Texas Students Sue State Over Ban on Gender Identity Clubs (1)

A Texas law taking effect Sept. 1 will unlawfully ban all student organizations based on sexual orientation or gender identity, nonprofit organizations say.

The law, Senate Bill 12, censors protected speech in Texas schools in violation of the First Amendment, and should be halted, GSA Network, Students Engaged in Advancing Texas, and other plaintiffs told the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas in a Thursday complaint.

The law says Texas school districts may not authorize or sponsor a student club based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

The plaintiffs also include a first-year high school student in the Houston independent school district, and a high school teacher in the Plano independent school district.

The Commissioner of the Texas Education Agency didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The other defendants are Texas school districts.

SB 12 has several provisions that the plaintiffs view as unconstitutional, including a section they say bans student-run organizations that unite LGBTQ+ and allied youth.

The organizations engage in programs, activities, and discussions that reference sexual orientation and gender identity, the complaint says, and rely on school employees to manage their activities.

Without injunctive relief from SB 12, the plaintiffs say, GSA Network members won’t be able to join or establish clubs at their schools. And they expect current organizations to be eliminated because of the law.

GSA Network’s freedom of speech will be curtailed when SB 12 goes into effect, according to the plaintiffs, because the law will prevent it from sharing resources and information about sexual orientation and gender identity.

SEAT, which says it advocates for students’ rights in Texas, contends that the law will prevent it from continuing to share information and resources with students.

Because SB 12 will allegedly prevent educators from sharing SEAT’s materials that discuss gender identity and sexual orientation, SEAT members will lose access to that information, and the ability to speak about those issues, the complaint says.

The complaint also says SB 12 is unlawfully vague because it lacks clear standards and guidance about how a school can determine whether a club is violating the law. SB 12’s use of the term “based on” doesn’t provide sufficient notice about what clubs the law prohibits, the plaintiffs say.

ACLU Foundation of Texas Inc. and Baker McKenzie LLP represent the plaintiffs.

The case is GSA Network v. Morath, S.D. Tex., 4:25-cv-04090, complaint 8/28/25.