Texas Could Ban Students From Dressing Up As Furries In School And Using Litter Boxes

One of the more interesting pieces of legislation in the Texas House this session is House Bill 54, the FURRIES Act, or the Forbidding Unlawful Representation of Roleplaying in Education Act.

I have to admit, I didn't think this was a big problem in schools in Texas. Fighting? Sure, Cell phone use? Absolutely. The amount of students not even showing up? Huge. But, students dressing up with tails or animal ears? I had no idea. It's such a big deal that even Texas Governor Greg Abbott has backed the idea of banning the furry subculture in schools.

The Texas FURRIES Act

Republican State Representative Stan Gerdes filed the legislation back in March and it finally got a committee hearing recently in the Texas House. Gerdes claims that he had heard reports of a "furry-related incident" at Smithville ISD. According to FOX4News, Gerdes told a House committee that furry incidents, including kids requesting and schools providing litter boxes for kids is happening across the state.

"I was informed that this is happening in districts across the state, and they do not have tools to prohibit these types of distractions," Gerdes said.

FOX4News reports though that at a March 31 school board meeting, the district actually debunked the claims that had been made. In fact, the Superintendent was asked about the district providing litter boxes for students and she confirmed that was not happening.

READ MORE: Texas Looks To Ban Social Media for Minors

When pressed on the issue, Rep. Gerdes was not able to provide any examples of confirmed litter box cases.

Students Using Litter Boxes Hoax?

Apparently the rumor or hoax of students using litter boxes dates back to January of 2022 when the New York Times ran a piece about a school district in Michigan was accused of providing litter boxes to student who identified as cats. The school district debunked those rumors. Even Joe Rogan got caught up in the hoax in 2022 when he claimed a friend's wife saw it happen at her school. He later said there was no proof of it according to Yahoo News.

What Would Texas Students Be Banned From Wearing or Doing in Schools?

According to the legislation, the bill would ban wearing non-human accessories like collars, leashes, etc. It would ban students from wearing tails animal like ears. It would forbid students from making animal noises, and licking themselves for grooming. There would be exemptions for Halloween or school dress-up days, theater performances, or dressing as the school mascot.

The bill was left pending in committee at last check.