On March 19, the University of North Texas (UNT) in Denton announced it would cut over 70 courses, including its LGBTQ Studies course, as part of broader budget reductions.
President Harrison Keller and Provost Michael A. McPherson sent a statement detailing the upcoming budget cuts for the fall 2026 semester.
The university plans to eliminate over 70 programs, including courses, minors, and certificates. The cuts are expected to save $45 million.
The university cited declining enrollment, particularly among international students, as the reason for its significant budget cuts.
The enrollment decline contributed to a $32 million budget deficit for the upcoming fiscal year.
The university will allow currently enrolled students to complete their degree programs. New students will not be able to register for these majors or courses.
The cuts include three master’s programs, one undergraduate major, 25 undergraduate minors, 21 graduate programs, and 21 undergraduate certificates.
UNT ordered a review of its courses last fall as part of the budget planning process.
Some courses, including LGBTQ Studies and Women’s and Gender Studies, were eliminated as part of the budget cuts.
Texas university systems reviewed courses in response to federal directives issued during the Trump administration.
The review was conducted in response to H.B. 229, which recognizes only two genders, male and female.
UNT has not confirmed whether the law influenced its decision to cut certain programs.
The university also plans to eliminate the Department of Linguistics, citing a “consistent decline.”
UNT said it continues to monitor its strategic budgeting model, which began in fall 2024, amid declining enrollment and sponsored research.
Monitoring the strategic budgeting model has helped identify budgeting issues for the upcoming school year.
University officials emphasized the importance of the budget plan in maintaining program quality and financial stability.
Harrison Keller said, “We will continue to make strategic investments for the health of the university. Most importantly, we remain steadfast in our commitment to the long-term success of our students.”
UNT stated it aims to support staff and faculty as part of its long-term planning.
Keller and McPherson added at the end of their letter on March 19 that, “By making these difficult but necessary decisions, we will be able to strengthen the quality and impact of our current academic programs while investing in new areas that help us build momentum for the future.”
Campus Reform has reached out to the university for further comment.
The aggrieved mother of a Texas high school student has submitted what’s being described as the first formal complaint lodged over failure to comply with the state’s draconian “bathroom bill” enacted in December, and Senate candidate Ken Paxton is making the most of it.
In a letter to the Office of Texas Attorney General, the woman, whose name was redacted by Texas Values, the right-wing anti trans organization who coached her complaint and published the letter to Paxton, claims that her daughter, a student at Austin High School, informed her that a “biological male” student “has been using the female restrooms and private spaces at Austin High School.”
The woman notified the school on January 10 of the “violation of the recent law passed by the Texas legislature that requires students to use the private facilities based on their biological sex.”
After receiving no response from the school after a second complaint, the woman contacted Texas Values, which provided her with a form letter threatening the school. Administrators ignored that correspondence, as well, the woman claims.
Texas Values describes itself as “the largest statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to standing for faith, family, and freedom in Texas.”
A week later, at Texas Values’ urging, the woman wrote her rudimentary complaint with multiple misspellings and sent it to the AG’s office.
“I hope that the parent and her daughter can find some relief and put a stop to this or else the school must face consequences for not following the Texas Women’s Privacy Act,” said Mary Elizabeth Castle, Director of Government Relations for the organization, in a blog post advertising the letter they coached her to write, headlined, “Breaking! Parent Files Formal Complaint Against Austin ISD for Breaking Texas Women’s Privacy Law.”
On Friday, Paxton notified the Austin Independent School District of a citizen complaint via a state tip line alleging the violation of Senate Bill 8, also known as the Women’s Privacy Act. The snitch line was launched shortly after the bill took effect in December “to ensure that state entities are not allowing mentally ill men to invade women’s spaces,” according to the AG’s office.
Paxton’s office did not confirm whether the complaint urged on by Texas Values was the same as that referenced in the AG’s announcement; whether the complaint was verified; or if an official investigation is under way, the Texas Tribune reports.
