Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is questioning another North Texas school district over reported attempts to circumvent state law to allow boys to play on girls' sports teams.
Last week Paxton reached out to the superintendents of the school districts in Dallas and Irving and requested an "extensive list of documents" to ensure they aren't letting athletes play on teams that don't match their birth sex. Paxton hasn't confirmed whether his office has received any documents or what may have been found in them.
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WATCH HEREOn Monday, Paxton's office said he'd also reached out to the Hutto and Richardson school districts asking for information "after it was made public that officials at both districts openly conveyed that they could circumvent Texas law for the sake of enabling biological boys to compete in girls’ sports."
Our partners at The Dallas Morning News reported that people identified as "undercover journalists" with a group called "Accuracy in Media" secretly recorded conversations with school administrators where they were asked how transgender kids might be allowed to compete in sports that match their gender identity. Paxton's inquiries were made after the group published videos of their interviews with administrators, saying he intended to find out if the districts broke state law.
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SIGN UP “The woke school officials endangering female athletes and trying to undermine girls’ athletics by letting boys compete should know that there will be consequences for all unlawful activity,” said Paxton. “I look forward to thoroughly reviewing all documents to determine if these comments are reflective of a systematic, district-wide effort to ignore the law and allow boys to play in girls’ sports. If they are, I can fully assure you that those liable will face justice.”
According to Paxton's office, "Richardson ISD’s Executive Director of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, Angie Lee, said to a parent that if their male high school student stayed overnight at a hotel on a school trip, he would be allowed to share a room with female students. Lee also implied that the district allows male students to participate in girls’ sports."
The district told NBC 5 they received the public information request from the attorney general's office and said they would comply with responding to the records request per the Texas Public Information Act.
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"RISD closely follows Texas law, including the UIL requirement that student-athletes must compete according to the gender on their original birth certificate. The district is not aware of any instance whatsoever where this requirement was not followed in RISD. If any entity has information about a suspected violation of Texas or federal law, they are strongly encouraged to share information with RISD for evaluation and next steps," the district said.
Paxton's office said Hutto ISD’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Director, Keyawna Glaze, advised parents about “workarounds” to allow a male student to participate in girls’ sports by changing the sex of his birth certificate.
NBC 5 did not reach out to the Hutto ISD, which is in Williamson County in Central Texas. KXAN, the NBC affiliate in Austin, published a statement from the Hutto ISD that said the administrator was no longer employed by the district and added, “In Texas, we have a very strict process that we follow. Also, individuals do not speak on behalf of the district and the message conveyed in the video does not reflect the views or policies of Hutto ISD. We want to reiterate that Hutto ISD respects, follows, and adheres to Texas laws as well as UIL guidelines and policies for our student-athletes.”
