A school district just banned rainbow flags. It may soon remove protections for LGBTQ+ students too.

GOP official just banned “Everyone is Welcome Here” signs in schools because they’re too Democratic

SCOTUS rules parents have a right to prevent their kids from reading books with LGBTQ+ characters

*This is reported by LGBTQ Nation.

The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in Mahmoud v. Taylor, the case brought by parents who said that their First Amendment rights were violated when schools used books that included LGBTQ+ characters.

The decision was 6-3 along ideological lines, with the Republican-appointed justices siding with the religious parents who wanted to opt their children out of reading books like Prince & Knight and Uncle Bobby’s Wedding in the Montgomery County, Maryland, school system.

“The Court does not accept the Board’s characterizations of the LGBTQ+-inclusive instruction as mere ‘exposure to objectionable ideas’ or as lessons in ‘mutual respect,’” Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the majority. “The storybooks unmistakably convey a particular viewpoint about same-sex marriage and gender.”

“Regardless, the question in cases of this kind is whether the educational requirement or curriculum at issue would ‘substantially interfere with the religious development’ of the child or pose ‘a very real threat of undermining’ the religious beliefs and practices the parent wishes to instill in the child.”

“Casting aside longstanding precedent, the Court invents a constitutional right to avoid exposure to ‘subtle’ themes ‘contrary to the religious principles’ that parents wish to instill in their children,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in her dissenting opinion. “Exposing students to the ‘message’ that LGBTQ people exist, and that their loved ones may celebrate their marriages and life events, the majority says, is enough to trigger the most demanding form of judicial scrutiny.”

The case involved several sets of Christian and Muslim parents who objected to their kids reading books that mentioned LGBTQ+ people. The district had an opt-out policy that they later rescinded because, the district claimed, the opt-outs were becoming “unworkable.”

Some parents in the district protested to get the opt-out policy reinstated, while others protested in favor of learning about LGBTQ+ people.

“The books geared to younger kids are just showing a diverse range of families,” said Christina Celenza, a mother of a student in the district, during one of the 2023 protests. “We have a two-mom household, so my wife and I are really proud and out, and, of course, my kid in kindergarten or pre-K is going to probably talk about his family and his two moms.”

The district didn’t budge, so several parents sued. Two lower courts denied them a preliminary injunction, but the Supreme Court just granted them one.

The parents want the courts to ultimately order teachers to notify them of every possible discussion where LGBTQ+ people may come up so that they could opt their children out, lest their kids learn that LGBTQ+ people exist. They claimed that knowing that LGBTQ+ people exist is contrary to their religious beliefs and violates their right to direct their children’s religious upbringing.

Public education advocates warn that the ruling could lead to even more requests for opt-outs of public education on wide-ranging topics including Earth Day, critical thinking, and anti-drug programs.

Free speech and LGBTQ+ advocates denounced the ruling.

“This ruling is a deeply disappointing blow to the right to read under the First Amendment,” said U.S. Free Expression Programs staff attorney for PEN America Elly Brinkley in a statement. “It is a fundamental betrayal of public schools’ duty to prepare students to live in a diverse and pluralistic society. By allowing parents to pull their children out of classrooms when they object to particular content, the justices are laying the foundation for a new frontier in the assault on books of all kinds in schools.”

“While religious liberty is fundamentally important, it should not force public schools to exempt students from lessons that don’t align with their families’ personal religious or cultural beliefs,” said Equality California Executive Director Tony Hoang in a statement. “LGBTQ+ themed books are already among the most banned and challenged in school districts and libraries across the country. Today’s decision will make it even harder for these books to find their way into the hands of students who simply want to read — and who may find validation and acceptance in the process.”

“Today’s ruling does not change schools’ obligation to prepare students to interact with and thrive in a diverse and ever-changing world,” said GLAD Law’s Mary L. Bonauto. “LGBTQ+ people and families exist, students in our public schools have LGBTQ+ parents, and books that include LGBTQ+ people should not be treated differently than those without LGBTQ+ people.”

“The Court’s decision does not require our schools to abandon these efforts. Parents, students, educators, and neighbors can encourage opportunities for learning about diverse people and families by staying involved with school districts, school boards, and in our local communities.”

June 28, 2025 0

North Texas teacher resigns after backlash over TikTok pronoun video

*This is being reported by WFAA.

For seven months, Red Oak ISD was a sanctuary for Rosalyn Sandri. She described it as a place where she pursued her lifelong dream of being a teacher.

But today, she’s no longer in the classroom.

