Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB237 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R4141 RAL-D
2	2	By: Johnson S.B. No. 237
3	3
4	4
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to a public school paid parental leave policy, an
10	10	allotment under the Foundation School Program for the cost of
11	11	providing paid parental leave under that policy, and the
12	12	eligibility of certain children for free prekindergarten programs.
13	13	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
14	14	SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 22, Education Code, is
15	15	amended by adding Section 22.0035 to read as follows:
16	16	Sec. 22.0035. PAID PARENTAL LEAVE POLICY. (a) A school
17	17	district or open-enrollment charter school may adopt a paid
18	18	parental leave policy under which a full-time employee of the
19	19	district or school is entitled to paid parental leave following
20	20	the:
21	21	(1) birth of a child;
22	22	(2) birth of a child by the employee's spouse;
23	23	(3) birth of a child by a gestational surrogate; or
24	24	(4) adoption of a child.
25	25	(b) If a school district or open-enrollment charter school
26	26	adopts a paid parental leave policy described by Subsection (a),
27	27	the policy:
28	28	(1) must provide:
29	29	(A) eight consecutive weeks of paid parental
30	30	leave for an employee who is the primary caregiver of the child; or
31	31	(B) four consecutive weeks of paid parental leave
32	32	for an employee who is the spouse of the primary caregiver of the
33	33	child;
34	34	(2) must require that:
35	35	(A) an employee be employed on a full-time basis
36	36	by the school district or open-enrollment charter school for at
37	37	least 12 months before becoming eligible for paid parental leave;
38	38	(B) an employee's eligibility for paid parental
39	39	leave expires on the six-month anniversary of the date of the
40	40	child's birth or placement with the employee; and
41	41	(C) an employee who has been granted paid
42	42	parental leave under the policy take the leave concurrently with
43	43	leave for which the employee is eligible under the federal Family
44	44	and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. Section 2601 et seq.); and
45	45	(3) may not require an employee to first use all
46	46	available and applicable paid vacation and sick leave before taking
47	47	paid parental leave under the policy.
48	48	(c) Not later than November 1 of each even-numbered year,
49	49	the agency shall prepare and submit to the legislature a report on
50	50	paid parental leave provided under a policy adopted under this
51	51	section. The report must include:
52	52	(1) the number of employees who took paid parental
53	53	leave under the policy during the preceding two years,
54	54	disaggregated by school district and open-enrollment charter
55	55	school;
56	56	(2) the costs of providing paid parental leave under
57	57	the policy during the preceding two years;
58	58	(3) projections regarding future participation in and
59	59	costs of paid parental leave provided under the policy; and
60	60	(4) any recommendations for legislative or other
61	61	action.
62	62	SECTION 2. Section 29.153(b), Education Code, is amended to
63	63	read as follows:
64	64	(b) A child is eligible for enrollment in a prekindergarten
65	65	class under this section if the child is at least three years of age
66	66	and:
67	67	(1) is unable to speak and comprehend the English
68	68	language;
69	69	(2) is educationally disadvantaged;
70	70	(3) is homeless, regardless of the residence of the
71	71	child, of either parent of the child, or of the child's guardian or
72	72	other person having lawful control of the child;
73	73	(4) is the child of an active duty member of the armed
74	74	forces of the United States, including the state military forces or
75	75	a reserve component of the armed forces, who is ordered to active
76	76	duty by proper authority;
77	77	(5) is the child of a member of the armed forces of the
78	78	United States, including the state military forces or a reserve
79	79	component of the armed forces, who was injured or killed while
80	80	serving on active duty;
81	81	(6) is or ever has been in:
82	82	(A) the conservatorship of the Department of
83	83	Family and Protective Services following an adversary hearing held
84	84	as provided by Section 262.201, Family Code; or
85	85	(B) foster care in another state or territory, if
86	86	the child resides in this state; [or]
87	87	(7) is the child of a person eligible for the Star of
88	88	Texas Award as:
89	89	(A) a peace officer under Section 3106.002,
90	90	Government Code;
91	91	(B) a firefighter under Section 3106.003,
92	92	Government Code; or
93	93	(C) an emergency medical first responder under
94	94	Section 3106.004, Government Code; or
95	95	(8) is the child of a person employed as a classroom
96	96	teacher at a public primary or secondary school in this state.
97	97	SECTION 3. Subchapter D, Chapter 48, Education Code, is
98	98	amended by adding Section 48.157 to read as follows:
99	99	Sec. 48.157. HEALTHY FAMILIES ALLOTMENT. For each employee
100	100	who received paid parental leave under a policy adopted under
101	101	Section 22.0035 during the preceding school year, a school district
102	102	is entitled to an annual allotment equal to the amount of the
103	103	employee's compensation for the period for which the employee
104	104	received paid parental leave under that policy.
105	105	SECTION 4. Section 22.0035, Education Code, as added by
106	106	this Act, and Section 29.153(b), Education Code, as amended by this
107	107	Act, apply beginning with the 2025-2026 school year.
108	108	SECTION 5. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this
109	109	section, this Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of
110	110	two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by
111	111	Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not
112	112	receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes
113	113	effect September 1, 2025.
114	114	(b) Section 48.157, Education Code, as added by this Act,
115	115	takes effect September 1, 2025.