Paxton’s notification is a statutory prerequisite for filing a lawsuit against Austin ISD. The school district was advised it’s subject to a $5,000 penalty for every day that the violation continues. They have two weeks days to cure the “bathroom bill” breach, the letter warned.
“The law is clear that political subdivisions in Texas must not allow biological men to use girls’ bathrooms and locker rooms,” Paxton said in the statement. He said his office would explore every legal avenue available.
Paxton, a culture-warring MAGA favorite now in his third term as Texas AG, has overcome multiple scandals and survived an impeachment effort in 2023. Now he’s facing a heated U.S. Senate primary runoff with incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, after Paxton’s admission of infidelity last year and an impending divorce.
While in any other scenario he’d already have President Trump’s endorsement, a Paxton win could give Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico an edge in November. So far, Trump has stayed on the sidelines.
Texas Values, despite endorsing the aggrieved high school mom’s bathroom complaint, has yet to endorse either Republican in the Senate race, as well.
“Candidates must be able to demonstrate a firm commitment to protecting religious liberty, marriage and family, and innocent human life,” the group says in their “Faith & Family Voter Guide.”
Texas Attorney General and U.S. Senate candidate Ken Paxton (R) is suing a New York-based company for marketing chest binders to minors.
Paxton has accused trans and nonbinary-inclusive youth undergarment brand Lola Olivia of violating his state’s consumer protection laws banning false, misleading, or deceptive advertising. The company, he claimed in a February 20 press release, sells chest binders “to Texas girls as young as nine-years-old to ‘transition’ them” without “informing them that they could be subjected to no less than twenty-eight different medical conditions.”
According to the World Professional Association for Transgender Health’s (WPATH) 2022 Standards of Care for the Health of Transgender and Gender Diverse People, trans masculine young people who bind their chests — described as a reversible, nonmedical practice that involves “compression of the breast tissue to create a flatter appearance” — report benefits including “increased comfort, improved safety, and lower rates of misgendering.” Risks such as back/chest pain, shortness of breath, and overheating are common. However, more serious risks, such as those Paxton cites in his lawsuit, like skin infections, respiratory infections, and rib fractures, are rare and more common among adults.
Paxton’s complaint includes multiple misrepresentations of medical research. Them notes it cites WPATH’s acknowledgement of certain risks associated with chest binding, but fails to note the infrequency of those risks among young people or the benefits when done properly.
The lawsuit also cites research published in the International Journal of Sexual Health last year, which found a “significant number of negative health implications” reported among trans and nonbinary people who bind. However, researchers also noted that “some studies also found positive effects on dysphoria, life satisfaction, and mental health,” and noted that several studies indicated a lack of knowledge about binding among healthcare providers. Researchers recommended further research “on long-term effects, safer methods, and promoting education” on chest binding.
The complaint also cites the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s recent interpretation of chest binders as Class I medical devices under section 201(h) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act because they are “intended for use in the diagnosis of disease or other conditions, or in the cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease, or to affect the structure or any function of the body.” Under this interpretation, Paxton alleges Lola Olivia is in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act by not registering its products with the FDA. But the Dallas Voice notes that the FDA has said class 1 medical devices, which include items like manual stethoscopes and bedpans, “are generally exempt from premarket notification and approval.”
In his press release, Paxton falsely described “transitioning” minors as “child abuse” and accused Lola Olivia of making “a fortune by hurting kids.”
The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order, injunctive relief, and over $1,000,000 in monetary relief, including civil penalties.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) has declared that it is illegal for mental health care providers licensed by the state to affirm trans youth and that doing so is child abuse.
The virulently anti-trans official issued the opinion on Monday to explain that the state’s gender-affirming care ban applies to mental health care as well. In a press release, Paxton’s office referred to the practice of affirming someone’s gender as “‘transitioning’ our kids.”
