Texas parent says school officials yanked trans eighth-grader out of class for questioning

A Texas parent said school officials pulled her 13-year-old transgender son out of class last week for questioning with an investigator from the state’s Department of Family and Protective Services.

The state agency questioned the eighth grader, and later his mother and his father, as part of a child abuse investigation into the boy’s parents for providing him with gender-affirming care.

After being questioned for nearly an hour, the eighth grader had a “meltdown” and “became very fearful and upset that something might happen to me or his dad because of who he is,” his mother, named under the pseudonym Carol Koe, said in a signed court declaration.

The declaration is part of an ongoing lawsuit against Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) over his February directive ordering state agencies to investigate gender-affirming care for transgender children as child abuse.

In March, a Texas judge temporarily barred the state from investigating parents while the case proceeded, but was overruled by the state’s Supreme Court in May. 

The 13-year-old boy was questioned about “his most intimate thoughts, his family, his diagnosis, his medical history, and current health care” by the state investigator, his mother said in the court filing.

After receiving gender-affirming care, the boy was “finally comfortable with himself and happy,” his mother said. However, since the investigation began, he has been unable to fully return to school and has had frequent panic attacks, according to the court filing.

“My son has been doing so well and has so much love and support around him,” his mother said. “This intrusion into our lives, our privacy, and my right as a parent to direct my child’s upbringing has been disruptive and traumatic.”

“I worry that other parents will hesitate to seek out the care and support that their transgender children may need out of fear that someone will report them,” she added.