Final bills 2025

All bills below passed the House and Senate and were sent to the governor. A handful have already been signed, but many still await Gov. Abbott's signature.

Because of the number of bills passed and the complexity of many of them, this page is subject to additions and revisions as we continue to comb through the legislation. If you would like to see actual bill language, click on the bill number.

Major Bills

SB 1 Huffman/Bonnen

Appropriations bill/state budget, including $8.5 billion in additional funding for public schools (see HB 2 below).

SB 2 Creighton/Buckley [signed by governor]

Establishes a statewide school voucher program beginning in the 2026-2027 school year that will provide money for families to pay for private school tuition, homeschool materials, private tutoring, or any other approved educational expenditure. The state comptroller's office will maintain a list of approved vendors for the program and determine eligibility based on household income and student disability.

Families will receive over $10,000 per child to cover private school tuition and other associated costs while homeschooling families would receive up to $2,000. Students with disabilities could receive up to $30,000. The program is capped at $1 billion in the first biennium but has no such spending limit after that point.

HB 2 Buckley/Creighton [signed by governor]

Comprehensive school finance bill; also includes a variety of other provisions focused on teacher preparation, special education, and more.

Teacher Pay

Beginning in the 2025-2026 school year, the bill provides ongoing pay raises under the Teacher Retention Allotment (TRA) to classroom teachers depending on their experience and the size of their district: in districts with over 5,000 students, teachers who have 3-4 years of experience would receive a $2,500 raise while those with 5 or more years of experience would receive a $5,000 raise; in districts with up to 5,000 students, those raises would be $4,000 and $8,000, respectively. A "classroom teacher" is defined as an educator employed by a school district who teaches in an academic or career and technology instructional setting for at least an average of four hours per day.

The bill also sets aside $500 million for raises for other non-administrative staff such as teachers not eligible for a salary increase under the TRA, counselors, librarians, nurses, and paraprofessionals, but does not specify how that money must be spent. Districts are required to maintain these raises.

Districts that are applying to become an "enhanced Teacher Incentive Allotment district" are not required to distribute the raises described above and must instead use the TRA funding to provide pay raises based on performance.

The bill creates a new "acknowledged" designation within the Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) program aimed at including the top 50% of teachers in the state. Currently, National Board Certification automatically earns a "recognized" designation, but the bill requires the State Board for Educator Certification to review it by the end of 2026 and determine whether to continue allowing National Board Certification as a pathway to TIA.

Special Education

The bill changes how special education funding is allocated; previously, the state provided funding based on the amount of time a student received special education services, but the new model would instead provide funding depending on the intensity of services required for that student. In addition to changing the funding model, the bill also provides $850 million in additional funding for special education.

Teacher Certification

To address the increasing number of uncertified teachers in Texas classrooms, the bill prohibits districts of innovation from exempting themselves from teacher certificationfor foundation subjectsand parent notification requirements and prohibits any district from employing a teacher for a foundation curriculum course who does not hold an appropriate certificate or permit; this requirement can bephased in over five yearsif requested by a district and approved by the commissioner. School districts may still apply for waivers and issue school district teaching permits as allowed under current law. The bill also provides financial incentives for districts to help their certain uncertified teachers obtain certification.

HB 2 waives bilingual and special education certification application fees and exam fees for a candidate's first test attempt.

Math Academies

The bill revises current law regarding literacy and math academies to require that teachers who provide K-3 math instruction attend a math academy no later than the 2030-2031 school year. It provides stipends in certain circumstances for those who complete literacy and/or math academies, in an amount to be set by the commissioner.

Flexible Use Funding

In response to requests from school districts, HB 2 includes an "Allotment for Basic Costs" which can be used for transportation costs, insurance, employee benefits, hiring retired teachers, and more; districts will receive $106 per student for this allotment. It also repeals current law to allow districts to once again pass on TRS surcharges to employed retirees.

