Texas Transgender ‘Child Abuse’ Policy Can Go Back Into Effect, State Supreme Court Rules

Topline

Texas’ policy directing state officials to investigate parents of transgender children for “child abuse” can go back into effect, as the Texas Supreme Court on Friday lifted a lower court’s order that blocked the controversial policy statewide as the lawsuit moves forward—though it clarified that the agency tasked with enforcing the policy isn’t actually legally required to do so.

A rally in support of transgender kids on March 6 in St. Paul, Minnesota.

UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Key Facts

The Texas Supreme Court ruled a lower appeals court didn’t have the authority to block the policy from being enforced statewide, and said the court shouldn’t have ruled against Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) in the case because he hasn’t been taking any action to enforce the policy himself.

The court did let an injunction remain in place when it comes to the family that filed the lawsuit, meaning they’re shielded from state investigation—but no other parents of transgender children in the state are.

Abbott had directed the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) in February to investigate parents of children who have received gender-affirming care for child abuse, which could result in consequences like parents being put on a state child abuse registry or losing their jobs.

DFPS opened investigations as a result of the directive, but the court’s ruling Friday questioned why it did, noting there’s nothing under Texas law that actually requires the agency to follow Abbott’s directive and the governor and attorney general can’t “directly control DFPS’ investigatory decisions.”

Because of that, the American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal, which represented the plaintiffs, said Friday the ruling was “a win for our clients and the rule of law,” because it made clear Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton “do not have the authority to order DFPS to take any action against families.”

Paxton, however, also characterized the ruling as a victory, saying on Twitter he “just secured a win for families” against “gender ideology” and the court had “green-lighted investigations that lower Dem[ocrat] courts froze.”

What To Watch For

Friday’s ruling only concerned the lower court’s injunction blocking the policy and not the merits of the actual policy itself, which still have to be considered first by lower courts. DFPS said Friday it is reviewing the court’s decision, and the agency could still start up the investigations again even though the court said they’re not legally required to. Before Abbott’s directive was first blocked in court, multiple outlets reported the agency had already launched nine investigations into families of transgender children, and the Dallas Morning News reported at least three families had been visited by officials from Child Protective Services.

Crucial Quote

“It would be unconscionable for DFPS to continue these lawless investigations while this lawsuit continues, and we will not stop fighting to protect the safety and lives of transgender youth here in Texas,” the ACLU and Lambda Legal said in a statement Friday.

Key Background

Abbott issued his directive to DFPS after Paxton released a legal opinion that equated transgender children receiving gender-affirming care with “child abuse.” The policy has been heavily opposed by numerous medical groups including the National Association of Social Workers, American Academy of Pediatrics and American Psychological Association, with the Texas Pediatric Society writing in a statement it would “cause undue harm to children in Texas.” A family investigated under the policy and a Texas-based child psychologist sued the state in March aiming to block the policy, with attorneys arguing the directive “cause[s] immeasurable harm to both parents and young people, threaten[s] family separation, and lack[s] any legitimate justification at all.” A Texas district court judge then blocked the policy statewide as a result, but the state immediately appealed the ruling, which under court rules meant the policy could go back into effect despite the order against it. The appeals court then issued its own ruling blocking the policy statewide, which is what the Texas Supreme Court ruled on Friday.

Tangent

The DFPS directive has reportedly led to turmoil within the agency, as the Texas Tribune reported in April that a number of investigators at DFPS have either resigned from the agency or are actively job hunting because they disagree with the policy. One former DFPS employee who resigned before the policy was blocked testified in court that workers at the agency had been asked to prioritize the investigations and were directed not to document anything about them in writing, unlike other child abuse investigations.