89R2633 PRL-D
By: Shaheen H.B. No. 2846
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to parental rights in public education and prohibiting
instruction regarding sexual orientation or gender identity for
public school students.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The heading to Section 26.011, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 26.011. COMPLAINTS; CIVIL REMEDY.
SECTION 2. Section 26.011, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (c), (d), and (e) to read as follows:
(c) A grievance procedure adopted under this section must
require that, not later than the 30th day after receipt of a
complaint described by Subsection (a), the school district:
(1) resolve the issue that gave rise to the complaint;
or
(2) provide to the parent who submitted the complaint
a written explanation of the district's reason for not resolving
the issue.
(d) If a school district does not resolve an issue described
by Subsection (c)(1), the parent may bring a civil action against
the district to obtain appropriate injunctive and declaratory
relief. A court may award damages and shall award reasonable
attorney's fees and court costs to a prevailing parent. Remedies
provided by this subsection are not exclusive. Governmental
immunity of a school district to suit and from liability is waived
to the extent of liability created by this subsection.
(e) The board of trustees of each school district shall
adopt a policy for notifying parents of students enrolled in the
district regarding the grievance procedure adopted by the district
under this section.
SECTION 3. Chapter 26, Education Code, is amended by adding
Sections 26.0083, 26.0084, and 26.016 to read as follows:
Sec. 26.0083. RIGHT TO INFORMATION REGARDING MENTAL,
EMOTIONAL, AND PHYSICAL HEALTH AND HEALTH-RELATED SERVICES. (a)
Each school district shall adopt a procedure for notifying the
parent of a student enrolled in the district regarding any change
in:
(1) services provided to or monitoring of the student
related to the student's mental, emotional, or physical health or
well-being; or
(2) the district's ability to provide a safe and
supportive learning environment for the student.
(b) A procedure adopted under Subsection (a) must reinforce
the fundamental right of a parent to make decisions regarding the
upbringing and education of the parent's child by requiring school
district personnel to:
(1) encourage a student to discuss issues relating to
the student's well-being with the student's parent; or
(2) facilitate a discussion described under
Subdivision (1).
(c) A school district may not adopt a procedure or a student
support form, including a student well-being questionnaire or
health screening form, that:
(1) prohibits a district employee from notifying the
parent of a student regarding:
(A) information about the student's mental,
emotional, or physical health or well-being; or
(B) a change in services provided to or
monitoring of the student related to the student's mental,
emotional, or physical health or well-being; or
(2) encourages or has the effect of encouraging a
student to withhold from the student's parent information described
by Subdivision (1)(A).
(d) A school district employee may not discourage or
prohibit parental knowledge of or involvement in critical decisions
affecting a student's mental, emotional, or physical health or
well-being.
(e) Before the first instructional day of each school year,
a school district shall provide to the parent of each student
enrolled in the district written notice of each health-related
service offered at the district campus the student attends. The
notice must include a statement of the parent's right to withhold
consent for or decline a health-related service. A parent's
consent to a health-related service does not waive a requirement of
Subsection (a), (c), or (d).
(f) Before administering a student support form to a
student, a school district must provide a copy of the form to the
student's parent and obtain the parent's consent to administer the
form.
(g) Not later than June 30, 2026, the agency, the State
Board of Education, and the State Board for Educator Certification,
as appropriate, shall review and revise as necessary the following
to ensure compliance with this section:
(1) school counseling frameworks and standards;
(2) educator practices and professional conduct
principles; and
(3) any other student services personnel guidelines,
standards, or frameworks.
(h) Subsection (g) and this subsection expire September 1,
2027.
Sec. 26.0084. RIGHT TO INFORMATION REGARDING STUDENT'S
PERCEPTION OF BIOLOGICAL SEX. A school district employee or
independent contractor of a district, including a third-party
instructor, guest speaker, or subcontractor, may not withhold from
a student's parent information related to the student's perception
of the student's biological sex if that perception is inconsistent
with the student's biological sex as determined by the student's sex
organs, chromosomes, and endogenous hormone profiles.
