Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is asking Dallas and Irving ISDs to turn over their policies related to a state law on transgender athletes in public schools amid allegations the districts are allowing “boys to compete in girls’ sports,” his office announced in a news release Thursday.
House Bill 25, passed in 2021, says public school students can only compete in sports aligned with their biological sex assigned at birth.
In letters sent this week, Paxton requests the districts' provide documents related to compliance with HB25 and communications regarding “the determination of a student’s eligibility to participate in interscholastic sports based on sex.”
Paxton cites surreptitiously recorded videos which surfaced recently, reportedly showing officials in both districts fielding questions from people claiming to be parents of transgender children. In the possibly fake scenarios, “parents” asked about their presumed students’ participation in school sports.
Answers from school officials, in the videos, did not seem to adhere to HB25 as written.
These videos weren’t provided by the AG, and have not been seen or validated by KERA.
An Irving ISD administrator allegedly shown in one of the videos resigned after Gov. Greg Abbott demanded on social media that the employee be “fired on the spot.”
The district told KERA in a statement Thursday that Irving ISD will comply with any request for documentation “initiated by relevant authorities."
“We can confirm that all Irving ISD student-athletes are participating in their sport in accordance with the sex they were assigned at birth,” the statement said.
The district also said of the administrator captured on video that "[i]ndividual employees do not speak on behalf of the district.
Dallas ISD told KERA in an emailed statement it will "continue to support and uphold all laws as required by the state, including HB 25.
"We remain committed to serving a diverse population supported by our mission of educating all students for success.”
Bill Zeeble is KERA’s education reporter. Got a tip? Email Bill at bzeeble@kera.org. You can follow him on X @bzeeble.
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