The head of an investigative journalist group claims Several North Texas school districts are actively trying to bypass a state law governing girls’ sports, and he says he has video evidence to prove it.
In 2021, the Texas legislature passed H.B. 25, which prohibits public schools from allowing students to “compete in a district- or school‑sponsored interscholastic athletic competition designated for the biological sex opposite to the student’s biological sex.”
In 2023, the state passed a similar law, the Save Women’s Sports Act, that applies to collegiate sports at public colleges and universities.
“The Save Women’s Sports Act protects young women at Texas colleges and universities by prohibiting men from competing on a team or as an individual against them in college sports. Sports have inspired many women to cast bold visions and dreams of what they want to achieve. The legacy of women’s sports will be safeguarded for generations to come. Women in Texas can be assured that the integrity of their sports will be protected in our state,” Abbott said in a press release at the time.
Following the passage of the Save Women’s Sports Act, Adam Guillette, president of Accuracy in Media (AIM), visited several local independent school districts to see if they were complying with the 2021 law.
“To our non-surprise, we found multiple districts that were more than happy to circumvent the law,” Guillette told The Dallas Express.
Guillette explained that undercover journalists were told by school administrators that “if you change your birth certificate before moving to the state or before moving to the district, your biological boy can play in girl sports.”
In Irving ISD, one administrator informed the undercover journalist that parents don’t have to provide their child’s birth certificate. The administrator also revealed that they used the same approach for enrolling illegal immigrants. Guillette reported similar interactions at Dallas ISD and Richardson ISD, all allegedly captured on undercover video.
When asked whether the administrators had been coached by a consulting firm or received guidance from the ISD itself, Guillette speculated that teacher unions likely coached the three administrators.
“So when three administrators all responded the exact same way to circumvent the law, it does suggest to us that they are probably being approached by someone at the NEA [National Education Association] or the American Federation of Teachers,” Guillette told DX.
Guillette confirmed that AIM plans to present the video as evidence to state representatives in hopes of passing legislation to address rogue ISDs. The videos of the exposed administrators will be released next week.
“It’s time to stop pretending that K-12 education exists to educate children because, by any objective measure, they do a terrible job of that,” Guillette told DX.
On Wednesday, Guillette visited both Dallas ISD and Richardson ISD to confront the administrators who had allegedly coached undercover journalists on how to circumvent the law.
At Dallas ISD, he attempted to speak with Special Populations and Community Advocate Mahoganie Gaston, who had allegedly coached undercover reporters on how to admit a hypothetical transgender student with a history of harming female athletes into girls’ sports, the Washington Examiner reported.
“She slammed the door in my face,” Guillette told the outlet. “I didn’t get to chat with her very long.”
Guillette also confronted Richardson ISD’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Director, Angie Lee, after undercover video footage showed her advising journalists on how a boy could share a room with girls during a school trip, per the Examiner.
The Dallas Express reached out to Dallas ISD, Irving ISD, and Richardson ISD for comment but did not receive a response.
However, a spokesperson for Richardson ISD released a statement, per the Examiner: “RISD follows Texas law, including the UIL requirement that student athletes must compete according to the gender on their original birth certificate. The district is not aware of any instance where this requirement was not followed, nor of any RISD-specific information suggesting the requirement should not be followed.”