Parents in Texas filed a lawsuit against the Houston school district on Monday. The lawsuit, submitted by Sarah and Terry Osborne, claims that officials at the Houston Independent School District (HISD) used a male name and male pronoun for their daughter for at least two years without informing them.
According to the parents, during her freshman year, their daughter’s theatre teacher inquired about her pronouns. They requested that only female pronouns be used, believing that the matter was settled. However, over the next couple of years, they found out that staff continued to refer to their daughter as a boy at school, without their assent.
The complaint noted that Osborne came across a piece of schoolwork that referred to his daughter by a male name, which is how he first learned about the situation. Despite multiple meetings with school staff and administrators, the lawsuit alleges that their requests went largely unacknowledged.
Documents state that over the span of two years, around six HISD employees used male pronouns to address Osborne’s daughter without any notification or consent, and this continued despite their explicit objections.
The school principal, district chief, and other attorneys are also named in the lawsuit for not providing clarity on the gender policies despite the parents’ insistence. The complaint argues that HISD’s practices to address students of the opposite sex without parental notification violate their rights under the 14th Amendment.
Osborne expressed a desire to guide his daughter in the best possible way, but felt HISD’s actions obstructed that goal. The parents contend that the school’s behavior infringed on their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights, seeking both a preliminary and permanent injunction to enforce their wishes regarding their daughter’s identity.
The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a faith-based legal organization, is representing the parents in these federal court proceedings, with Bellaire High School counselors and principals also listed as defendants.
A senior advisor from ADF emphasized that parents have the right to oversee their child’s development, including education and healthcare, without facing governmental interference. Meanwhile, HISD has stated they cannot comment on this matter due to the ongoing lawsuit.
