Parents Sue Grand Prairie ISD After Student Removed From Lead Role in Canceled School Musical

The parents of a South Grand Prairie High School senior have sued Grand Prairie Independent School District and its superintendent, Gabriel Trujillo, over the cancellation of the school's production of "Little Shop of Horrors." The suit was filed on Oct. 26 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division, on behalf of their daughter, Ana Mota.

The complaint argues that removing Mota from the role of Seymour on the basis of sex is discriminatory under Title IX. The family is asking the court to require the district to formally admit it violated the federal law, to reschedule the production with Mota in the lead, to award compensatory damages and to cover all related legal fees.

Mota, an avid theater student, was cast as Seymour, the nerdy male clerk at a plant shop. After about a week and just a few rehearsals, the district canceled the show because of that casting choice. The move came as the district worked to follow Senate Bill 12, the education measure known as the "Parents' Bill of Rights," passed in the last legislative session.

The law bars "instruction, diversity, equity, and inclusion duties, and social transitioning" in student clubs at public schools. Its provisions also keep teachers from observing pronouns that do not match a student's biological sex and ban diversity clubs. The bill drew national attention for prohibiting Pride clubs.

In a statement to the Dallas Observer, the district said it tries to comply with local policy as well as state and federal law. It said a female student had been cast in a male role, that the musical features a romantic relationship between its two main characters, and that the story includes themes of an abusive relationship. District leadership decided to pull the show and find something more appropriate, it said, in light of its effort to keep programs consistent with the 2025 version of Senate Bill 12. The district added that the decision does not diminish the talents of the students involved.

The law is facing other challenges. The American Civil Liberties Union has called it "sprawling, discriminatory and partially unconstitutional" and sued Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath over the removal of Genders and Sexualities Alliance chapters in the Houston, Katy and Plano school districts. A federal judge blocked enforcement of the bill in those three districts.

Under the law, concerned parents can report violations, called grievances, to a school or district. Unresolved issues can be escalated to the TEA, and districts that accumulate too many recorded grievances risk losing state funding. Districts must also complete a compliance certification by Sept. 30, post their grievance policies and forms on their websites, and notify parents and teachers of the bill's consent policies.

Grand Prairie ISD did not answer questions about how the cancellation was handled, or whether it followed parent complaints or was a preemptive step. In a formal statement, Mota said the district "was afraid they were teetering the line of the laws stated in SB12 and decided to take extreme caution, removing me from the role." She said the district failed her, her school and every student cast in the musical, and called canceling the show a poor compromise. "What I want is this musical and the original casting reinstated," she wrote.

The district has not said which production will replace "Little Shop of Horrors."