A federal lawsuit filed on behalf of Ana Mota is challenging Grand Prairie ISD’s interpretation of Texas’ SB 12, alleging the district violated Title IX when it barred the female student from playing a male character in a high school musical.
Mota was cast as Seymour in South Grand Prairie High School’s production of Little Shop of Horrors before the district stepped in and canceled the show.
Senate Bill 12 is a wide-ranging 2025 law that, among other provisions, restricts DEI programs, instruction and programming involving sexual orientation or gender identity, and school employees’ assistance with a student’s “social transitioning.”
Some of those provisions are already being challenged in federal court. In GSA Network v. Morath, plaintiffs challenged four portions of SB 12 involving DEI, social transitioning, LGBTQ-related instruction and programming, and student clubs, arguing they violate federal constitutional and statutory protections.
In February, a federal judge temporarily blocked Houston, Katy and Plano ISDs from enforcing those four provisions while that case proceeds. The injunction applies to those three districts, not Grand Prairie ISD.
Title IX, the federal civil rights law enacted in 1972, bars sex discrimination in education programs receiving federal funding. Mota’s lawsuit argues that protection applies to her school’s theater program and that the district violated it by removing her from a male role specifically because she is female.
The lawsuit argues the district cannot rely on its interpretation of Texas SB 12 to justify the exclusion, especially because the law does not expressly prohibit students from portraying characters of the opposite sex.
The plaintiffs claim Mota was “excluded” from her role and “offered no equivalent educational opportunity.” The lawsuit argues that if Grand Prairie ISD’s application of SB 12 conflicts with Title IX, federal law controls under the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause.
The lawsuit asks the court to issue a restraining order or injunctive relief against GPISD and the entities working with the district, to restore Little Shop of Horrors, put Ana back in the role of Seymour, and prohibit the district from replacing her because she is female.
Mota previously told NBC 5 she was confused by the district’s decision.
“In Shakespearean theater, there was so much cross-gender casting, you know, males playing females. In history, just the idea of a female playing a man or a man playing a female has never been something that was like outlandish and crazy to anyone,” she said. Mota explained that high school theater in particular has to make casting decisions based on who auditions for roles.
“In high school theater there’s sometimes a lack of males; you know, you only have so many people joining theater, and most of those people happen to be female,” she said.
NBC 5 reached out to Grand Prairie ISD, but the district declined to comment after the lawsuit was filed.
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