Michael “Chip” Haro is pictured alongside the Amazon listing for Life Lessons from a Teenage Gay Icon. | Images via Paschal High School Athletics and Amazon; compilation by DX.
Fort Worth ISD says it is reviewing the matter after a Paschal High School parent raised concerns about public profiles linking English teacher and soccer coach Michael “Chip” Haro to a young adult novel centered on a gay teenage drag queen.
“The district is reviewing the matter,” Fort Worth ISD Communications told The Dallas Express on Tuesday.
The Dallas Express asked Fort Worth ISD whether Haro wrote Life Lessons from a Teenage Gay Icon, whether Paschal selected him to lead the girls soccer program for the 2026-27 school year and whether any district classroom, library, athletic program or activity had assigned, purchased, stocked, promoted or discussed the book.
The Dallas Express contacted Haro multiple times at his Fort Worth ISD email and asked whether he authored the book, whether he had introduced it to district students, whether he planned to use it or its themes with the soccer team and how he responded to the parent’s concerns and a State Board of Education member’s call for his removal.
Haro did not respond before publication.
Public profiles connect coach and author
A Paschal soccer account announced Haro as the school’s new head women’s soccer coach in a social media graphic that described him as a longtime educator and coach. Paschal’s official athletics biography, however, still lists Haro as an assistant varsity coach and JV White team coach and states that he has taught in Fort Worth ISD for 21 years. The district did not confirm the new appointment before publication.
Paschal’s soccer account announced Haro as its new head women’s soccer coach, while an Amazon author biography describes Chip Haro as a Fort Worth English teacher and soccer coach. | Images via Paschal Boys Soccer/Instagram and Amazon; compilation by DX.
A May 28, 2026, Fort Worth ISD commencement program lists “Michael Chip Haro” among Paschal’s English faculty.
Amazon profile links Haro to novel
An Amazon listing identifies “Chip Haro” as the author of Life Lessons from a Teenage Gay Icon. The author biography says Chip Haro lives in Fort Worth and works as a high school English teacher and soccer coach.
A 2021 public social media post under the name Chip Haro used a frame reading, “Happy Pride Month — The Fight Continues.” The profile photograph appears to show the same man pictured on Paschal High School’s athletics page. | Images via social media and Paschal High School Athletics; compilation by DX.
Taken together, the matching name, city, occupations and photographs strongly indicate that Paschal teacher and coach Michael “Chip” Haro authored the book. Fort Worth ISD did not confirm the authorship before publication.
Amazon describes the novel as following Jackie, a gay teenager who calls himself a “Teenage Gay Icon” and hopes to audition for “Drag Quest,” and his sister Virginia, who struggles with anxiety and panic attacks. After learning Jackie has little time left, the siblings take a cross-country trip to New York City as he attempts to repair their relationship.
Parent raises concerns
A parent who said their child attends Paschal contacted The Dallas Express after seeing the coaching announcement. The Dallas Express granted anonymity because the parent said identification could create consequences for the child.
“I am writing out of concern for my kid and others. While I want to remain anonymous to avoid consequences for my child, I would like to express my profound concern regarding this pick for head coach and the potential for gender indoctrination on the team,” the parent told The Dallas Express.
The Dallas Express found no evidence that the book had been assigned, purchased, stocked, promoted or used in a Fort Worth ISD classroom, library, athletic program or district activity.
SBOE member calls for removal
State Board of Education member Brandon Hall (R-District 11) said the reports, if accurate, should prompt Haro’s removal.
“If the reports that a Fort Worth ISD employee authored the book in question are accurate, they should be removed from their position expeditiously. Anyone who would target impressionable youth with inappropriate drag queen propaganda guised as a children’s book should not be allowed to work in K-12 education,” Hall told The Dallas Express.
Amazon lists the novel in its Teen & Young Adult LGBTQ+ Issues category. The Dallas Express found no evidence that Haro assigned, promoted, distributed or discussed the book with Fort Worth ISD students.
The inquiry comes as Texas school districts implement Senate Bill 12, which took effect September 1, 2025. The law generally prohibits public school districts and their employees from providing instruction, guidance, activities or programming regarding sexual orientation or gender identity to students in prekindergarten through 12th grade, subject to limited exceptions.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, districts across Texas have reviewed policies and programs for compliance with the law. The text of Senate Bill 12 does not address private book authorship, and nothing reviewed by The Dallas Express establishes that Haro used the novel with students or violated the law.