Texas, Other States File Lawsuit Against Obama To Protect Privacy & Safety in Public Schools

Today, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit on behalf of the State of Texas and Harrold Independent School District and was joined by several others states and parties outside of Texas, against a variety of federal government entities including the U. S. Department of Education and Department of Justice, to stop the dangerous federal directive given by President Obama which forces Texas public schools to allow boys to go into girls’ showers, locker rooms, and bathrooms. The Obama Administration has threatened that all schools must follow the directive, or else they may lose Title IX funding.  Harrold I.S.D. has adopted a policy on the bathroom issue this week that puts them at odds with the directive by the federal government, even though it makes accommodations for students on a case by case basis.

The lawsuit includes the following:
-STATE OF TEXAS;
-HARROLD INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT (TX);
-STATE OF ALABAMA;
-STATE OF WISCONSIN;
-STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA;
-STATE OF TENNESSEE;
-ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION;
-HEBER-OVERGAARD UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT (AZ);
-PAUL LEPAGE, GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF MAINE, Pro Se;
-STATE OF OKLAHOMA;
-STATE OF LOUISIANA; STATE OF GEORGIA,STATE OF UTAH

The lawsuit states, “Defendants have conspired to turn workplaces and educational settings across the country into laboratories for a massive social experiment, flouting the democratic process, and running roughshod over commonsense policies protecting privacy. Defendants’ rewriting of Title VII and Title IX is wholly incompatible with Congressional text and irreconcilable with decades of precedent. Absent action in Congress, the States, or local communities, Defendants cannot foist these radical changes on the nation.”

A full version of the federal lawsuit filed in Texas federal court can be found here.

Jonathan Saenz, President and Attorney of Texas Values, stated

“We thank Attorney General Paxton and his team for their hard work in taking timely steps to stop the federal government’s radical directive that was executed without Congressional approval, and puts students, especially girls, in harm’s way. This President’s efforts by executive fiat to force Texas schools to allow boys into girls bathrooms and shower rooms or lose education funding is dangerous and a massive federal overreach of power that Texas voters have already rejected at the ballot box. The aggressive action by the federal government against Texas schools has forced our state leaders to respond to protect safety and privacy and the integrity of our U.S. Constitution, and they have responded with a clear message of “’come and take it.’”

The City of Houston passed a similar law in 2014 and voters in 2015 voted the dangerous measure down by a vote of 61-39%. Sex offenders have used policies like the one adopted by Fort Worth ISD to take advantage of this breakdown in protection for people in bathrooms. In Seattle recently, a man undressed in a women’s locker room at a public swimming pool and said he “had a right to be there” when he was asked to leave. Target stores recently announced a similar change in their bathrooms and changing rooms and 1.2 million people have signed a boycott pledge as a result.

About Texas Values

Texas Values is a non-profit organization dedicated to standing for faith, family, and freedom in Texas. More information is available at txvalues.org.

 

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