Creates a new portion of the basic allotment called the Guaranteed Yield Increment Adjustment which will increase the basic allotment as property values across the state rise. The increase will begin at $55.

Parent Grievance Process

For complaints filed against a teacher or other employee, the district must provide notice of the complaint to that employee and sufficient opportunity for the employee to submit a written response to the complaint.

Pre-Kindergarten for Children of Teachers

A child who is at least three years old and is the child of a classroom teacher at a public primary or secondary school in the school district that offers a pre-kindergarten class will be eligible for enrollment in pre-kindergarten.

School Safety/Discipline

HB 6 Leach/Perry

Increases the ability of teachers and administrators to remove students from class and requires the teacher's consent and a return to class plan for a student to return. Requires parents to be notified if their child is removed from class. Within three days of a removal, a conference must take place to develop a return to class plan and the teacher must be provided an opportunity to participate.

Allows students grade three and below to be sent to out-of-school suspension. Students and their parents may appeal a removal from class.

HB 33 McLaughlin/Flores

Requires a review of new facilities to determine if they meet security requirements and to identify any security vulnerabilities. Increases training requirements for law enforcement officers for responding to active shooter situations at schools.

HB 121 K. King/Nichols

Increases training requirements for school security officers, requires campuses to keep up-to-date maps of the campus in a readily available location for emergency personnel, requires TEA to provide an annual report on campus vulnerability probes, provides that the school safety allotment can be spent on behavior interventionists, and requires that if a special education student is the subject of a threat assessment, the threat assessment team must include at least one person who has specific knowledge of the student's disability and how it manifests.

HB 1458 Metcalf/Creighton

Allows school boards to permit the school district's chief of police to appoint reserve police officers. If a reserve officer holds a permanent peace officer license, they may be permitted to carry a weapon.

SB 260 Huffman/Bonnen

Doubles the current per-student school safety allotment and slightly more than doubles the per-campus school safety allotment.

SB 870 Birdwell/Slawson [signed by governor]

Allows school marshals to openly carry handguns if they are wearing a uniform clearly identifying them as a school marshal; previously, they could only carry concealed handguns.

Teachers

HB 1178 Cunningham/Campbell

Requires the State Board for Educator Certification to immediately issue temporary teacher certificates to candidates who are certified in another state and have a bachelor's degree.

HB 2243 Oliverson/Creighton

Establishes the Texas Commission on Teacher Job Satisfaction and Retention to develop recommendations for improving teacher job satisfaction and retention.

HB 4623 Little/Paxton

Allows civil lawsuits against public schools that are grossly negligent or engage in intentional misconduct in hiring, supervising, or employing someone who commits sexual misconduct with a student or fails to report suspected child abuse or neglect of a student. In any such suits, the employee in question must be named in the suit against the school.

SB 127 Hall/Money

Increases the statute of limitations to four years for felony failure to report child abuse and increases the statute of limitation to three years for other failures to report child abuse.

SB 965 Parker/Leach

Explicitly permits school district employees to engage in religious speech or prayer while on duty.

SB 974 Eckhardt/Turner

Allows teachers to serve on property tax appraisal review boards.

Student issues

HB 1481 Fairly/Creighton

Generally prohibits the use of personal communication devices by students during the school day. Allows school districts and charters some flexibility in enforcing this provision and allows students who need such a device for their IEP or for health reasons to continue using their devices for that purpose.

HB 2757 Frank/Hagenbuch

Allows school boards to adopt a policy establishing a child's age for school eligibility purposes if the child's parent is an active-duty member of a foreign military stationed in Texas.

SB 326 P. King/Capriglione [signed by governor]

Designates a specific definition of antisemitism to be considered in determining if a student's violation of the student code of conduct was motivated by antisemitism.

SB 401 Paxton/Frank

Current law permits public schools to provide opportunities to private and homeschool students to participate in UIL activities. This bill makes it mandatory instead, except that the school board may take a record vote to disallow private and homeschool students access to UIL activities in the district.

