New ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Law In Texas Sparks Legal Fight Over LGBTQ+ Rights In Schools
Advocacy groups are suing Texas over a law that bans LGBTQ+ student clubs and restricts discussions of gender, race, and identity in public schools.
LGBTQ+ advocates are pushing back against a new Texas law that targets student clubs and diversity efforts. On Friday, Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 12 into law, a sweeping piece of legislation that bans student clubs based on sexual orientation or gender identity, prohibits discussion of race and gender diversity in many contexts, and severely restricts how teachers can support queer and trans students. The law is already facing legal challenges.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Texas and Students Engaged in Advancing Texas (SEAT) announced they are preparing to sue the state, calling the law one of the most aggressive anti-LGBTQ+ education bans in the country.
“This ban on education harms Texas schools by shutting down important discussions and programs that mention race, ethnicity, gender identity, and sexual orientation,” said Brian Klosterboer, senior staff attorney at the ACLU of Texas. “Students should be free to learn about themselves and the world around them, but S.B. 12 aims to punish kids for being who they are and ban teachers from supporting them. It sends the false message that Black, Brown, LGBTQIA+, and other students don’t belong in the classroom or in our state.”
The law is scheduled to take effect on September 1 and will be implemented in schools during the 2025–2026 academic year. It prohibits districts and charter schools from authorizing or sponsoring any student club “based on sexual orientation or gender identity.” That means no more Gender and Sexuality Alliances (GSAs), no more queer student support groups, and no more faculty advisors who can legally support these efforts.
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Supporters of the bill have framed it as a “parental rights” measure. Critics argue that it is a thinly veiled attempt to marginalize and erase LGBTQ+ youth in public education.
“S.B. 12 seeks to erase students’ identities and make it impossible for teachers, parents, and volunteers to tell the truth about the history and diversity of our state,” said Cameron Samuels, executive director of SEAT. “State leaders have been in the business of manufacturing problems that don’t exist — such as stoking fear against Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion — to ignore the solutions that students need and deserve. And barring student organizations and teachers from supporting LGBTQIA+ young people, particularly trans and nonbinary students, is inflicting even more harm and making our schools unsafe and unjust.”
This law arrives in a climate already hostile to LGBTQ+ students. In the last year, several major school districts in the Houston area have passed restrictive gender policies that mirror parts of this new statewide law. For students in those districts, the law doesn’t mark a change so much as a cementing of practices that have already caused distress and isolation.
The ACLU’s legal challenge will draw on precedents from other states. In Florida, where lawmakers passed a similarly controversial “Don’t Say Gay” law, a lawsuit led to key reversals. The state was forced to clarify that its law did not prevent conversations about LGBTQ+ people, nor could it block the formation of student groups like GSAs.
Related: Against All Odds, Florida Queer Advocates Just Made History
The Texas version is broader and more punitive. It not only restricts instruction but also alters school governance. School boards will now be required to adopt formal policies forbidding staff from aiding in any form of gender transition, including simply sharing resources. It also restricts the mention of race and ethnicity in nearly all diversity-related programming, unless it is required curriculum or tied to designated holidays like Black History Month.
“S.B. 12 is an extension of ongoing efforts that SEAT has been fighting against that attempt to erase the identities of BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ students and silence our voices,” Samuels said.
There’s no official filing yet, but the lawsuit is expected in the coming weeks. “We’re taking legal action to challenge this discriminatory law and reaffirm that all students should have access to a safe, inclusive education that prepares them for their futures in our diverse state, no exceptions,” Klosterboer said.
Until the courts weigh in, LGBTQ+ students in Texas are left in limbo, facing a future in which their identities might be grounds for exclusion. For now, students and educators are bracing for what comes next and preparing to fight back.
