Texas district reverses decision that cut transgender student from play

By Praveena Somasundaram
November 15, 2023 at 1:08 a.m. EST

During a school board meeting in Sherman, Tex., on Monday, 44-year-old Phillip Hightower stood at a podium to speak in support of his son, a transgender high school senior. Earlier this month, Max had lost a lead role in “Oklahoma!” when the school district decided that students must portray characters that align with their sex assigned at birth.

“This was the biggest role Max ever had,” Hightower told school board members. “Max had a solo. This would have been the culmination of Max’s entire career.”

After hours of emotional public comment, the Sherman Independent School District board voted unanimously to reinstate Max and other cast members and allow them to proceed with the musical’s original script rather than an “age appropriate” version that administrators had previously decided to use.

“I worked so hard to get it back,” Max, 17, told The Washington Post. “And I got it now.”

[...]