SB 991 Bettencourt/González

Adds chronically absent students to the list of students deemed to be at risk of dropping out of school and requires annual reporting of the number of chronically absent students at each campus to TEA.

SB 1049 P. King/Frank

Requires school districts to allow excused absences for students to participate in religious instruction courses during the school day.

SB 1191 Creighton/Harris Davila

Standardizes the method for computing high school grade point averages for public schools across the state.

SB 2314 Creighton/Wilson [signed by governor]

Creates a new online platform called My Texas Future to facilitate awareness and application of students into institutions of higher education.

Counselors

HB 120 K. Bell/Schwertner

Establishes a high school advising program through TEA to support college and career counseling, requiring partnerships with institutions of higher education and capping advisors' caseloads at 200 students. A new High School Advising Allotment would fund advisors at $50,000 per full-time equivalent, gradually reducing after five years unless performance criteria are met.

The bill also expands career and technology education to include JROTC, provides grants to administer the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test and increases P-TECH funding from $50 to $150 per student. Also expands the Instructional Facilities Allotment budget from $100 million to $150 million per year.

Curriculum / assessment / special programs

HB 20 Gates/Schwertner

Establishes the Applied Sciences Pathway Program through which the commissioner will provide opportunities for students to concurrently earn a high school diploma and a certificate from an institution of higher education (IHE).

Districts/charters and IHEs will partner to provide courses in a non-duplicative sequence that lead to a high school diploma and a certificate in an area of high wage and high growth in one of several specified industries such as plumbing, electrical, carpentry, HVAC, oil and gas, and more. The commissioner can revise the list once every five years to reflect labor market trends.

HB 27 K. King/Flores

Revises the three social studies credits in the foundation curriculum to require a half-credit in personal financial literacy that was previously optional. Repeals the Personal Financial Literacy and Economics course, leaving only the Personal Financial Literacy course without economics. Students may earn this credit through an AP course that is substantively similar and rigorous. Applies only to students entering ninth grade in 2026 or later.

HB 100 Leo-Wilson/Middleton

Prohibits the use of instructional materials on the list of rejected materials maintained by SBOE.

HB 824 Jones/Middleton

Requires SBOE to adopt new TEKS for high school social studies that include the role of state, county, city, and other local government officials, the voting process and election laws of Texas, eligibility to run for office in Texas, Robert's Rules of Order, and the elected officials who represent the student at each level of government.

HB 2310 Ordaz/Parker

Requires TEA, the Health and Human Services Commission, and the Texas Workforce Commission to develop and implement a strategic plan to improve early learning opportunities for young children with disabilities or developmental delays.

SB 13 Paxton/Buckley

Authorizes school districts to create a "library advisory council" to oversee the procurement of new books; if 10% of students or 50 or more parents petition for such an advisory council, the district mustcreate one. A majority of the voting members must be parents of students and cannot be district employees. A classroom teacher, librarian, counselor, and administrator employed by the district may serve as non-voting members of the council. The school board must approve or reject all library materials procured for or donated to the district. Before final approval, a list of proposed new materials must be posted for 30 days for public comment.

Expands the definition of what constitutes harmful material and allows parents to block their child's access to specific material they find inappropriate. If a library material is challenged via the grievance process, it must be temporarily withheld until the process is complete.

SB 24 Campbell/Leach

Requires that social studies TEKS for grades 4-12 include explicit instruction on the dangers of communism, contrasting it with principles of freedom and democracy in the United States.

SB 568Bettencourt/Buckley

(Much of the content of this bill is also included in HB 2, which takes precedence over it.)

SB 568 is a comprehensive special education reform bill. It changes the funding model for special education to be based on the intensity of services needed for a student rather than simply the amount of time spent in a special education setting.

Requires TEA to create a comprehensive system to ensure compliance with state and federal law.

Expands eligibility for special education services to students under 3 years of age.

Adjusts references to self-contained classrooms to instead refer to classrooms for students who spend less than half the day in a general education setting.

