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Texas Senator Proposes Bill That Would Require School Employees to 'Out' Students to Their Parents

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AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez

"No parent in Texas should ever have to fight for the basic right to matter in their child’s life again," says Senator Burton.

Texas State Senator and Tea Party member Konni Burton has filed legislation that would require teachers and school administration to "out" LGBT students to their parents.

Burton's Senate Bill 242 threatens disciplinary action for any school employee that would fail to disclose a student's sexual or gender identity, even if they were to ask that the information remained private.

"We found these provisions in desperate need of clarity and expansion," Burton wrote. "That is why I am planning to file a bill that rewrites these provisions to make it unequivocally clear that a parent has a right to full and total information on their child's academic performance, physical, mental and emotional health, and more."

"Further," she added, "my legislation will make it expressly against state law for a district to adopt policies designed to undermine a parent's right to know. No parent in Texas should ever have to fight for the basic right to matter in their child's life again."

The senator said she was inspired to draft the bill after her native Fort Worth, TX issued new guidelines barring school employees from disclosing a student's transgender identity to parents without express permission.

Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick contested these provisions, citing the parent's right to know as the reason for the guidelines to be overturned. The school eventually backed down due to pressure from the community.

Unfortunately, this is not the only anti-LGBT discriminatory law that will enter into discussion in Texas State legislature come January. Fellow Tea Party Senator Bob Hall's proposed bill plans to eliminate job protections for LGBT Texans.

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