By Valeria Olivares
https://www.dallasnews.com/
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton accused Frisco schools of violating a court order that directed officials to cease what his office deemed as illegal electioneering through social media posts.
Frisco is among several school districts that Paxton alleged in a series of legal filings broke state election laws.
Paxton’s office filed a motion for contempt against Frisco ISD this week for failing to abide by a temporary restraining order issued on Feb. 29 that directed administrators to cease the activities that triggered the lawsuit.
Frisco officials were not immediately available to comment on the litigation late Friday. The district was closed for spring break.
In late February, Paxton sued Frisco schools for “repeatedly using official resources to violate Texas law by encouraging people to vote in favor of a specific policy,” according to his office.
The lawsuit accuses the district of breaking Texas laws that prohibit the use of state or local funds or other resources to campaign in favor or against any candidates, measures or political party.
In Frisco’s case, the district shared messages on Facebook ahead of the Texas primary elections that provoked Paxton’s accusations. They mentioned proposals made during the last legislative session that tied public school funding to a voucherlike program and information on the primaries.
“Many of the seats up for election do not have competitive races during the November general election, so whoever wins the primary – in most cases – will win the November election,” one of the posts read. “That means candidates we’re voting for right now will decide whether or not public schools get funded appropriately. Make your voice heard!”
About four hours after a judge issued the restraining order, the district posted a message on X, formerly known as Twitter, that echoed some of that language.
“The state legislature determines how much money districts can receive. They have not increased that per-student amount since 2019. Since then, we’ve experienced record inflation. Now, FISD is $90 million behind in buying power,” the Frisco post shared after the restraining order reads.
After the initial lawsuit, Frisco officials edited two of the district’s social media posts to get rid of some of the language referenced in the filing and deleted one.
Paxton’s office said in a statement that “school districts should be aware that such actions constitute criminal conduct and violators could be subject to criminal prosecution by local authorities.”
In an emergency meeting last week, Frisco school trustees voted to launch negotiations with Paxton’s office.
Other districts accused by Paxton’s office of breaking election code recently include Denton, Castleberry, Denison and Aledo in North Texas, along with Hutto, north of Austin, and Huffman, northeast of Houston.
Some educators pushed back on Paxton’s efforts. Officials from the Texas Schools Alliance have said districts “have every right to highlight the inarguable fact that decisions made by legislators and other elected officials directly impact the education that we are able to provide.”
The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.
The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Garrett and Cecilia Boone, The Meadows Foundation, The Murrell Foundation, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University, Sydney Smith Hicks and the University of Texas at Dallas. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Lab’s journalism.
This story, originally published in The Dallas Morning News, is reprinted as part of a collaborative partnership between The Dallas Morning News and Texas Metro News. The partnership seeks to boost coverage of Dallas’ communities of color, particularly in southern Dallas.
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