Sandri, an English teacher, shared a video on TikTok talking about how her students had embraced her pronouns and showed respect by addressing her as “ma’am.”

“When I told them I changed my pronouns, they jumped right into it,” she said on Tuesday.

But Sandri said when the post was reposted on X, formerly known as Twitter, by the account Libs of TikTok, it went viral, racking up 3.2 million views.

That’s when the backlash began.

Sandri said she began receiving death threats and hateful emails, even through her school email account.

“I got a notice that told me to eat a bullet,” she said.

The video also caught the attention of Texas State Representative Brian Harrison, who publicly called for her resignation.

“Schools are for education, not indoctrination,” Harrison said over Zoom on Tuesday.

“Teaching children, minors, that boys can become girls, and girls can become boys is at odds with objective reality. And the biological reality is that there are only two sexes,” said Harrison.

In a statement to WFAA, Red Oak ISD confirmed that Sandri resigned effective immediately on Monday, March 31.

“In light of recent attention, Red Oak High School English teacher Sandri has resigned, effective March 31, 2025. Any other information is a personnel matter, and we are not at liberty to discuss.”

Sandri said she felt she had no choice but to step away for her safety and the safety of the school and students.

“When I resigned, I felt like I was signing away my ability to teach in the state of Texas. I don’t know that another school will touch me now,” she said.

“Being a teacher is all I ever wanted to do since I was five years old,” she said.

Now, she fears her career in Texas is over.

April 1, 2025 0

Ohio ‘Given Name Act’ proposes strict rules for names, pronouns in schools

*This is being reported by NBC4i.

Ohio’s “Parents’ Bill of Rights” won’t go into effect for two more weeks, but House Republicans are already proposing amendments, including one that would penalize districts that used students’ chosen names and pronouns without parent permission.

Reps. Jonathan Newman (R-Troy) and Josh Williams (R-Sylvania Township) introduced House Bill 190 on Monday, which would require public schools to have parent permission to refer to a student by a name or pronoun that differs from what is listed on their birth certificate. Schools that violate the “Given Name Act” would be denied state funding and open themselves to lawsuits.

“It’s to make sure that parents can exercise, reconstitute the right to control the upbringing of their children, even inside of school buildings,” Williams said.

The bill also bans public school employees or contractors from requiring students or staff to respect students’ chosen names or pronouns. Even with parent permission, schools would not be allowed to subject staff or students to “adverse action” for declining to use a student’s preferred name and pronouns.

Although students older than 18 could personally request to be addressed differently under HB 190, teachers could not. The proposed bill would ban school employees from sharing their pronouns or titles if they differ from what is listed on the employee’s personal birth certificate. Williams said requiring students to use teachers’ pronouns makes young students affirm that genders can be changed.

After Florida enacted a similar ban in 2023, the state faced lawsuits from transgender and gender variant teachers, including high school teacher Katie Wood. A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction that said the state’s ban on preferred pronouns violated Wood’s First Amendment rights, and a federal court heard oral arguments in October 2024. However, the court withdrew its interest in the case on Feb. 26, before a ruling was issued.

The law would not apply to derivatives, or generally accepted nicknames, of birth names. For instance, if director Spike Lee were an Ohio student, he could be called Shelton or Shel, from his given name Shelton Jackson Lee. However, he would need written permission to be called Spike under HB 190.

“We’ve got big problems and issues to deal with in our schools, in higher education,” Ohio House Minority Leader Rep. Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington) said. “What we’re seeing and this sort of going back to pronouns and attacking diversity, equity and inclusion, it’s a distraction.”

The Given Name Act also establishes a complaint system through the Department of Education and Workforce. If the department determines a school district violated the law, the state would then withhold 10% of the school’s funding every month until the state determined they were now compliant. The bill also allows families to sue for monetary relief if a district or staff member knowingly violates it.

“There’s always discretionary funds that the Supreme Court has noted that we provide to school districts that we’re not constitutionally required to provide,” Williams said. “So that’s a funding mechanism that if school districts don’t want to comply with state law, there has to be some repercussions.”

HB 190 would update the Parents’ Bill of Rights, which will go into effect on April 9 and already requires schools to alert parents and guardians if a student requests to go by a name or pronoun that is different from what was assigned at birth.

April 1, 2025 0

Columbus City Schools reverting to birth names catches students, teachers off guard

*This is being reported by NBC4i.

Columbus City Schools students with preferred names in the district system had their names reverted back to what is on their birth certificate.

