A 17-year-old Grand Prairie student who was stripped of a role in her high school play because she was cast as a male character has sued the school district.
Ana Mota’s parents filed the lawsuit in federal court on her behalf on Monday, alleging the district violated Title IX — a federal statute that protects students from being discriminated against for their sex.
A Grand Prairie ISD spokesperson declined to comment due to the lawsuit.
The school district previously said it canceled the play to comply with Texas Senate Bill 12. That bill, among other things, prevents schools from helping transgender students transition, limits LGBTQ+ student clubs and bans diversity hiring.
“SB 12 contains no text that can reasonably be read to require an actor’s biological sex to match the sex of a fictional scripted character,” Mota’s lawsuit states. “She was portraying a scripted fictional character in an official school theatrical production — a centuries-old theatrical tradition.”
The lawsuit also argues that even if SB 12 barred Mota from the role, federal antidiscrimination law supersedes state law.
The suit asks for the play to be restored, and Mota to be given back the male role.
Mota, a senior, was set to play Seymour in “Little Shop of Horrors” at South Grand Prairie High School after four days of auditioning this year.
Her teacher told her the district was concerned about the casting due to Texas Senate Bill 12.
She was told she would instead have to share a female role with another student while a male student would play Seymour, Mota told KERA.
The district then told Mota and her mother on Oct. 8 the play would be scrapped and replaced.
An audio recording of that meeting Mota shared with KERA News shows the district representatives — Suszy Meyer, area chief for the high school, and Lance Morse, executive director of fine arts — were worried about public backlash.
“We’re picturing at the same time certain political factions, I mean, protesting the show and picketing,” Morse said. “It could become a huge deal.”
The district announced it would replace “Little Shop of Horrors” with Disney’s “Frozen” this month.
Mota told KERA she’ll still audition for a role in the play.
“At the end of the day, that’s what I enjoy to do,” she said. “I love to do theater.”
Dylan Duke is KERA’s Dallas Accountability Reporter. Got a tip? Email Dylan at dduke@kera.org.
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