Renames supplemental special education services to "parent-directed" special education services.

Requires school boards to discuss performance of special education students at a public hearing at least once a year.

Requires TEA to establish a grant program to provide services to students with autism and to train teachers in dyslexia instruction.

SB 569 Bettencourt/K. Bell [signed by governor]

Creates a new chapter in the Texas Education Code governing virtual and hybrid campuses. Prohibits districts from requiring teachers to provide both virtual and in-person instruction during the same class period unless the commissioner chooses to allow it for enrichment courses, and prohibits coercion of teachers hired for in-person instruction to provide hybrid or virtual instruction.

SB 2185 A. Hinojosa/Dutton

Creates an allotment of approximately $10 million to support bilingual education programs.

Health issues

HB 367 Rosenthal/Menéndez

Requires schools to excuse students from attendance for a serious or life-threatening illness that makes the student's attendance infeasible. The district must also adopt a form for doctors to use to certify the seriousness of the illness.

HB 549 Vasut/Johnson

Requires that each school campus have at least one airway clearance device available and that at least one campus employee is trained in using it.

HB 1188 Manuel/Zaffirini [signed by governor]

Provides that during the first meeting at which a student's IEP is developed, the district must provide parents/guardians with information about services and public benefits provided by the local intellectual and developmental disability authority that serves the county where the student lives. TEA, in collaboration with HHSC, will develop informational materials that include this information and make them available for use by districts.

HB 1586 Hull/Kolkhorst

Allows a parent/guardian or 18+ student to access a blank affidavit form online for claiming an exemption from required immunizations.

SB 57 Zaffirini/González

Requires a plan to be developed to provide accommodations for students with disabilities during emergency drills.

SB 207 Paxton/Leo-Wilson [signed by governor]

Adds mental health appointments to the list of allowable excused absences for students.

SB 314 Hughes/Harris Davila [signed by governor]

Prohibits certain food additives and colors in free or reduced-price meals provided to students.

SB 865 Alvarado/Leach

Requires schools to develop a cardiac emergency response plan that includes training in CPR and the use of automated external defibrillators for certain employees.

SB 920 Sparks/Howard [signed by governor]

Adds to current law protecting public school employees from civil liability in situations involving administering medication to a student. SB 920 also protects employees from administrative disciplinary action and extends these protections to charter and private school employees.

SB 1207 P. King/Leo-Wilson

Requires inclusion of information related to adoption in the public school parenting and paternity awareness program in the high school health curriculum.

SB 1952 Paxton/Hull

Grants sole oversight of School Health and Related Services (SHARS) to the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC).

SB 2398 Campbell/Cunningham

Requires TEA to develop a list of nonmedical academic accommodations school districts may offer for students with a concussion or other brain injuries, as well as requiring school districts to develop a concussion response policy.

School governance

HB 210 Guillen/A. Hinojosa [signed by governor]

Provides that a vendor that bids on or receives a contract from a district or charter commits an offense if a member of the board or charter governing body has a substantial interest in the vendor or a subcontractor of the vendor; is related within the second degree to an individual with a substantial interest in the vendor, or has received or been promised a gift or services with a value of more than $250. The offense is a Class C misdemeanor, with increasing penalties for subsequences (up to a state jail felony for a fourth offense). At any time, an offense is a state jail felony if the vendor compensated a trustee or charter governing body member as consideration for entering into a contract with the vendor.

HB 2674 D. Cook/Hagenbuch

Prohibits TEA, SBOE, or any other educational institution from adopting policies that regulate homeschool programs.

HB 3372Metcalf/Middleton

Prohibits school administrators and school board members from performing paid consulting services for any school district.

HB 3546 Martinez/Hughes

Allows school boards to change the term lengths of board trustees and to change the date of their elections to the standard November date if it is not already set on that date.

HB 3629 Noble/Zaffirini

Prohibits registered sex offenders from serving on school boards.

