Students Engaged in Advancing Texas (SEAT), a student-led movement founded in Katy which demonstrates youth visibility in educational policymaking, delivered a letter on June 19 to more than 1,000 superintendents of Texas public schools to clarify federal legal guidance, to condemn Gov. Abbott's refusal to accept Title IX protections, and to urge districts to uphold their duty to support and embrace all Texas students.

The letter (available publicly at drive.google.com/file/d/1kckVGKXEwppu8ZS8dcLPNUNsj4YgCh8P/view) was co-signed by 30+ local and national organizations, including the ACLU of Texas, Transgender Education Network of Texas, GLAAD, and the Human Rights Campaign.

“Efforts to denounce Title IX have a direct impact on the safety of LGBTQIA+ students and families,” said SEAT in a press release. “Discrimination has empirically followed, and districts have often embraced the initiatives of anti-LGBTQIA+ state leaders, putting students in harm's way. SEAT is monitoring and leading efforts against recently proposed school board resolutions rejecting Title IX and provisions targeting transgender students.”

“As a student who leads a Gay Straight Alliance club, I can say that schools are, more often than not, unsafe spaces for LGBTQ+ students, whether that be due to culture, other students, or discriminatory district or state policy,” said Jarred Burton, SEAT student organizer in Katy ISD. “These protections under the Title IX reforms bring us one step closer to equality with our cisgender and heterosexual peers. To try and block those protections shows that it was never about protecting the children, but protecting bigotry.”

“For many trans youth, the friendships and community built in school are a sanctuary space," said Landon Richie, Policy Associate at TENT. “Trans students deserve to participate in school activities and foster community in schools without discrimination. Title IX has helped make this possible, and it’s up to educators and administration to ensure trans students have a safe and open school environment by upholding Title IX.”

“The ruthless attacks from Texas’ anti-LGBTQIA+ leadership can never erase the powerful, beautiful existence of LGBTQIA+ people in our state. All Texans deserve to be protected from hate and discrimination wherever they are, but especially in the halls of our public schools where every child

should be uplifted and supported," said Marti Bier, Vice President of Programs at Texas Freedom Network. “It is imperative that Texas superintendents obey federal law and updated Title IX guidelines, regardless of political pressure from leaders motivated by hate and cruelty. We’re calling on every superintendent in Texas to refuse to let themselves become political pawns, and prioritize the safety of LGBTQIA+ students in our public schools.”

A district spokesperson for Katy ISD told the Katy Times in a July 12 email that the school district had not yet received the letter.