Southlake

Author Mike Hixenbaugh discusses the history of Southlake, revealing conflicts over diversity, equity, and inclusion. The podcast explores the impact of exclusionary zoning policies, challenges of school desegregation, rise of private Christian schools, and confronting racism in a community.

Grapevine goes to the polls in a contentious school board election driven by the fight over the role of religion and LGBTQ inclusion in public schools. As the dust settles, Ren reflects on the impact of her mother’s allegations. And, after months of feeling as if she’s had to erase herself, Em Ramser reclaims her voice.

Evangelical activists open a new front in their campaign to impose their version of biblical morality in public schools — at the Texas statehouse. While legislators debate bills requiring the Ten Commandments and banning mention of gender identity in classrooms, three nonbinary students share the trauma they’ve endured at Grapevine High. Meanwhile, a coalition of progressive parents and disillusioned conservatives pledge to retake control of their school system.

Weston Brown, 28, sees a video of his homeschooling mother calling for dozens of books on sexuality and gender to be banned from public schools in another Texas school district. To counter her political activism, Weston publicly shares his story of growing up gay in a fundamentalist Christian family. Feeling pressured by parents and school officials, Em Ramser removes LGBTQ symbols from her classroom and no longer recognizes the teacher she’s become.

Amid a growing anti-trans backlash, Ren devises a plan to get out of Texas — and away from her mother. In Grapevine, Sharla’s claim that teacher Em Ramser “infected” her child with lies about gender triggers online attacks, leading Ramser to consider leaving the profession.

Conservatives are gaining power in Grapevine, fueled by a once-fringe movement that calls on evangelicals to control the seven key “mountains” of American society — including education. A cellphone company with a Christian nationalist agenda heeds that call and sets its sights on winning school board seats in Grapevine, following an example set a year earlier in the neighboring city of Southlake.CORRECTION (Oct. 4, 2023, 08:40 p.m. ET): A previous version of this episode misstated the amount of money Patriot Mobile Action spent in school board elections in North Texas in spring 2022. It was nearly $500,000, not $600,000. 

A mother named Sharla publicly accuses a high school teacher in Grapevine, Texas, of using a graphic novel called “The Prince and the Dressmaker” to convince her child to change genders. Reporters Mike Hixenbaugh and Antonia Hylton set out to investigate the allegation. Sharla’s child, Ren, and Ren’s English teacher, Em Ramser, tell them a different story.

 The fight over diversity in Southlake’s Carroll Independent School District is back in the headlines and has a new focus — books. Teachers are worried about a new Texas law that limits instruction on contentious topics, and one of them secretly records a meeting in which a Carroll administrator offers an unexpected piece of advice: If teachers share books about the Holocaust with students, the administrator says, then they should also offer books on “opposing perspectives.” Teachers are incredulous, and the recording sets off an international backlash. In this special bonus episode, we speak with a former librarian at Carroll Senior High School, who retired early instead of continuing to navigate the battle over books, as well as a 12-year-old student whose mother pulled him out of the district after he faced severe bullying over his sexuality. And we have new details on what could be a game-changing development in Southlake: a federal civil rights investigation into students’ complaints of discrimination.If you or someone in your life is in distress, you can always call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The toll-free number, 800-273-8255, connects you to a certified crisis center nearby. For more resources, click here.

Five months after the high-stakes local election in Southlake, the city is gearing up for yet another contentious vote. One of the school board members who supported the diversity plan, retired Air Force Col. Dave Almand, is stepping down, and the battle over diversity programs is at the center of the fight to replace him. But he’s far from the only leader to leave a role in public schools this year following attacks from parents opposed to what they see as the quiet creep critical race theory. For this special bonus episode, we sit down with a panel of four educators from across the country who’ve come under fire, including James Whitfield, the first Black principal at a high school a town over from Southlake, whose school board has begun a formal process that could lead to his termination. The educators discuss how the anti-CRT movement is driving them out of their careers—and away from their students.

It’s Election Day in Southlake, Texas — time to see if all the fighting over the school district’s Cultural Competence Action Plan translates into votes. A handful of candidates and supporters who want to see new diversity programs rally in Town Square, across from a much larger, rowdier crowd of those backing the conservative slate. “It’s a great town,” one voter shouts over her shoulder. “We want to keep it that way.” After the votes are counted, Southlake becomes a national poster child in the movement to redefine and root out critical race theory. Stuck in the middle is Lane Ledbetter, Carroll’s new school superintendent, who is tasked with bringing the community together — but in a rare interview, he struggles to answer questions about racism in Southlake. On graduation day, Nikki Olaleye says she hopes Southlake’s future doesn’t mirror its past.