A Texas school district is facing backlash after claims surfaced that it secretly socially transitioned a teenage girl without her parents’ knowledge or consent. Lawyers representing the family of the student sent a letter demanding answers from the Houston Independent School District (HISD), the largest school district in Texas, after allegations that the district repeatedly used a male name and pronouns for the girl despite her parents’ objections.
The situation reportedly began in the fall of 2023 when Bellaire High School (BHS) staff started addressing the girl by a masculine name and male pronouns, according to a letter from Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a conservative legal advocacy group. The parents of the student discovered this in December 2023 after noticing the masculine name on their daughter’s schoolwork. Upon learning of the situation, they immediately informed the teachers to stop using that name, but despite reassurances, the problem allegedly persisted.
Alleged refusal to comply with parental requests
In their letter, ADF details that when the parents initially confronted the school, the teachers agreed to only refer to their daughter by her legal name and female pronouns. However, months later, the parents found that the issue had not been resolved. In fact, after a September 2024 meeting with Principal Michael Niggli, the parents were told that there was no formal directive to use a specific name, as reported by the Fox News. They were further assured by Niggli that the school counselor had communicated their instructions to teachers.
Despite these assurances, ADF claims that the staff continued to disregard the parents’ wishes. The group has since requested documents from HISD under Texas’ open records law, hoping to obtain clarification on the district’s policy regarding gender identity and pronoun usage.
Discrepancies in record responses
The situation escalated when HISD failed to provide the requested documents in a timely manner. After sending a second public records request in January 2025, the district initially claimed it had over 18,000 responsive documents but later stated that no documents were available. As quoted by Fox News, ADF senior counsel Vincent Wagner stated that “a failure by HISD to comply with the Texas Public Information Act could lead to litigation about what the school district’s responsibilities are to parents.”
Governor Abbott’s involvement
The story caught the attention of Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who instructed the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to investigate the allegations. As reported by the Fox News, Abbott posted on X, saying, “No parent should have to endure this. Another reason why parents deserve school choice. No school should be involved in ‘transitioning’ a child.”
In response to the growing public concern, ADF has asked HISD to clarify its policies regarding transgender-identifying students, particularly how teachers are trained to handle such sensitive matters. The group is also seeking assurance that the district will adhere to parental instructions in future cases like this one.
