As of last Friday, Aug. 30, The Texas Department of State Health Services, following in the footsteps of the Texas Department of Public Safety Driver License Division, will no longer accept certified court orders to change gender markers on a person’s birth certificate, according to a report by KXAN.com.

As KXAN points out, Texas law allows changes to a birth certificate if the information on the birth certificate is proven “by satisfactory evidence to be inaccurate.” (Previously, a court order was “satisfactory evidence” for such a change.)

But as KXAN also notes, Texas law doesn’t allow state agencies to make substantive policy changes without 30 days’ notice and a public comment period.

The DSHS change, confirmed by comparing archived copies of DSHS’ website to the current content of the website, was unannounced and there was, obviously, no public comment period.

On Aug. 20, DPS’ Driver License Division Chief Sheri Gipson announced in an email to employees that gender markers on driver licenses and state-issued ID cards would not be changed on the basis of a court order. Such changes can only be made if there was a clerical error. That change, too, was made in secret.

The DPS policy requires employees to send the name of anyone requesting a gender marker change for any reason other than clerical errors to a specific email address. No word on whether DSHS employees are also required to report trans Texans to the database.

In a statement on its Facebook page, Transgender Education Network of Texas noted, “Trans Texans no longer have an option to amend their birth certificate to reflect their gender identity. We are still working with our legal partners to understand these changes.”

TENT notes on its social media that DPS officials confirmed in a statement that the change to refuse gender marker changes was prompted by Paxton’s office. Paxton had previously demanded the DPS provide a list of everyone requesting gender marker changes on their driver’s license or state ID, but DPS officials told him then they had no way to know the difference in such changes requested due to clerical errors and those requested due to gender transitions.

“Although the new [DPS] policy does not explicitly say information will be collected for name change requests, it’s important to remember that clerical workers and government employees may still act on behalf of the state to try to ‘track’ trans people,” TENT points out.

“What the attorney general plans to do with said list is unclear, but we do not want to aid in building his list,” a TENT statement said. “We believe the likelihood that DPS would go through previous files instead of the most recent is very unlikely due to a history of capacity limitations.”

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Transgender Texans interested in receiving a voucher for BetterHelp Therapy can reach out to Support@TransTexas.org. Those seeking immediate help can call the Trans Lifeline Hotline at 877-565-8860 or the Trevor Project Hotline at 866-488-7386.

— Tammye Nash