Texas has been one of the early adopters of Trump-era policies that deny the rights of people who don’t fall within the cis-het, male, and white identity. The state has enacted numerous laws and policies that have enabled rampant book banning in public schools. Anti-DEI laws–those intended to deny inclusive education to marginalized people–are on the books, including anti-DEI laws that direct public colleges and universities in the state to dismantle their affinity programs and projects. We’ve seen the impact all of these laws have had, not only in complete school library shut downs, not only in the use of AI to remove books from schools, and not only in the removal of readings in university classes where the only attendees are full-grown adults (that course was ultimately canceled).
In early 2026, children’s author Chris Barton learned that his author visit with Alamo Heights Independent School District had been canceled. This happened after three parents complained that one of his books explored the history of glitter. The book included references to LGBTQ+ people, which was enough to prompt cancellation. Barton wasn’t going to be speaking about that book, nor about queer people through history. But the mere existence of that book in the author’s bibliography was enough to deny him and 1,600 students the visit. It was later revealed that the administration lied about the reason for the cancellation.
Now, newly discovered state consultant contracts are raising even more red flags about the lengths that some in the state are going to deny authors and students access to inclusive concepts.
Texas has 20 educational service centers (ESCs) that provide services to school districts across various geographic areas of the state. ESCs are not regulatory arms of the Texas Education Association, and schools can choose where and how they participate in the services they provide. ESCs have three primary functions, per the Texas legislature: help school districts improve student performance, help districts operate more effectively and economically, and implement the initiatives of the legislature or Texas State Board of Education Commissioner. ESCs frequently offer programming and professional development opportunities for schools and educators. This is especially valuable in parts of the state where driving to such opportunities can take hours, if not a whole day. Despite several large cities, the vast majority of Texas is rural.
In July 2025, ESC 1 updated the language in its consulting services contracts–the forms used by the ESC to bring in guest speakers, authors, and others who provide programming or professional development. ESC 1 covers districts in the Lower Rio Grande Valley along the Mexican border and serves seven counties. That amounts to 37 school districts and close to 404,000 students.
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A letter prefacing the updated contract notes what those updates are:
Legal advice to ESC 1 led to updates to the contract’s language on DEI,