LGBTQIA+ advocates warn Texas anti-DEI bill could involuntarily out kids to parents

AUSTIN – A coalition of civil-rights organizations testified Tuesday during a Senate Public Education Committee that a bill designed to ban diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, from K-12 public schools also could involuntarily out queer children to their parents.

In addition to its DEI ban, Senate Bill 12, filed by Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, would give parents full access to all written records concerning their child’s education at a public school, including mental health records.

“I think we all like to believe that parents do know what’s best for their kids and have their best interests at heart, but the fact is that there are parents who are abusive,” ACLU Texas Policy and Advocacy Strategist Ash Hall told the Current.

Hall and other advocates warn the legislation’s records provision would harm LGBTQIA+ students who may disclose their sexual orientation to school mental health providers. “So many of us have had the experience of coming out and then being rejected by our families, whether that means … being kicked out and becoming homeless, whether that means being sent to conversion therapy,” Hall said. “There are a lot of parents who do not know what it means to love their child no matter who they are.”

In addition to endangering LGBTQIA+ students, the bill would censor classroom instruction related to DEI. Hall warned the ban would limit students’ ability to learn important lessons about other cultures.

“The nice thing about a public education system that does not censor viewpoints and does not censor what we talk about is that we are then given the opportunity to learn about all sorts of different people, all sorts of different cultures and viewpoints and experiences,” Hall said.

Instead of strengthening students’ academic experiences, Hall said SB 12 would result in the opposite.

“The idea is that there can only be one version of history … and that viewpoint is largely that of legislators who no longer want to address the effects of slavery, racism, Jim Crow, all of that on our society today,” Hall said. “Instead, they would rather that we all pretend that racism, sexism, homophobia … is over.”

Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick designated SB 12 as among his legislative priorities this session.

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This article appears in Apr 30 – May 13, 2025.