Sec. 26.016. CONSENT REQUIRED FOR PARTICIPATION IN CERTAIN
STUDENT CLUBS. (a) In this section, "student club" means any
student organization sponsored or sanctioned by a school district.
(b) A school district shall require written parental
consent as a condition of a student's participation in a student
club that promotes themes of sexuality, gender, or gender identity.
(c) A school district shall seek parental consent under this
section by providing a written form to a parent that includes the
foundational documents of the student club described by Subsection
(b) in which the student wishes to participate, including:
(1) the name of the club;
(2) the mission statement or purpose of the club; and
(3) any additional information determined appropriate
by the school district.
SECTION 4. Subchapter A, Chapter 28, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 28.0041 to read as follows:
Sec. 28.0041. INSTRUCTION REGARDING SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND
GENDER IDENTITY PROHIBITED. A school district, open-enrollment
charter school, or district or charter school employee may not
provide or allow a third party to provide instruction regarding
sexual orientation or gender identity to students enrolled in the
district or school.
SECTION 5. Section 12.104(b), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) An open-enrollment charter school is subject to:
(1) a provision of this title establishing a criminal
offense;
(2) the provisions in Chapter 554, Government Code;
and
(3) a prohibition, restriction, or requirement, as
applicable, imposed by this title or a rule adopted under this
title, relating to:
(A) the Public Education Information Management
System (PEIMS) to the extent necessary to monitor compliance with
this subchapter as determined by the commissioner;
(B) criminal history records under Subchapter C,
Chapter 22;
(C) reading instruments and accelerated reading
instruction programs under Section 28.006;
(D) accelerated instruction under Section
28.0211;
(E) high school graduation requirements under
Section 28.025;
(F) special education programs under Subchapter
A, Chapter 29;
(G) bilingual education under Subchapter B,
Chapter 29;
(H) prekindergarten programs under Subchapter E
or E-1, Chapter 29, except class size limits for prekindergarten
classes imposed under Section 25.112, which do not apply;
(I) extracurricular activities under Section
33.081;
(J) discipline management practices or behavior
management techniques under Section 37.0021;
(K) health and safety under Chapter 38;
(L) the provisions of Subchapter A, Chapter 39;
(M) public school accountability and special
investigations under Subchapters A, B, C, D, F, G, and J, Chapter
39, and Chapter 39A;
(N) the requirement under Section 21.006 to
report an educator's misconduct;
(O) intensive programs of instruction under
Section 28.0213;
(P) the right of a school employee to report a
crime, as provided by Section 37.148;
(Q) bullying prevention policies and procedures
under Section 37.0832;
(R) the right of a school under Section 37.0052
to place a student who has engaged in certain bullying behavior in a
disciplinary alternative education program or to expel the student;
(S) the right under Section 37.0151 to report to
local law enforcement certain conduct constituting assault or
harassment;
(T) a parent's right to information regarding the
provision of assistance for learning difficulties to the parent's
child as provided by Sections 26.004(b)(11) and 26.0081(c) and (d);
(U) establishment of residency under Section
25.001;
(V) school safety requirements under Sections
37.0814, 37.108, 37.1081, 37.1082, 37.1083, 37.1084, 37.1085,
37.1086, 37.109, 37.113, 37.114, 37.1141, 37.115, 37.207, and
37.2071 and Subchapter J, Chapter 37;
(W) the early childhood literacy and mathematics
proficiency plans under Section 11.185;
(X) the college, career, and military readiness
plans under Section 11.186; [and]
(Y) parental options to retain a student under
Section 28.02124; and
(Z) parental rights to:
(i) information regarding a student's
mental, emotional, and physical health and health-related services
offered by the school as provided by Section 26.0083;
(ii) information regarding a student's
perception of the student's biological sex as provided by Section
26.0084; and
(iii) consent to a student's participation
in a student club that promotes themes of sexuality, gender, or
gender identity as provided by Section 26.016.
SECTION 6. This Act applies beginning with the 2025-2026
school year.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2025.