Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched an investigation into two of the state’s school districts after their employees appeared to advise an undercover reporter on how they could circumvent the state’s ban on transgender students taking part in girls’ sport.
The investigation applies to Dallas Independent School District (DISD) and Irving Independent School District (IISD), with Paxton vowing that any bid to circumvent state law regarding transgender students in girls’ sport would be “rooted out.”
Newsweek contacted Attorney General Paxton for comment outside of regular office hours on Friday via telephone and voicemail message, along with the DISD and IISD via email.
Why It Matters
In Texas, legislation took effect in January 2022 requiring student athletes to play on male or female sports teams in accordance with the sex listed on their birth certificate.
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order seeking to ban transgender athletes from participating in women’s and girls’ sports across the United States.
Paxton’s announcement of an investigation shows his determination to enforce state law in the context of a more general backlash against transgender athletes competing in female sports, an issue that Trump campaigned on during the 2024 presidential election.
What To Know
On Thursday, Paxton shared an article from conservative leaning outlet Daily Wire on X, formerly Twitter, which said he was launching an investigation into Dallas Independent and Irving Independent School Districts over advice their employees had given an undercover reporter regarding transgender inclusion in girls’ sports teams.
He commented: “Any systematic effort by a school district to sidestep state law and allow biological boys to play in girls’ sports in Texas will be rooted out, and my office will explore all avenues to hold those responsible to account.”
Stock photograph showing protesters displaying placards against US President Donald Trump during a demonstration in front of the US Army career center in Times Square, New York, on July 26, 2017.
JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/GETTY
In January, culture war focused outlet Accuracy in Media published an investigation in which employees of both the DISD and IISD appeared to give advice on skirting state law regarding transgender athletes in girls’ sports.
Speaking to an undercover reporter, Mahoganie Gaston, the LGBT Youth Program coordinator at DISD, said there was a “loophole” allowing Texas students to update the gender on their birth certificates in certain other states, then qualifying them to play in sports teams of that gender in the Lone Star State.
Gaston said: “I tell people all the time, I will go to jail for saving their child’s life.”
IISD executive director of campus operations Reny Lizardo gave an undercover reporter similar advice, commenting: “If you can get that done, and you turn us a birth certificate that says ‘this gender,’ that’s the gender we go with.” He added: “It’s not illegal if you don’t get caught.”
Following the Accuarcy in Media report, Lizardo resigned from his position with the IISD.
What People Are Saying
In a statement, IISD said: “Irving ISD complies with all state and federal laws, and all employees are expected to adhere to any and all legal and ethical standards.” It added that Lizardo had been “acting outside of his role as it relates to legal and regulatory expertise.”
Speaking to The Daily Wire, Ken Paxton said: “The idea of school district officials turning their backs on female students and sacrificing the integrity of women’s athletics to advance the radical transgender agenda is disgusting.
“Any systematic effort by a school district to sidestep state law and allow biological boys to play in girls’ sports in Texas will be rooted out, and my office will explore all avenues to hold those responsible to account.”
What Happens Next
Following Trump’s executive order, the clampdown on transgender athletes in girls’ and women’s sports looks set to intensify and extend across the entire United States.
This could create conflict between some progressive teachers and school administrators attempting to circumvent the ban and federal authorities.
