By Aliyya Swaby, The Texas Tribune June 28, 2018 Attorney General Ken Paxton sent a letter to Fort Worth ISD Superintendent Kent Scribner on Thursday evening demanding he hand over a copy of the district’s controversial sixth-grade human sexuality curriculum, which includes lessons about gender identity and sexual orientation. Paxton claimed in the letter that…
What the U.S. Supreme Court’s Masterpiece Cakeshop Decision Means for Religious Refusal Laws in Texas
By Emma Platoff, The Texas Tribune Last year, a dispute over a Colorado wedding cake made it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court — and this week, the reverberations of the high court’s ruling made it all the way to Texas. After the high court ruled Monday in favor of a Christian baker…
A Gay Texas Teacher Is on Leave After She Showed Students a Photo of Her Wife. She Has Few Legal Protections.
By Emma Platoff, The Texas Tribune Stacy Bailey has been employed as an art teacher at Charlotte Anderson Elementary School for a decade, but she hasn’t been in the classroom since September. Instead, she’s in limbo: She isn’t fired — her contract with the district has even been renewed — but she’s not working. Mansfield…
Lupe Valdez Becomes First Openly Gay and First Latina Candidate to Win a Major Party Nomination for Texas Governor
By Patrick Svitek and Brandon Formby The Texas Tribune, May 22, 2018 After a tight race throughout much of the evening Tuesday, Lupe Valdez pulled ahead late to comfortably defeat Andrew White in the Democratic runoff for governor, according to unofficial returns. Valdez goes into the November general election as the first openly lesbian and…
How the “Bathroom Bill” Helped Push a Republican PAC to Spend Millions on Moderates in Texas
By Cassandra Pollock, The Texas Tribune May 16, 2018 In September, the Texas Capitol was finally starting to calm down. A couple of contentious legislative sessions had pitted the Legislature’s Republican centrists against hard-line conservatives, largely over measures regulating which restrooms transgender Texans could use. Members had returned to their districts, almost certain the “bathroom…
Lupe Valdez, Andrew White Clash Over Abortion, Immigration in Debate
By Patrick Svitek, The Texas Tribune May 11, 2018 The Democratic runoff candidates for governor sparred Friday evening over abortion and immigration in their first and likely only debate before the May 22 election. Meeting at a church in Austin, Andrew White and Lupe Valdez sounded out their differences — sometimes with rancor — over…
Lupe Valdez agrees to debate Andrew White on May 11 in Austin
By Patrick Svitek, Texas Tribune May 2, 2018 Democratic gubernatorial candidate Lupe Valdez has accepted an invitation to debate her runoff opponent, Andrew White, on May 11 in Austin, according to her campaign. White, who was the runner-up in the March primary, has been pushing to debate Valdez since the beginning of the runoff. Up…
Analysis: Texas GOP ignores young voters with LGBT snub
By Ross Ramsey, The Texas Tribune Texas Republican leaders have decided once again not to allow the party’s biggest LGBT group — the Log Cabin Republicans — to operate a booth at the state convention. It’s not the first time that’s happened, and it’s in line with the party platform on LGBT issues. But it…
A Teacher Says a Coworker Grabbed Her “Behind.” The Texas Supreme Court Tossed Her Lawsuit.
By Shannon Najmabadi, The Texas Tribune April 6, 2018 Catherine Clark claims that a coworker barraged her with lewd and harassing comments while Clark was working as a gym teacher at the Alamo Heights Independent School District about a decade ago. She complained to her supervisors, then to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and was…
Abilene Christian University Bans Same-Sex Relationships for Some Student Employees
By Shannon Najmabadi, The Texas Tribune March 23, 2018 When Ryan Clements, a 25-year-old alumnus of Abilene Christian University, found out his alma mater was planning to ban some students’ same-sex dating relationships, he said it “hit home in a big way.” Clements, an openly gay Christian, said he felt pained “that a school that…