Article updated March 15, 2025
Gov. Greg Abbott is resurfacing claims that public schools across the country are allowing students to act as “furries” in classrooms in his latest push to funnel taxpayer funds to private schools.
Texas lawmakers have used the claims, which have since been debunked, to push for education savings accounts or school vouchers, which would give families taxpayer funds to go toward private-school tuition.
Abbott told a group of Baptist ministers in Austin on Thursday that he was backing a bill, filed by Republican Rep. Stan Gerdes from Smithville, that would ban “non-human” behavior in schools.
"Kids in two rural school district settings go to school dressed up as cats with litter boxes in their classrooms. This has become so prolific, Stan Gerdes, State Representative in the state of Texas, is actually having to file a piece of legislation saying no furries in public schools in the state of Texas," said Abbott.
The Texas Newsroom asked for the names of these two counties but did not get a direct answer.
The Forbidden Unlawful Representation of Roleplaying in Education, or F.U.R.R.I.E.S. Act, would codify rules against students barking, hissing, licking or meowing in schools. The “non-human behavior” cited in the bill would also ban students from wearing tails, leashes or fur, unless it’s Halloween or another approved holiday where costumes are expected.
Abbott told the group of ministers that, "if you have a child in a public school, you have one expectation, your child is going to be learning the fundamentals of education, like reading, writing, math and science. If they’re being distracted by furries, those parents have a right to move their child to the school of their choice.”
The state legislature is currently considering two school-voucher bills.
Gerdes did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However on X, he posted that House Speaker Dustin Burrows is also backing the bill. Adding that, "Speaker Burrows has reassigned our legislation as House Bill 54, a low bill number that signals its priority status in the Texas House."
