Texas Supreme Court allows abuse investigations into families of trans kids to continue

The state's highest court on Friday reversed an injunction blocking child abuse investigations into families providing gender-affirming care to their kids across the state.

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas' highest court on Friday reversed an injunction blocking child abuse investigations into families providing gender-affirming care to their kids across the state.

The Texas Supreme Court issued the opinion Friday, granting partial relief.

This comes after Gov. Greg Abbott in February directed the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to investigate families of transgender children, saying some transition-related care constitutes child abuse.

Parents of a transgender teen then sued the governor, the DFPS commissioner and DFPS.

A Travis County judge reinstated a temporary injunction in the case in late March, blocking state child abuse investigations into families of transgender children, which prompted the state to petition the Texas Supreme Court.

However, the Supreme Court said on Friday the appeals court that issued the temporary injunction was overreaching when it halted these investigations into families statewide, adding the injunction "was outside of the court of appeals’ authority to protect parties’ rights under rule 29.3."

The specific family who filed the original lawsuit is still protected under the injunction, the Supreme Court ruled.

The court did say neither Abbott nor Attorney General Ken Paxton can dictate what DFPS chooses to investigate, adding, "neither the governor nor the attorney general could bind DFPS’s investigatory authority."

This is a developing story; stick with KXAN for updates.