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Texas teens win major victory against censorship law targeting LGBTQ youth

"It sends a really strong message that young people's lives matter."

Texas teens win major victory against censorship law targeting LGBTQ youth
Iowa Students Protest Anti-LGBTQ Legislation | Students at h… | Flickr
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Cecily Knobler
By Cecily KnoblerFeb 25, 2025
Cecily Knobler
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In a world where many people don't feel they have a voice, students in Texas galvanized to find ways to get heard on issues that directly affect them. Forming Students Engaging in Advancing Texas (SEAT) has been transformative, not only for the involved students in Texas, but for youth in other states around the country who are inspired to do the same. SEAT's vision, according to their website, "is normalizing the presence of students in educational policymaking – nothing about us, without us. We strive for a day where students speaking at school board meetings is a norm, not an anomaly."

Their impact has been far-reaching. From fundraising for libraries to fighting bills that prohibit LGBTQ extracurricular school activities, they show up and advocate whenever they can.


File:Book Banning Protest, Atlanta, GA 2-12-2022 P2120070 ...commons.wikimedia.org

So, when the SCOPE Act, which stands for Securing Children Online Through Parental Empowerment, was introduced to the Texas legislature in 2023, SEAT (alongside other advocacy groups) fought aspects of it due to their perceived censorship and invasion of privacy.

In the 2023 opinion piece, "New Texas law will keep kids from needed online community – and hit LGBTQ teens the hardest" for the Star Telegram, Adam Kovacevich wrote, "Gov. Greg Abbott signed a new law that adds fuel to the fire by opening the door to digital state censorship. The bill will deprive teens in need—especially LGBTQ youth—of access to online resources and connections with peers who identify like they do."

He noted the privacy issues as well. "Additionally, the bill puts online privacy at risk for both minors and adults."

Whereas the SCOPE Act claims to guard minors against "grooming," Kovacevich suggested, "Nowhere in the SCOPE Act’s text is so-called grooming content defined, but for anyone who’s followed Texas’ war on school libraries, that word shouldn’t be hard to recognize. 'Child grooming' is the same justification that Texas school board members and far-right activists across the country have used to ban LGBTQ books from local libraries.'"

a crowd of people holding a rainbow flag Photo by Margaux Bellott on Unsplash

Enter the non-profit, FIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression), who used their platform to sue Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in August of 2024 on behalf of three SEAT members. On GLAAD.org, Lana Leonard relayed that FIRE and SEAT released a joint press-release, imploring the importance of pushing back because people "use the internet to communicate with young Texans and keep them informed on issues that affect them."

Judge Robert Pittman granted, in a 37-page decision, that three of the SCOPE Act provisions would not be enforced. Leonard shared that, in part, this included "required content monitoring and filtering, targeted advertising bans, and age-verification requirements."

It's a huge start to what will most likely be a lengthy battle. Cameron Samuels, the Executive Director of SEAT, had this inspiring message on their Instagram: "You can't ban queer joy. States like Texas are not a lost cause when our community is struggling. You should be asking us how you can help."

lawsuitonline privacytexasvictoryschool librariesbookslgbtq rightslgbt youth

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