State moves against Dallas ISD for allowing boys to play in girls’ sports

Austin—Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a legal petition to conduct depositions on key Dallas Independent School District (ISD) 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 requested extensive records from Dallas ISD 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.

The list of individuals to be deposed includes Dallas ISD Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde, LGBT youth program coordinator Mahoganie Gaston, and the members of the Board of Trustees. 

Gaston was 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.” She said that the district “find[s] the loopholes in everything” and that she is willing to go to jail for defying Texas law. 

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

Office of Texas Attorney General