“Any radical facilitating the ‘transitioning’ of our kids is committing child abuse,” Paxton said in a statement. “The law is clear that these radical procedures are illegal and in no world should Texans’ tax dollars be used to permanently harm children. This opinion should send a clear warning there will be consequences for any medical professional, whether a doctor or a therapist, who is illegally ‘transitioning’ Texas kids.”
Trans news site Transitics said the opinion can be interpreted as essentially requiring mental health professionals to either refuse to see young trans patients or else engage in conversion therapy. The opinion states that therapists have an obligation to help children with “overcoming” an “underlying… condition,” which in this case is gender dysphoria.
“Even if they want to, they can no longer affirm a trans kid’s identity, offer alternatives in another state, or encourage parents to accept their kids for who they are,” Aleksandra Vaca at Transitics explained. “Under Paxton’s opinion, doing anything other than push a child to accept being their assigned sex at birth will result in providers losing their license and/or being imprisoned. This is conversion therapy, which is recognized by the United Nations as being tantamount to torture.”
Paxton has spent his tenure as attorney general terrorizing the trans community. In 2022, he issued a non-binding opinion calling gender-affirming health care a form of child abuse, which led Gov. Greg Abbott (R) to order the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to investigate for child abuse any parents who allow their trans children to access gender-affirming medical care prescribed by their doctors.
Paxton was previously impeached by the Texas House in 2023 for 16 counts of bribery but was later acquitted by the Texas Senate. The FBI also investigated him for years for securities fraud, but the Department of Justice eventually dropped its investigation. He also settled a state securities fraud case against him, paying $300,000 and participating in community service to avoid legal charges.
In July, it came to light that his wife filed for divorce from him due to adultery.
Paxton told his staff about an extramarital affair in September 2018 while holding hands with his wife, The Texas Tribune reported. But while he recommitted to their marriage during that confession, he continued to cheat on her, the publication reported, even going through great lengths to hide affairs from her: using burner phones, secret email addresses, and secret rideshare accounts to meet with his mistress.
In a win for LGBTQ+ Texans, a federal judge has temporarily barred a group of public school districts from enforcing the nation’s first law explicitly banning LGBTQ+ student clubs.
Judge Charles Eskridge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas ruled that the state’s Houston, Plano, and Katy school districts could not enforce state law S.B. 12, which passed last year and was called “one of the most nakedly hateful bills we have had on the floor of this House” by out state Rep. Erin Zwiener (D).
Republicans who supported the bill claimed LGBTQ+-supportive clubs are “sexualizing” children.
“We’re not going to allow gay clubs, and we’re not going to allow straight clubs,” said state Rep. Jeff Leach (R). “We shouldn’t be sexualizing our kids in public schools, period. And we shouldn’t have clubs based on sex.”
S.B. 12 was billed as a “Bill of Parental Rights” and also restricted diversity initiatives in public schools and required more parental notification when it comes to mental and physical health in schools.
It also bans teachers from referring to trans students by their preferred first names, even if their parents support their child’s transition. Students have been deadnamed in some school districts while others have complied with the law by calling trans kids by their last names only.
The lawsuit was filed by the ACLU of Texas, Transgender Law Center, and Baker McKenzie on behalf of the Texas American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the Genders & Sexualities Alliance (GSA) Network, Students Engaged in Advancing Texas (SEAT), a teacher, and two students.
The plaintiffs argued that the law “censors huge swaths of constitutionally protected speech.”
“This win is bigger than me,” said plaintiff Adrian Moore, a Katy ISD student. “It’s a win for all trans students, and students from all backgrounds in my district. Schools should be places where all students feel safe and supported. I hope this lawsuit sends the message that when the LGBTQIA+ community and our allies work in solidarity, we can make a difference.”
Julie Johnson, Moore’s parent, said the ruling is “evidence that justice can sometimes prevail, that speaking up matters, and that it can have a positive impact in the broader community.”
