ACLU, other groups, file lawsuit to stop 'Student Identity Censorship Law' in Texas

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AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Supporters called Senate Bill 12 the “Parent’s Bill of Rights.” Now, four days before it becomes law, opponents are suing over the bill they’re calling the “Student Identity Censorship Law.”

“Senate Bill 12 is a blatant attempt to erase students’ identities and silence the stories that make Texas strong,” American Civil Liberties Union of Texas Staff Attorney Brian Klosterboer said. “SB 12 is one of the most extreme education censorship laws in the country, undermining the free speech rights of Texas students, parents, and educators. We’re challenging this law in court because our schools should be places of truth, inclusion, and opportunity — not fear and erasure.”

SB 12 is an expansive bill relating to public school governance. Chiefly, the bill bans diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts from the Texas public schools, including banning DEI student groups.

“At its core, the Texas Parental Bill of Rights in Education is about reaffirming that parents are the chief decision makers for their children,” SB 12 author State Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, said when laying his bill on the Senate floor in March. “Making it clear that their fundamental role in their child’s education, their moral and religious upbringing, is decided by their parents.”

The plaintiffs said the bill isn’t about parental rights, but government control.

“It’s really only privileging the viewpoints of certain parents, parents who agree with certain politicians that discussions of race, gender, identity or sexual orientation should be banned,” Klosterboer said. “But the parents who are affiliated with the students in our lawsuit—and many other parents across Texas—want their parents to learn about the world around them, to learn about the history of racism in this country, to think about issues of systemic inequality and to openly recognize and support students who are LGBTQ+.”

The lawsuit

On Thursday, the ACLU of Texas, the Transgender Law Center and Baker McKenzie filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) Network, Students Engaged in Advancing Texas (SEAT) and three anonymous individuals. The defendants in the suit are Mike Morath (in his official capacity as Commissioner of the Texas Education Agency), the Houston Independent School District, the Katy Independent School District and the Plano Independent School District.

The lawsuit targets four specific concerns the plaintiffs have with SB 12:

• Bans on all student organizations “based on sexual orientation or gender identity”
• Bans on references to “race, color, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation” in any policy, procedure, training, activity or program, “develop(ed) or implement(ed)” by a school employee, contractor or volunteer “at, for, or on behalf of” a school
• Bans on school employees “assisting” any student’s social transition
• Bans on educators and third parties from giving “instruction, guidance, activities, or programming regarding sexual orientation or gender identity to student enrolled”

The plaintiffs believe these are all First Amendment violations (imposed on Texas through the Fourteenth Amendment).

“The First and Fourteenth Amendments do not permit state officials to censor viewpoints they dislike, nor does the Equal Access Act allow school districts to prohibit students from participating in student organizations based on content,” the lawsuit said.

The ACLU also filed a motion for preliminary injunction on the case which, if approved, would put a pause on the law’s implementation until the case is settled. However, the United States Supreme Court recently ruled courts can not issue universal injunctions — meaning the ACLU would have to get creative to stop the implementation statewide.

“Our goal is to block it statewide,” Klosterboer said. “There’s a couple different paths that we could possibly take to get there, but I do agree it is a very difficult landscape for civil rights and human rights all across the country. It is sad to see sometimes the courts shutting their doors to access to justice.”

Klosterboer highlighted their targeting of Morath in the lawsuit as a potential avenue to secure a block on the law statewide.

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