| 1 | 1 | | By: Johnson S.B. No. 13 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 5 | 5 | | AN ACT |
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| 6 | 6 | | relating to a paid parental leave policy at public schools and an |
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| 7 | 7 | | allotment under the Foundation School Program for the cost of |
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| 8 | 8 | | providing paid parental leave under that policy. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 22, Education Code, is |
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| 11 | 11 | | amended by adding Section 22.0035 to read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | Sec. 22.0035. PAID PARENTAL LEAVE POLICY. (a) A school |
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| 13 | 13 | | district or open-enrollment charter school may adopt a paid |
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| 14 | 14 | | parental leave policy under which a full-time employee of the |
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| 15 | 15 | | district or school is entitled to paid parental leave following |
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| 16 | 16 | | the: |
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| 17 | 17 | | (1) birth of a child; |
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| 18 | 18 | | (2) birth of a child by the employee's spouse; |
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| 19 | 19 | | (3) birth of a child by a gestational surrogate; or |
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| 20 | 20 | | (4) adoption of a child. |
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| 21 | 21 | | (b) If a school district or open-enrollment charter school |
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| 22 | 22 | | adopts a paid parental leave policy described by Subsection (a), |
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| 23 | 23 | | the policy: |
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| 24 | 24 | | (1) must provide: |
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| 25 | 25 | | (A) eight consecutive weeks of paid parental |
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| 26 | 26 | | leave for an employee who is the primary caregiver of the child; or |
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| 27 | 27 | | (B) four consecutive weeks of paid parental leave |
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| 28 | 28 | | for an employee who is the spouse of the primary caregiver of the |
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| 29 | 29 | | child; |
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| 30 | 30 | | (2) must require that: |
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| 31 | 31 | | (A) an employee be employed on a full-time basis |
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| 32 | 32 | | by the school district or open-enrollment charter school for at |
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| 33 | 33 | | least 12 months before becoming eligible for paid parental leave; |
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| 34 | 34 | | (B) an employee's eligibility for paid parental |
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| 35 | 35 | | leave expires on the six-month anniversary of the date of the |
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| 36 | 36 | | child's birth or placement with the employee; and |
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| 37 | 37 | | (C) an employee who has been granted paid |
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| 38 | 38 | | parental leave under the policy take the leave concurrently with |
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| 39 | 39 | | leave for which the employee is eligible under the federal Family |
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| 40 | 40 | | and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. Section 2601 et seq.); and |
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| 41 | 41 | | (3) may not require an employee to first use all |
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| 42 | 42 | | available and applicable paid vacation and sick leave before taking |
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| 43 | 43 | | paid parental leave under the policy. |
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| 44 | 44 | | (c) Not later than November 1 of each even-numbered year, |
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| 45 | 45 | | the agency shall prepare and submit to the legislature a report on |
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| 46 | 46 | | paid parental leave provided under a policy adopted under this |
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| 47 | 47 | | section. The report must include: |
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| 48 | 48 | | (1) the number of employees who took paid parental |
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| 49 | 49 | | leave under the policy during the preceding two years, |
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| 50 | 50 | | disaggregated by school district and open-enrollment charter |
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| 51 | 51 | | school; |
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| 52 | 52 | | (2) the costs of providing paid parental leave under |
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| 53 | 53 | | the policy during the preceding two years; |
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| 54 | 54 | | (3) projections regarding future participation in and |
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| 55 | 55 | | costs of paid parental leave provided under the policy; and |
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| 56 | 56 | | (4) any recommendations for legislative or other |
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| 57 | 57 | | action. |
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| 58 | 58 | | SECTION 2. Subchapter D, Chapter 48, Education Code, is |
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| 59 | 59 | | amended by adding Section 48.157 to read as follows: |
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| 60 | 60 | | Sec. 48.157. HEALTHY FAMILIES ALLOTMENT. For each employee |
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| 61 | 61 | | who received paid parental leave under a policy adopted under |
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| 62 | 62 | | Section 22.0035 during the preceding school year, a school district |
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| 63 | 63 | | is entitled to an annual allotment equal to the amount of the |
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| 64 | 64 | | employee's compensation for the period for which the employee |
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| 65 | 65 | | received paid parental leave under that policy. |
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| 66 | 66 | | SECTION 3. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this |
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| 67 | 67 | | section, this Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of |
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| 68 | 68 | | two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by |
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| 69 | 69 | | Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not |
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| 70 | 70 | | receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes |
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| 71 | 71 | | effect on the 91st day after the last day of the legislative |
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| 72 | 72 | | session. |
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| 73 | 73 | | (b) Section 48.157, Education Code, as added by this Act, |
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| 74 | 74 | | takes effect September 1, 2024. |
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