\n Judge Pauses Texas DEI Ban In 3 ISDs | Androgynous student image by MandriaPix\/Shutterstock <\/p>\n
A federal judge has temporarily paused Texas\u2019 ban on so-called \u201cdiversity, equity, and inclusion\u201d in Plano, Houston, and Katy school districts.<\/p>\n
Judge Charles Eskridge issued a preliminary injunction<\/a> in GSA v. Morath on February 20. This restricts Plano ISD, Houston ISD, and Katy ISD from enforcing key sections of S.B. 12 \u2013 Texas\u2019 law banning DEI from the classroom.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis is yet another example of an activist judge who, instead of allowing litigation to play out, is stretching the limits of their constitutional authority to override a duly enacted law, the legislative process, and ultimately the will of the people of Texas,\u201d said State Board of Education Member Brandon Hall to The Dallas Express.\u00a0<\/p>\n Left-wing activists sued<\/a> the districts, along with Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath, in August 2025, claiming that S.B. 12 violated free speech. Morath and Katy ISD moved to dismiss the suit in November, but plaintiffs kept pursuing the case.<\/p>\n The Dallas Express asked Plano ISD for comment, but did not receive a response in time for publication.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis ruling could put students in the affected districts at risk of exposure to extreme sexual ideologies,\u201d Hall said.<\/p>\n The Order<\/p>\n Eskridge ordered\u00a0the districts to pause<\/a> enforcing S.B. 12 sections 3, 7, 24, and 27.\u00a0<\/p>\n Section 3 bans<\/a> districts from using \u201crace, sex, color, or ethnicity\u201d to determine hiring or employment, or giving \u201cdifferential treatment\u201d or \u201cspecial benefits\u201d based on race, color, or ethnicity. It also bans staff from compelling or soliciting DEI statements, assigning DEI duties, or carrying out DEI duties.<\/p>\n Section 7 prohibits<\/a> district staff from coaching students through \u201csocial transitioning\u201d by using a different name, different pronouns, or other gender expressions that \u201cencourage a denial of the person\u2019s biological sex at birth.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Section 24 restricts<\/a> public districts and open-enrollment charter schools from providing, or allowing a third party to provide, instruction or programming on \u201csexual orientation or gender identity\u201d to students from kindergarten through 12th grade. It notes that this should not limit students\u2019 \u201cspeech or expressive conduct\u201d protected by the 1st Amendment.<\/p>\n Section 27 bars public districts, including open-enrollment charter schools, from allowing student clubs<\/a> \u201cbased on sexual orientation or gender identity.\u201d It also requires parental consent to attend a school-sanctioned club.<\/p>\n Like other districts across Texas, Plano, Houston, and Katy ISD are still bound to uphold the rest of S.B. 12. This includes provisions allowing<\/a> parents access to their students\u2019 school records, making schools notify parents about changes to students\u2019 health, and requiring parental consent before certain psychological exams or sexuality instruction.<\/p>\n Parents who see potential violations can file a formal written complaint with the school board, then submit a written grievance. If that fails, they can file a complaint<\/a> with the Texas Education Agency.<\/p>\n Activist Plaintiffs<\/p>\n Plaintiffs include<\/a> the Genders and Sexuality Alliance, the Texas American Federation of Teachers, Students Engaged in Advancing Texas, a teacher, two students, and their parents. They are using law firms, including the ACLU-Texas, the Transgender Law Center, and Baker McKenzie.<\/p>\n The GSA was previously known<\/a> as the \u201cGay-Straight Alliance,\u201d starting in the late 1980s, according to the group\u2019s website. The network runs chapters<\/a> in schools across America, aiming to \u201cunite TQ2S+ [\u2018transgender queer two-spirit+\u2019] and allied youth to build community, support one another, and organize for change.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGSAs influence broader culture \u2013 shaping how peers, teachers, and communities understand gender and sexuality,\u201d the website reads. \u201cThey\u2019re not just clubs; they are sites of resistance, resilience, and leadership that give young people the power to change their schools and their world.\u201d<\/p>\n Texas AFT is a state affiliate of the broader American Federation of Teachers, the second-largest teachers\u2019 union in the nation.\u00a0<\/p>\n AFT is a lobbying powerhouse<\/a>, and its affiliates donate millions of dollars to Democrats \u2013 almost exclusively in recent years, according to OpenSecrets. AFT President Randi Weingarten is a vocal supporter<\/a> of left-wing causes and an avid opponent<\/a> of school choice.\u00a0<\/p>\n SEAT is an advocacy group that mobilizes<\/a> students to promote left-wing education policy in Texas. The group has organized<\/a> opposition to local \u201canti-transgender school board policies,\u201d pushed<\/a> for \u201crestorative civic history,\u201d and denounced<\/a> S.B. 12.<\/p>\n Similar Legal Battles<\/p>\n Activist groups have also been suing Texas officials over S.B. 10, which requires schools to post copies of the Ten Commandments.\u00a0<\/p>\n The law allowed<\/a> schools to buy displays, but did not force them to do so, as The Dallas Express reported. It also required them to \u201caccept and display\u201d any privately donated posters that meet the law\u2019s standards.\u00a0<\/p>\n In July 2025, plaintiffs sued<\/a> in Rabbi Nathan v. Alamo Heights ISD, claiming the law violates \u201cseparation of church and state.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n U.S. District Judge Fred Biery issued a preliminary injunction<\/a> in August, temporarily banning districts named in the suit \u2013 including Plano ISD \u2013 from complying with the law. As The Dallas Express reported, he cited<\/a> Kenny Chesney in the ruling and compared Texas\u2019 law to Nazi Germany.<\/p>\n In September 2025, secular activist groups also filed suit<\/a> on behalf of 15\u00a0families in Cribbs Ringer v. Comal ISD. Law firms included the ACLU, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom from Religion Foundation.<\/p>\n The more recent suit targeted<\/a> districts across Texas, including several across DFW \u2013 Arlington ISD, Azle ISD, Fort Worth ISD, Frisco ISD, Lovejoy ISD, Mansfield ISD, McKinney ISD, Northwest ISD, and Rockwall ISD. A federal judge issued an injunction<\/a> against these districts in November 2025.<\/p>\n Gov. Greg Abbott signed<\/a> S.B. 10 in June, requiring \u201cevery classroom in Texas public schools\u201d to display the 10 Commandments, as The Dallas Express previously reported. Attorney General Ken Paxton urged districts to comply with the law and vowed to defend<\/a> them against potential lawsuits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Judge Pauses Texas DEI Ban In 3 ISDs | Androgynous student image by MandriaPix\/Shutterstock A federal judge has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":177350,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[71439,71442,71443,71435,71434,71436,71440,160,162,71437,161,71438,71441],"class_list":["post-177349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-plano","tag-aclu-texas-school-lawsuit","tag-dei-ban-blocked-texas","tag-gsa-v-morath-ruling","tag-houston-isd-dei-pause","tag-judge-charles-eskridge-preliminary-injunction","tag-katy-isd-s-b-12-halt","tag-lgbtq-student-clubs-texas-schools","tag-plano","tag-plano-headlines","tag-plano-isd-gender-identity-clubs","tag-plano-news","tag-texas-anti-dei-law-challenge","tag-texas-s-b-12-injunction"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=177349"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177349\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/177350"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=177349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=177349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=177349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}