Texas AG wants school officials under oath on transgender policy

DALLAS – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wants to question Dallas Independent School District officials under oath as part of his investigation into the district’s policy on transgender athletes.

Paxton on Monday announced his office has filed a legal petition to do so. Earlier this year, Paxton’s office launched an investigation of the district’s “unwritten policy” that allegedly encouraged parents of transgender students to alter their child’s birth certificates in other states.

Paxton initially requested several records regarding the district’s compliance with a 2021 state law that bans transgender students from competing in sports matching their identifying gender. The request came after the district’s LGBT Youth Program Coordinator, Mahoganie Gaston, suggested in a video published by Accuracy in Media, a Washington-based nonprofit that students could play in sports matching updated birth certificates.

In a statement, Dallas ISD said it was following state law and is cooperating with Paxton’s information requests.

“We are cooperating with the Attorney General’s office to provide information that confirms Dallas ISD’s ongoing compliance with federal and state laws,” the district said. “The district is committed to continue following both the spirit and intent of the law.”

Changes to a person’s gender on birth certificates is illegal in Texas, but can still be done in other states. In the January video, Gaston suggests changing a child’s certificate in another state is a “loophole” to the Texas law. Paxton’s petition requests several Dallas ISD officials to appear for depositions, including Gaston, district superintendent Stephanie Elizalde and members of the school board.

“ISD officials who have participated in this madness will be held accountable,” Paxton said in a news release Monday. “The systematic effort by Dallas ISD officials to circumvent Texas law will be exposed and stopped.”

Dallas ISD is not the only school district affected by the undercover videos and subsequent inquiries from the attorney general. Paxton also sent a letter in February to Irving Independent School District after Accuracy in Media filmed a separate video similarly sending an undercover representative to ask about the district’s policy on student athletes.

Gov. Greg Abbott posted about the video on X, calling for Irving ISD to be investigated, and the district administrator featured in the video resigned shortly after.

Article originally published by The Texas Tribune. To read the originally published article, click here.