[2][3] In 2015 an amendment written by Dutton to House Bill 1842 gave the Texas Education Agency the power to take over failing school districts.
The agency used that authority in 2023 to take over the Houston Independent School District, of whose failings Dutton has been a longtime critic.
[6] In May 2021, Dutton supported a bill that would restrict the ability of transgender children to participate in sports aligning with their gender identity.
[7] In May 2023, Dutton broke ranks with his party to vote in favor of a bill to ban gender affirming care for trans minors.
Faykus-Dutton was divorced from him in 1995 but did not get child support payments from him on a regular or sufficient basis; in 2007, she tried to have him sent to prison over this issue.