“In a world that feels like basic human dignity is no longer a given right, it means something to my child that their voice was heard,” Johnson said. “In the weeks to come, Adrian will have a name at school. He will no longer be referred to by only his last name, while other students are referred to on a first-name basis. I will see my child’s name listed on programs and playbills at school events. My child will be seen and recognized as the worthy human being he is.”
J. Gia Loving and Maya LaFlamme, co-executive directors at Genders & Sexualities Alliance Network, said the decision “strengthens Texan trans, queer and Two Spirit youth’s right to gather, build connection and safely exist in their schools.”
“GSAs enable students with the skills to build confidence through leadership roles, create spaces of belonging for their peers, and advocate for justice,” they added. “While this is one battle won, our efforts to protect students’ right to safe, inclusive learning spaces and communities will continue. Today and every day, GSAs are here to stay!”
SEAT executive director Cameron Samuels also celebrated the temporary injunction. “Today’s ruling reminds us that queer and trans students’ resilience and joy are here to stay,” Samuels said. “We won’t stop fighting until all Texas students are guaranteed safe and welcoming school environments.”
The federal Equal Access Act requires federally funded public secondary schools to provide equal access to extracurricular student clubs. While that law was passed in 1984 because Christian activists worried that schools might stop Bible clubs from meeting, it has long been used by GSAs to protect their right to meet on school campuses.
GSAs – Gay-Straight Alliances or Gender-Sexuality Alliances – have been targeted by conservatives ever since they were first formed in the 1980s.
In the late 1990s, when Salt Lake City tried to shut down a local school’s GSA, and when they were told they were legally required to give all clubs equal access to school resources, the school board decided to cancel all extracurricular clubs just to stop the GSA, which eventually led to a federal lawsuit. A federal judge ruled that the school district had violated the Equal Access Act and students’ First Amendment rights, which resulted in the district allowing the GSA to meet again.
Hate incidents against the LGBTQ+ community are increasing across the country, including in Texas.
That’s according to a new report by GLAAD, one of the largest LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations in the country.
Data from GLAAD’s 2025 Anti-LGBTQ Extremism Reporting Tracker desk shows that in Texas alone, there were over 60 incidents against members of the community. Those incidents include violent assaults, vandalism, and threats of mass shootings.
“We unfortunately found that there were more than 1,000 of these incidents, and in Texas specifically, we found that Texas was ranked third highest in the U.S.,” said GLAAD’s Sarah Moore. “It’s a snapshot of what LGBTQ people are going through, and not a total, you know, all-encompassing number. We know so many of these stories are not going reported, and if they are being reported, they might be uninvestigated, or they might be dismissed by local police departments.”
“This isn’t just, you know, something that people are putting into comment sections on Facebook. It’s not just something that we’re using to win political campaigns, but this type of rhetoric is having a very real impact on the lived experience of LGBTQ folks,” Moore said.
In Arlington, organizers of Arlington Pride cancelled this year’s celebration after the city council’s vote to revise the ordinance over concerns it could jeopardize federal funding. Critics said the new version strips away protections for the LGBTQ+ community and other marginalized groups.
“There’s a very strategic political agenda out there to make people feel other,” said Deejay Johannessen, the CEO at the Help Center for LGBTQ+ Health. “It’s showing that they’re less than and people then act upon that because they’re taking the lead from the political leaders.”
Johannessen said while members of the LGBTQ+ community have long faced challenges, the current climate is especially difficult.
“We can have our differences, but everybody has the right to live their lives. and feel safe in their own community,” Johannessen said.
Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Children’s Health System of Texas and a Dallas doctor Wednesday for allegedly violating a Texas ban on gender-affirming care for minors.
The AG asked a Collin County judge for a temporary injunction to stop the two defendants from providing any gender-affirming care or filing any claims to Texas Medicaid for that care.
