After documents showed Austin ISD pushing LGBT “Pride” events, State Board of Education Member Brandon Hall called for officials to step in, The Dallas Express has learned.
“Year after year, AISD flaunts the law to facilitate woke indoctrination with taxpayer resources,” Hall said to The Dallas Express. “This shouldn’t be allowed to happen again. It’s time for state intervention.”
Austin ISD is planning to hold “Pride Week” from March 23 to 27, according to district guidelines published online. District officials asked photographers to protect student privacy, but also to “maintain campus anonymity.”
“Avoid Identifying Markers: Do not include images that clearly identify our specific school,” district officials wrote. “Check the Background: Avoid capturing school signage, mascot logos, specific room numbers, or distinctive campus architecture that could reveal our location to the general public.”
District officials encouraged voluntary “Pride” activities outside instructional time such as at lunch, in advisory periods, in morning meetings, or before or after school.
Principals were expected to relay specific activities to parents by March 9. According to the document, if parents wish for their child not to participate, “they may contact their school principal who will make alternative arrangements for the student.”
“Austin ISD needs to drop the ‘Pride’ celebrations and focus on reading, writing, and arithmetic,” Hall said.
The Dallas Express reached out to Austin ISD for comment, but did not hear back in time for publication. This article will be updated accordingly.
Skirting State Law?
Robert Henneke, executive director of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, initially raised concerns about Austin ISD’s approach to “Pride” on X.
@AustinISD seeks to hide from accountability in preparing to violate #Texas ban on Pride Week activities #txlege pic.twitter.com/uF2r2pyGya
— Robert Henneke (@robhenneke) March 10, 2026
When S.B. 12 took effect in September 2025, it codified parental rights, limited instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity, and banned staff from so-called “diversity, equity, and inclusion” activities.
These prohibited DEI duties include “policies, procedures, or training programs that reference race, color, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation,” except for those required by federal law.
“In an ever-changing environment, we have to evaluate the ways we’ve done things in the past,” Austin ISD officials wrote in the document. “While the way we celebrate Pride may change, our values do not.”
District officials said schools may create “Pride Displays in common areas.” They said while officials cannot use district resources for LGBT materials, they can “continue to display existing Pride swag” from previous years.
“Campuses that still have pride flags from previous years or receive a pride flag as a donation may raise those flags the week of March 23-27,” district officials wrote.
Henneke told The Dallas Express he thinks Austin ISD is trying to exploit loopholes in state law.
“It’s clear that this was drafted carefully, in a way to attempt to circumvent these requirements by specifying that it’s not during instructional time or that it’s being funded by the PTA,” he said. “This is clearly being coordinated and orchestrated by the school district. They can’t avoid responsibility by claiming these are outside or voluntary activities.”
The “Pride” activities could potentially constitute a form of sexual education without parental consent, according to Henneke.
“What’s illegal about the district activities is that they’re trying to use a backdoor for non-approved sex education instruction without parental consent,” he said. “I think AISD is being intentional in what it’s doing, and that reason is to try to bypass state law.”
