KDFW livestream not available in schedule service
AUSTIN, Texas - Texas State Rep. Jeff Leach is asking Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to investigate an organization that distributed a "Back to School Toolkit" that he says may encourage people to violate Senate Bill 12, the Texas Parents’ Bill of Rights.
Requests AG investigation into Trans Texas
What we know:
Leach sent the request to Paxton on Oct. 13 in his capacity as chairman of the Texas House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee and lead House sponsor of SB 12. The law established requirements and guidance for educators, counselors and other personnel in Texas public schools.
In his letter, Leach said he was concerned about communications distributed in recent days by an organization identifying itself as "Trans Texas", or the Transgender Education Network of Texas. The materials are available on the Transtexas.org website under the "Back to School Toolkit."
The toolkit includes information about bathrooms and resources related to gender-affirming care for transgender students.
Texts link to transgender youth resources
Dig deeper:
Some Texans received unsolicited text messages linking to the materials.
One message described the site as a "complete guide on bathrooms and beyond for trans kids at school." Another directed recipients to resources for questions about gender-affirming care in Texas.
The Transgender Education Network of Texas, or TENT, addressed the messages in a social media post, saying it was aware of texts that appeared to have been issued by or on behalf of the organization.
TENT said it would continue monitoring the situation and reaffirmed its support for transgender Texans, their families and loved ones.
Concerns raised over personal data, privacy laws
Local perspective:
Leach said he personally received one of the messages and that several constituents also contacted him about them.
He also asked the attorney general’s office to investigate how the organization obtained the names, email addresses, phone numbers and other personal information of Texans who received the materials.
The state representative asked investigators to determine whether the information was obtained or shared lawfully and whether any privacy, consumer-protection or data-security laws were violated.
What's next:
FOX Local has reached out to TENT for a comment but have yet to hear back.
The Source: Information in this article was provided by State Rep. Jeff Leach and social media posts from the Transgender Education Network of Texas.