The suit alleges Jason Jarin, a pediatric and adolescent gynecologist at Children’s Health and associate professor at UT Southwestern Medical Center, violated the law with 19 patients. It alleges he violated a 2023 law that prevents health care providers from giving transgender youth puberty blockers, hormone replacement therapy or surgery for the purpose of transitioning — one of a number of Texas laws aimed at limiting the type of care transgender adults and children can receive.
Paxton also argues Jarin filed claims for these services with Texas Medicaid, which doesn’t cover any gender-affirming care.
“This criminal extremist not only permanently harmed children, but he also then defrauded Medicaid and stuck Texas taxpayers with the bill for this insanity,” Paxton wrote in a statement. “Experimental ‘transition’ procedures on minors are illegal, unethical, and will not be tolerated in Texas.”
Jarin told KERA News Wednesday morning he had just learned of the lawsuit, and declined to comment.
Children’s Health told KERA in a statement its “top priority is the health and well-being of the patients and families we serve.”
“We comply with all applicable local, state and federal health care laws. Due to ongoing legal proceedings, we are unable to comment further at this time,” the statement read.
Jarin became an assistant professor at UT Southwestern in 2016 and has published studies on transgender children, according to his faculty profile.
Many of the lawsuit allegations claim he intentionally prescribed extra hormones for transgender kids leading up to Sept. 1, 2023, when the law took effect, so that they could continue to get treatment.
The law, known as Senate Bill 14, did allow for prescriptions to continue for children who were “already subject to a continuing course of treatment that began prior to June 1, 2023,” and children who “attended at least 12 mental health counseling or psychotherapy sessions over a period of at least six months prior to starting treatment,” according to Paxton’s suit. But those prescriptions had to be for the purpose of weaning the patient off the drug.
Jarin is accused of violating SB 14 with 12 of the 19 patients. If found liable, he could lose his medical license — SB 14 requires the Texas Medical Board to revoke the license of any physician who provides gender-affirming care to a child.
According to a press release dated Jan. 30 and time-stamped 7:38 p.m., the city of Dallas has officially caved to the rainbow-hating homophobes in Texas government, and Oak Lawn’s privately-funded rainbow crosswalks — and any other nonstandard crosswalk designs in the city — will be removed within the next 90 days.
The press release says: “The City of Dallas has notified the Texas Department of Transportation that it will comply with TxDOT’s directive requiring removal or correction of non-compliant pavement markings.”
The TxDOT “request” (aka Greg Abbott’s homophobic demand in order to kowtow to Trump, just like he did with the mid-decade congressional redistricting and by turning over Texas voter rolls to the feds) covers 30 decorative crosswalks citywide, the press release said.
“In a letter signed by Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, the city notified the director of the TxDOT Traffic Safety Division that it will comply with the order within 90 days,” the press release continues, quoting Tolbert as saying that “The city appreciates TxDOT’s partnership in sustaining safe multimodal transportation in Dallas. The city will work with affected communities on ways to recognize their neighborhoods.”
The press release concludes: “TxDOT rejected the city’s appeal of the directive to remove pavement markings stating the intersections identified did not meet current Texas Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices requirements. TxDOT emphasized that all treatments must comply with the TMUTCD, the Secretary of Transportation’s Safe Road Initiative, and the governor’s directive issued Oct. 8, 2025, which prioritize uniformity and predictability in traffic control devices statewide.”
Considering that numerous studies and incidental data have proven that creative crosswalk designs actually enhance safety, the obvious truth is that Abbott and his minions don’t actually give a fat rat’s ass about safety; they just want to try and suppress the LGBTQ+ community and, at the same time, lick Trump’s boots.
Knowing our LGBTQ+/Oak Lawn community, however, we feel sure that while the homophobes may be winning this battle in the Rainbow War, the fight continues. We expect to see even more rainbows waving proudly across Oak Lawn soon.
For Julia Hewitt, the removal of LGBTQ+ services from the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline and potential funding freezes and cuts are a personal and professional issue.
