The Texas Education Agency closed its investigation into Bellaire High School without finding district-level wrongdoing, according to records released this week. This wraps up a case that drew statewide attention after a Houston mother alleged her daughter was being secretly addressed by a different name and pronouns without her knowledge or consent.
The investigation was ordered by Gov. Greg Abbott in February 2025, following a school board meeting where Denise Bell, chair of the Harris County chapter of Moms for Liberty, testified on behalf of an anonymous parent.
Bell told the Houston ISD board that teachers had been calling a Bellaire junior by a male name and pronouns since freshman year, including one teacher who crossed out the student’s legal name on a submitted paper and wrote in a different name in red ink. The family said the practice contradicted instructions they had given to the school, went against their Christian faith, and had continued despite meetings with teachers, counselors, and the principal.
The TEA looked at whether the district had violated the Texas Education Code, which grants parents the right to full information about their child’s school activities and identifies any attempt by an employee to encourage a child to withhold information from parents as grounds for discipline.
In a March letter to state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles and board president Ric Campo, the TEA said the investigation had wrapped up in October and that no further action would be taken.
Richard Segovia, the TEA’s Division Director of Special Investigations, wrote that the available evidence “did not result in a finding of district-level wrongdoing or identify violations of provisions of the Texas Education Code in effect during the period under review.” The letter was released this week after the Houston Chronicle requested it through public records.
The family at the center of the case, Terry and Sarah Osborn, took their own legal action after the TEA probe was underway. Represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, they filed a federal lawsuit in June 2025 against HISD, naming Superintendent Miles, Bellaire Principal Michael Niggli, a school counselor, and multiple teachers as defendants. The suit alleged that more than six district employees had used male pronouns and a masculine name for their daughter across two school years, even after the parents formally objected.
The Osborns said they first became aware of the extent of the situation when they discovered schoolwork with a masculine name on it during their daughter’s sophomore year. When they met with Principal Niggli, he offered to have staff refer to the student only by her last name, a compromise the family rejected, again directing the school to use their daughter’s legal name and female pronouns.
HISD settled the lawsuit in December 2025.
Superintendent Miles signed the agreement, under which all Bellaire staff were directed to address the student by her legal name and female pronouns for as long as she remains a minor enrolled in the district. The district denied wrongdoing as part of the settlement. ADF Senior Counsel Kate Anderson said in a statement that “parents have the right to direct the upbringing, education, and health care of their children without fear of government interference” and that school officials should work with families, not around them.
Segovia noted in his letter that Senate Bill 12, passed by the 89th Texas Legislature and signed by Abbott in June 2025, did not apply to the conduct in question because it took effect after the relevant events occurred. SB 12 prohibits teachers from using names and pronouns that do not align with a student’s biological sex at birth, among other provisions. The law went into effect September 1, 2025.
However, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction in February 2026, temporarily blocking HISD, Katy ISD, and Plano ISD from enforcing four specific sections of SB12, including the provision on pronoun and name use. The injunction applies only to those three districts while litigation continues.
Abbott’s office, in a statement following the TEA’s letter being made public, said the governor “was proud to ban this radical practice last year, ensuring Texas educators cannot indoctrinate impressionable children into making irreversible medical decisions.”
