Special Section on LGBTQ+ 

By Brian Lopez, The Texas Tribune A San Antonio-area school district is reviewing the contents of more than 400 books that were flagged in a Republican lawmaker’s investigation into the titles that schools keep in their libraries.

By Allyson Waller, The Texas Tribune Texas’ transgender student athletes will be restricted from playing on K-12 school sports teams that align with their gender identity under a bill Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law Monday.

Texas’ child welfare agency removed a webpage that offered resources to LGBTQ youth following complaints by one of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s GOP primary challengers, according to internal agency communications. The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services webpage, which provides information to children in the foster care system, included information about a suicide prevention hotline, LGBTQ legal services, and questions about defining gender and sexual identity.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted many parts of civilization, U.S. educators, students and educational advocates have continued to battle for social equity in the classroom. Experts addressed these and other issues at South by Southwest (SXSW) EDU, the education-centric portion of the annual Austin-based SXSW festival. The pandemic’s emergence last spring caused the abrupt cancellation of all SXSW activities in 2020. This year, on March 9-11, SXSW EDU and main SXSW took place completely online.

By Emma Platoff, The Texas Tribune June 15, 2020

By Stacy Fernández, The Texas Tribune Nov. 19, 2019 Joe Straus, the Republican former speaker of the Texas House, called on the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to protect LGBTQ people against workplace discrimination.

With the theme of “Magical Universe,” San Japan's 11th annual Labor Day weekend celebration of anime and manga attracted 18,500 people, according to organizers. The 2018 convention filled the expansive Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center and Grand Hyatt and Marriott Riverwalk hotels with mainly young fans, outfitted as their favorite characters.

San Japan, the ever-popular San Antonio celebration of Japanese culture and anime, manga and gaming, is gearing for its 11th iteration over Labor Day weekend. With each passing year, San Japan is proving it’s more than a fun place where cosplayers, gamers and artists of all ages and backgrounds can demonstrate their skills and share their love of anime and manga.

by Rishika Dugyala, The Texas Tribune A self-described “gun-toting, truck-driving, true Republican,” Shannon McClendon avidly followed state politics and served as a five-time appointee for various boards under former Texas Gov. Rick Perry. But until now, she never pushed herself to run for elected office.

The statistics are staggering. According to a national study, between 6% and 35% of the young people in this country have experienced some form cyber bullying. It’s being recognized as a new form of violence, and it has potentially devastating consequences.