As a suicide prevention leader with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, a lived experience adviser with Vibrant Emotional Health, which oversees the crisis line in Texas, and a parent of an LGBTQ child raised in Texas, Hewitt, who as a child witnessed her mother struggle with suicidal ideation, has spent decades putting her energy into providing reliable crisis services for everyone who needs them.
But now, she’s watching the foundation she and others created crumble.
“It was a punch to the gut because if you work or volunteer in this space, you know the families who are impacted by this; it can be hard to reconcile when you know how much good this does,” Hewitt said. “When access narrows for those at highest risk, the system becomes less protective overall.”
The 988 Lifeline was created through bipartisan legislation signed into law by President Donald Trump during his first term. This nationwide network of locally based crisis centers offers one-on-one support for mental health, suicide, and substance use-related problems for anyone 24/7.
When someone called 988 in the past, they would hear a greeting message, followed by a menu of choices offering access to specially trained counselors for veterans, Spanish speakers, and LGBTQ+ youth, or sometimes a local crisis counselor.
But last summer, the Trump administration announced in a press release that it will no longer silo LGBTQ+ youth services, which had been the “Press 3 option” for 988 callers, to focus on serving “all help seekers,” saying that these specific LGBTQ+ services had become too expensive.
The Trump administration and theSubstance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the federal agency that provides the majority of the funding for the 988 Lifeline, said the specialized LGBTQ subnetwork’s initial pilot budget of $33 million had been exceeded and unifying services for all callers was a better option.
After the change, only veterans and Spanish speakers still received a tailored option through the 988 call line.
The call line had received nearly 1.3 million contacts nationally from LGBTQ+ people since its launch in 2022 — leaving a void that Texas crisis care centers, already operating at a $7 million funding deficit, are expected to fill.
In Texas, calls made to the line have increased over the years. In December 2025, the Texas 988 system received 25,511. A year prior, that figure was 18,916 and in December 2023, it was 14,961. It’s not clear from publicly available data how many calls are rerouted to LGBTQ+ subnetworks.
Texas Health and Human Services officials said the agency doesn’t have data on how many calls are rerouted to a subnetwork.
Veterans and LGBTQ+ youth have a higher risk of suicide compared to the general population, and canceling specialized services for only one group has mental health experts questioning the administration’s true intent.
“The program was created with overwhelming bipartisan support because, despite our political differences, we should all agree that every young person’s life is worth saving,” Jaymes Black, CEO of the Trevor Project, an organization that helped create option 3, said in a statement. “I am heartbroken that this administration has decided to say, loudly and clearly, that they believe some young people’s lives are not worth saving.”
This comes at a time when some federal funding for the hotline is set to expire, and budget freezes and cuts are wreaking havoc on the network of local crisis centers that the entire 988 infrastructure depends on.
“Currently, Texas’s 988 system faces a convergence of challenges,” said Christine Busse, a peer policy fellow for the Texas branch of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, a nonprofit mental health organization that provides education and peer-to-peer support. “Without additional investment, meeting current demand — let alone absorbing the additional contacts previously handled by specialized services — will remain difficult.”
The removal of option 3
For many LGBTQ+ youth, the hotline was a safe space to be themselves, where they could be transferred to specialists within the LGBTQ+ Youth Subnetwork who usually had the lived experience to relate to them and help them talk through problems like drug and alcohol abuse, bullying, relationship troubles and suicidal thoughts.
Busse said the hotline handled up to 70,000 contacts per month nationwide, and her organization is troubled by its sudden removal because those young people are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide as their peers.
Specialized services are still offered by the Trevor Project and other organizations, but advocates say including them in 988 made it easy for people in crisis to get help by remembering just three numbers.
Now that options have been removed, LGBTQ+ youth are left with 988 dispatchers who are trained to handle a crisis, but might not have the lived experience or training needed to make someone feel safe during an emergency.
“While all callers can still reach trained counselors through 988, the loss of Option 3 eliminates a service designed to address the specific needs of a higher-risk population,” Busse said.
