Texas School Administrator Resigns After Undercover Video Sparks Controversy

IRVING, Texas — Reny Lizardo, the executive director of Campus Operations for Irving Independent School District, resigned this week following the release of an undercover video that allegedly showed him advising a parent on how to circumvent Texas laws regarding transgender athletes. The video, recorded by Accuracy in Media, a conservative watchdog group, prompted Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to call for Lizardo’s firing and a criminal investigation.

The video, reportedly filmed in December, shows Lizardo discussing the possibility of altering a child’s birth certificate to allow a male student to compete in female sports. “If you can get that done and you turn us a birth certificate that says this gender… that’s the gender we go with,” Lizardo is heard saying in the footage. At another point, he appears to remark, “It’s not illegal if you don’t get caught, right?”

Adam Guillette, president of Accuracy in Media, accused Lizardo of coaching the undercover investigator on how to bypass state laws. “Mr. Lizardo was more than happy to coach her on how to circumvent the law,” Guillette said. “Then said, ‘If we get sued, we’ll just say this conversation never happened.'”

Guillette claimed he confronted Lizardo two weeks after the recording, but Lizardo denied the allegations. “He denied everything, and I told him I had the video,” Guillette said. “We also brought a mobile billboard playing the video on a loop and parked it at the entrance to their district building. And he denied it all and asked me if he was being interviewed.”

Irving ISD released a statement addressing the controversy, stating that the video was obtained under false pretenses and does not reflect the district’s policies. “The videos were obtained under false pretenses… the message conveyed in the video, as presented, does not reflect the views nor policies of the district,” the statement read. The district confirmed Lizardo’s resignation, adding that the matter remains under investigation.

Gov. Abbott condemned the actions depicted in the video, emphasizing the need to protect the integrity of girls’ sports. “Biological boys have no business competing against biological girls, and Governor Abbott has made it clear that we must protect the integrity of girls’ sports,” a statement from the governor’s office said. “This school administrator should be fired, and he and Irving ISD should be investigated for violations of state law.”

The controversy comes amid ongoing debates over Title IX protections for transgender students. While the Biden administration expanded Title IX to include protections based on gender identity, Texas has resisted these changes. In 2021, Abbott signed legislation banning transgender women and girls from participating in K-12 sports teams that align with their gender identities. A 2023 law further restricted transgender athletes in college sports.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has also challenged the federal Title IX revisions, arguing that they conflict with state laws. “Texas educational institutions rely on federal funding and will be irreparably harmed if they lose their funding because of their reliance on 50 years of Title IX practice and legal precedent interpreting ‘on the basis of sex’ to mean biological sex, not ‘sexual orientation’ and ‘gender identity,'” Paxton stated in a lawsuit.

Irving ISD reiterated its commitment to complying with state and federal laws, emphasizing that all student-athletes participate in sports according to the sex they were assigned at birth. The district also noted that the video was edited and does not represent the full context of the conversation.

As of now, Lizardo has not publicly commented on the allegations or his resignation. The incident has sparked widespread debate over transgender rights and the enforcement of state laws in Texas schools.