Tag: Sparks

An Irving Independent School District administrator resigned this week after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called for his firing.

In a social media post, Abbott called for both “criminal and civil investigations” against Irving ISD after a video surfaced that allegedly showed Reny Lizardo, the executive director of Campus Operations for Irving ISD, speaking to an undercover investigator for Accuracy in Media, a nonprofit conservative watchdog group.

The video appeared to show Lizardo asking the woman, who claimed to be a mom, if she can legally change the gender on her child’s birth certificate so the male child can participate in female sports.

“I don’t know enough about it, is that possible?” Lizardo is heard on the video. “If you can get that done and you turn us a birth certificate that says this gender… that’s the gender we go with.”

At another point he appeared to say, “It’s not illegal if you don’t get caught, right?”  

“Mr. Lizardo was more than happy to coach her on how to circumvent the law,” said Adam Guillette, the president of Accuracy in Media. “Then said, ‘If we get sued, we’ll just say this conversation never happened.’”

Guillette said the video was recorded in December. He said he returned to Irving ISD two weeks after that looking for answers.

“He denied everything, and I told him I had the video,” Guillette said. “We also brought a mobile billboard playing the video on a loop and parked it at the entrance to their district building. And he denied it all and asked me if he was being interviewed.”

Guillette alleged Lizardo then took him to someone in the district communications department.

“He said, ‘I can’t say anything until I’ve seen the video,’” Guillette said. “I offered to show it to him on a tablet or he could see it outside on the mobile billboard. He said he was too busy for that and took my information and never got back to me.”

Guillette said he has not heard from Irving ISD since that day.  

“Many people will come out saying this was selective editing. This is a fake video,” Guillete said. “I’m not technically gifted enough to create deepfake videos of obscure Texas government employees. In addition, if it was fake, how come they haven’t denied it?”

Irving ISD released this statement to CBS News Texas, saying in part:

“…the videos were obtained under false pretenses … the message conveyed in the video, as presented, does not reflect the views nor policies of the district.
…while the matter continues to be under investigation, the individual identified in the video has tendered his resignation.”

*see Irving ISD’s full statement below.

Prior to that statement, the governor’s office doubled down in a statement to CBS News Texas, saying, “Biological boys have no business competing against biological girls, and Governor Abbott has made it clear that we must protect the integrity of girl’s sports. This school administrator should be fired, and he and Irving ISD should be investigated for violations of state law.”

CBS News Texas also reached out to Lizardo but we have not heard back.

Title IX protections for LGBTQ students and Texas law

Title IX recently expanded to protect transgender students from discrimination in educational programs and activities; however, Texas did not adopt that policy change.

The landmark 50-year-old law prohibits education entities that receive federal funds from discriminating on the basis of sex. 

The Biden administration attempted to expand Title IX’s protections to LGBTQ students last year and broaden the definition of “hostile-environment harassment” to include harassment based on gender identity. Under the expanded protections, a school would be found in violation of Title IX if it prohibited transgender students from using restrooms and other facilities consistent with their gender identity.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Biden administration over the changes to the law, as did several Texas school districts. Paxton argued that Texas would be “harmed” if the changes took place.

“Texas educational institutions rely on federal funding and will be irreparably harmed if they lose their funding because of their reliance on 50 years of Title IX practice and legal precedent interpreting ‘on the basis of sex’ to mean biological sex, not ‘sexual orientation’ and ‘gender identity,’” the lawsuit states.  

Abbott also condemned the changes to Title IX, sending a letter to Biden claiming the revision “forces schools to treat biological men as women.” Abbott also directed the Texas colleges and universities to ignore the revisions to Title IX.

In 2021, Abbott signed into law legislation that banned trans women and girls in K-12 schools from participating in sports teams aligned with their gender identities, and in 2023 legislation that bans trans athletes from participating in collegiate sports teams that match their gender identities. In 2023, Abbott also signed a law banning gender-affirming care for trans youth in Texas.

The changes to Title IX took effect Aug. 1 but in less than half of the states. Federal judges temporarily blocked it in 26 states as a result of legal challenges.

Irving ISD full statement

“In Irving ISD, we are committed to upholding the requirements of state and federal laws, especially as it pertains to ensuring the safety and well-being of our students, and we will cooperate with any investigation initiated by relevant authorities.

We are aware of the unauthorized video footage circulating on social media of an individual connected with Irving ISD. The videos were obtained under false pretenses by an individual who posed as a concerned parent and additional individuals who posed as family friends of the employee pictured. The individuals also held themselves out as members of the media, but were not credentialed as such, constituting a breach of security.

In addition, the footage has been edited and is an incomplete representation of the entire conversation, making it difficult to properly assess its probative value. Nevertheless, we want to reiterate that Irving ISD complies with all state and federal laws and all employees are expected to adhere to any and all legal and ethical standards. The message conveyed in the video, as presented, does not reflect the views nor policies of the district.

Individual employees do not speak on behalf of the district. The individual identified was acting outside of his role as it relates to legal and regulatory expertise. While the matter continues to be under investigation, the individual identified in the video has tendered his resignation. The resignation was accepted upon receipt in accordance with district policy.

While the subject matter at issue has not been presented to the district to this point, we have received an overwhelming number of inquiries nonetheless. In response, we can also confirm that all Irving ISD student-athletes are participating in their sport in accordance with the sex they were assigned at birth.

Irving ISD is unwavering in our commitment to the safety and well-being of all of our students and staff. We remain focused on our primary function to maintain educational excellence and foster the full potential of our students.”