Some states like California have decided to address this issue by having experts from the Trevor Project train their operators. However, Texas lawmakers have not committed any additional resources to this effort.
“LGBTQ+ young people need more resources to end suicide, not fewer,” said Mark Henson, vice president of advocacy and government affairs at The Trevor Project.
Hewitt said she is confident that local operators will receive the specialized LGBTQ+ training to provide the needed care, but the issue is why they need to do it at all.
“There was an entire network that was created just for this, and that is the difference,” she said. “But this means additional training, and that equates to time, experience, people, and hours.”
Busse said another advantage of option 3 was that it routed calls from LGBTQ youth out of the 988 system to other organizations, and its cancellation means a heavier workload for everyone in the system.
The month-to-month data on the crisis hotline shows a steady increase in calls to Texas crisis centers that were already overburdened before the removal of the LGBTQ+ subnetworks.
“Texas’s 988 system was already strained before the removal of Option 3,” Busse said. “Without additional investment, meeting current demand — let alone absorbing the additional contacts previously handled by specialized services — will remain difficult.”
The cost of saving a life
The Texas 988 system currently receives $19 million in funding from two federal grants: the Mental Health Block Grant and the 988 State and Territory Improvement Award. The latter is set to expire in September, and it’s unclear whether Congress will extend it or whether the Trump administration will establish new funding streams.
This comes at a time when local crisis care centers, where many of the 988 call centers operate out of or partner with for their resources, are seeing investment in their services disappear and reappear at the whims of the federal government.
In a span of 24 hours earlier this month, the Trump administration announced wide-ranging budget cuts that many in health care warned would cripple mental health and crisis services across the nation. Amid a national outcry, the administration reversed its decision before the end of the day.
“People got letters, and everyone was panicking, and then it got reversed,” Hewitt said. “A great outcome, but this terminal uncertainty is creating a really poor experience for not only the client but also the person answering the calls.”
The 988 system wasn’t meant to be supported by the federal government forever, and Texas lawmakers like state Sen. José Menéndez have attempted to create a safety net for it.
Last year, lawmakers established the 988 Trust Fund through House Bill 5342 and required a study on sustainable funding mechanisms, including a potential state telecommunications fee, due by December. However, no state dollars have been appropriated to the trust.
Menéndez, who authored the bill that created the trust fund, said the idea of using a telecommunications fee, similar to the fee that supports 911, was quickly shot down at the Capitol.
“I’m concerned that if we don’t have any state funds, 988 is going to have to get reliant on philanthropy, fundraising, and other methods, and we have already started reaching out about how people can make contributions because this year some funds run out,” he said.
As federal funds continue to dwindle and the state shows little interest in propping up the service, the future of 988 in Texas might depend on donations from Texans.
“That uncertainty is precisely why legislative action is imperative,” Busse said. “The infrastructure exists; what is needed now is the commitment to fund it. Without dedicated funding mechanisms, such as a telecommunications fee, Texans risk facing a mental health crisis without the community support network that took years to build.”
For mental health support for LGBTQ youth, call the Trevor Project’s 24/7 toll-free support line at 866-488-7386. For trans peer support, call the Trans Lifeline at 877-565-8860. You can also reach a trained crisis counselor through the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988.
Texas judges can decline to perform same-sex weddings because of their “sincerely held religious belief” and not be in violation of the rules on judicial impartiality, according to the Texas Supreme Court.
A lawsuit is being brought by Judge Brian Keith Umphress in Jack County, Texas, against the Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct. In November 2019, the commission issued a “public warning” to Dianne Hensley, a justice of the peace who recused herself from officiating at same-sex weddings, according to coverage by Legal Newsline.
Umphress later sued the commission’s members, citing that a judge’s refusal to officiate only same-sex unions could result in sanctions by the commission and violate his federal constitutional rights.
He is seeking declaratory and injunctive relief to restrain the commission from punishing judges for not performing same-sex marriage ceremonies, for either religious or secular reasons.
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