have any policies related directly to gender identity and preferred pronoun use, several Houston-area school districts — Fort Bend ISD, Cy-Fair ISD and Katy ISD — have passed controversial policies regulating the usage of pronouns and requiring that parents be informed if their child identifies as transgender or asks to use pronouns that differ from their gender at birth.
Cameron Samuels, a former Katy ISD student, founded Students Engaged in Advancing Texas (SEAT) to advocate against censorship and anti-LGBTQ+ policies in schools.
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Samuels, speaking generally and not specifically about the HISD case, said the idea that schools are actively trying to socially transition students is untrue and based solely on prejudice.
“Students and youth are our own individual people, and we deserve equal respect,” they said. “Students have rights, too. Students can’t just be subdued and subjugated by policies like this that deprive us of our rights. … And I understand where parents are coming from, but at the same time, this is fear that’s based on ignorance and bigotry.”
The lawsuit alleges that HISD violated the parents’ First and Fourteenth Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution by not abiding by their wishes for their child. The parents specifically claim the district was violating their First Amendment right to freedom of religion.
“The [parents] were substantially burdened in the exercise of their religion because defendants subjected their daughter to a social transition that directly violates their beliefs and concealed these actions from them,” the lawsuit states.
The parents also argue in their lawsuit that the district is violating the parents’ parental rights protected by the Fourteenth Amendment.
The lawsuit is requesting the court to implement a preliminary and permanent injunction to require the district not to use the child’s preferred pronouns or name. It also requests that the district reimburse the parents for damages and legal fees.
Samuels, the former Katy ISD student and SEAT founder, said placing the parents’ wishes over those of their children can leave lasting, harmful impacts on students.
“It’s really important that our schools and our communities affirm our youth because public education is meant to prepare students and youth for the future, to be the best of ourselves, to be citizens of the great state of Texas,” they said. “By claiming that certain students shouldn’t be affirmed, we are shaping an education system that erases and silences some of the most vulnerable people in our communities.
“And that is not going to create a Texas where everyone is valued and empowered for success.”