HOUSTON, TX — A controversial expansion of Texas’s ban on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs is now law, extending the state’s restrictions from public universities to K–12 schools statewide, according to NBC 5’s Phil Prazan, who first reported the story. The new law, which took effect September 1, 2025, is already facing a federal lawsuit filed in Houston.
As NBC 5 DFW reports, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a legal challenge this week in Houston federal court, seeking to block four specific provisions of the law. The lawsuit argues that the law is unconstitutional and restricts free expression and equal access in public education.
“It’s clearly unconstitutional for the government to suppress certain viewpoints,” said Brian Klosterboer, an attorney for the ACLU, in an interview with NBC 5.
The expanded ban was passed earlier this year by the Texas Legislature as part of a broader Parental Bill of Rights. It prohibits race- or gender-based hiring, imposes an opt-in requirement for sex education, and restricts many student-led after-school clubs, including Gay-Straight Alliances, unless they avoid undefined “social or political missions.”
According to NBC 5’s report, critics say the language of the law is vague and opens the door to broad censorship.
“It says that same-gender programs can still exist as long as they don’t advance a social or political mission, but it’s not clear what that mission is,” Klosterboer told NBC 5.
The bill’s author, State Senator Brandon Creighton (R–Conroe), defended the legislation during Senate debate in March, saying it protects classrooms from political ideology and reaffirms parental oversight in education.
“It’s about affirming what most of us believe to be common sense, preventing political agendas from creeping into the classroom,” Creighton said, as quoted by NBC 5.
Under the new law, parents are empowered to file complaints with school districts or the state if they believe that a campus is teaching or supporting prohibited topics. Creighton framed the law as a response to rising parental concern across the state.
“These are God-given rights that we are reaffirming and restating in 2025,” Creighton said in NBC 5’s coverage.
Despite the legal challenge, NBC 5 confirms that the law remains in effect for now. The federal court in Houston has not yet issued a ruling on whether enforcement will be paused while the case proceeds.
This legal battle marks the latest in a series of high-profile policy shifts in Texas public education, as lawmakers continue to redefine the boundaries of classroom content, civil rights, and parental control.
Original Reporting by: Phil Prazan, NBC 5 DFW
“Texas DEI ban expands to public schools, faces federal lawsuit” – Published September 2, 2025