This mainly affected transgender and nonbinary students, and they were not notified that this was happening.

Students and teachers were caught off guard on March 19 when attendance was called and they realized preferred names were changed in the district’s system, called Infinite Campus.

“He found out about the rescinded name change policy at school,” one parent with a transgender son said. “His fourth-period teacher advised him to go to the office because his preferred name was not listed in Infinite Campus. My son started to go to the office and in a panic ran to the bathroom to call me at work.”

“To have that happen on such a grand scale and to not even see it coming, I don’t think that there are any words to describe the feelings that folks had when that happened,” said Izetta Thomas, the lead organizer with the Columbus Education Justice Coalition.

Thomas said she has been talking to parents and students since the day of the change.

“Those names that were in the system were actually there with parent consent and permission, because there was a form that parents had to fill out for that change to even be in the system at all,” Thomas said.

The parent said the past few weeks since the name changes have been long and difficult for their son and their family.

“My son has not physically been back to school since March 19,” the parent said. “For his safety, we unenrolled from his previous school. Now, his educational opportunities have been taken from him.”

Columbus Schools Superintendent Dr. Angela Chapman sent out a letter to students, parents and staff on Friday acknowledging that no warning was given. In the letter, Chapman said in part, “We did not provide prior notice this was occurring, nor did we ensure support was in place to prioritize the emotional well-being of everyone impacted.”

Chapman also apologized for how the district handled this situation.

The letter cited recent Ohio laws like the bathroom bill and the Parents’ Bill of Rights as reason why the names were changed, but Thomas said that none of these laws require school districts to revert trans students’ names.

“A lot of the information that we’ve been getting from folks at the district is that it was anticipatory,” Thomas said. “An apology is not enough. An apology is not accountability, and that’s what we’re looking for, is accountability.”

The parent did say Chapman called them personally to apologize, but they said she offered little in solutions.

Thomas said a number of people from the Columbus Education Justice Coalition will be at the next Columbus Board of Education meeting to show their support for impacted students and families.

April 1, 2025 0

Texas AG announces plan to legally depose Dallas school district officials over trans athletes

*This is being reported by the Dallas Voice.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced in a press release today (Monday, March 31) that his office has filed a legal petition to “conduct depositions on key Dallas Independent School District officials as part of an ongoing investigation to ensure that the district is not violating Texas law by permitting biological males to participate in girls’ sports.”

In February, Paxton demanded that Dallas ISD turn over “extensive records … related to alarming evidence that the District had implemented an unwritten policy of encouraging students to alter their birth certificates to play sports in violation of the Texas law prohibiting a student from competing in interscholastic athletic competitions designated for the opposite biological sex.”

“Biological sex,” by the way, is the catchphrase that certain political elements living on the extreme right of the political spectrum to give a scientific-sounding cover for their basic transphobia. As Psychology Today notes: “What is biological sex? It seems like a question with an obvious answer: male and female, of course. You might point to internal or external sex organs, or sex chromosomes (XX for females, XY for males), or genes (such as SRY, the maestro responsible for kicking off male development).

“These answers are only part of the story — and they work well enough for most humans. But for all humans? Not quite. And when it comes to the rest of the biological world, those explanations crumble like sandcastles under the tide of nature’s diversity.”

But back to Paxton’s attack of the day: The AG’s press release says the list of individuals he intends to depose includes Dallas ISD Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde, LGBT Youth Program Coordinator Mahoganie Gaston and the members of the Board of Trustees.

Paxton claims that “Gaston has been filmed telling a parent that a male student would be allowed to participate in girls’ sports if the parent changed the birth certificate of their son to ‘female,’” that the district “find[s] the loopholes in everything” and that she is “willing to go to jail for defying Texas law.”

A statement attributed to Paxton in the press release declares, “School districts must follow the law, keep our children safe and end these insane ‘gender theory’ policies that ignore reality and encourage illegal actions. ISD officials who have participated in this madness will be held accountable.

“The systematic effort by Dallas ISD officials to circumvent Texas law will be exposed and stopped.”

Dallas Voice has reached out to Dallas ISD officials for comment.

(P.S. This press release came from the AG’s office on the same day Paxton sent a press release explaining how his office is going to make certain local district attorneys report to him so he can make sure they are doing things his way. We’re still waiting on a comment from Dallas District Attorney John Creuzot’s office for some sort of official response, but a quick Google search indicates that Ken Paxton has no supervisory authority of local DAs who, by the way, are themselves public officials elected by the public, same as Paxton.)

March 31, 2025 0