SB 12 Creighton/Leach

Codifies a parent's absolute right to direct their child's education and requires parents to be made aware of changes in services provided or monitoring of their child's mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being. Requires school boards to make all information about these rights available to parents.

Generally prohibits Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) practices.

Requires school boards to adopt a policy that prohibits district employees from assisting a student with social transitioning (e.g., using different pronouns or a different name) with respect to gender.

Requires school districts to post each course's syllabus or instructional plan online every semester. Teachers must provide this information to district administration and the parent of each child in their classes at the beginning of each semester.

Requires written consent from parents for their child's participation in human sexuality instruction.

SB 413 Middleton/Buckley

Requires that meeting minutes for school board meetings include each member's vote on any item and that the meeting minutes must be posted on the district website within seven days of the meeting.

Requires that both the minutes and a recording of the meeting be made available to the public: previously, only one or the other was required.

SB 571 Bettencourt/Leach

Adjusts current law prohibiting the employment of contractors with a criminal history; the bill instead allows those contractors to provide services at a school if they would not be in direct contact with students. Contractors who have engaged in certain types of misconduct with minors are still strictly prohibited from providing services to a school district or charter.

SB 843 Kolkhorst/Buckley

Requires TEA to create and maintain a state database of bond projects and tax rates from school districts across the state.

SB 1173 Perry/Spiller

Increases the threshold for requirements on competitive bids for school district contracts to $100,000 from the current $50,000.

SB 1502 Bettencourt/Troxclair [signed by governor]

Prohibits school districts from adopting a tax rate higher than the rate approved by voters.

SB 2237 Bettencourt/C. Bell

Limits severance pay for school district superintendents to 20 weeks' pay and prohibits severance pay if the superintendent was terminated for misconduct.

Charters

HB 4687 Gervin-Hawkins/Bettencourt

Provides immunity from liability for charters and charter employees in matters related to the operation of an adult education program.

Miscellaneous

HB 117 Schoolcraft/Campbell

Establishes the "Governor's Task Force on Governance of Early Childhood Education and Care" which unifies efforts of the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), and TEA to examine governance and operational challenges in the state's early childhood education and care system.

The task force will also develop and recommend standards for high-quality PreK programs and improving government efficiency in administering those programs.

HB 229 Troxclair/Middleton

Revises the Government Code to strictly define terms such as "male, "female," "sex," and other related terms and specifies that vital statistics that identify the sex of an individual only identify individuals as either male or female.

HB 1851 Morales/Hughes

Allows the Texas Facilities commission to donate surplus vehicles and other law enforcement equipment to a school district in an economically disadvantaged area of the state.

HB 2495 Dutton/Zaffirini

Allows the sole managing conservator of a child to designate which school that child will attend.

HB 2598 Button/Zaffirini

Updates nomenclature for school psychologists in the Education Code; no functional change in the responsibilities of school psychologists.

HB 3153 Kerwin/Kolkhorst

Requires background checks for employees at childcare facilities and prevents those facilities from employing anyone convicted of certain sexual crimes.

Requires training at childcare facilities on recognizing signs of physical and sexual abuse, policies on reporting that abuse, and methods for maintaining appropriate relationships with children.

HB 3254 Leo-Wilson/Zaffirini

Allows State Board of Education members to participate in the Texas Employees Group Benefits health insurance program.

HB 3627 Tepper/Sparks

Allows the Chair of the State Board of Education to hire personnel to assist the Board in performing their duties.

HJR 1 Meyer/Bettencourt

Proposes a constitutional amendment to allow a portion of personal property used for the production of income to be exempted from property taxation. To be considered on the November 4, 2025, ballot.

SB 10 P. King/Noble

Requires all public and secondary schools to display a copy of the Ten Commandments in a conspicuous place in each classroom, if such displays are available.

The school district may, but is not required to, purchase posters of the Ten Commandments, but if such posters are donated to the school, they must be displayed. The bill is specific regarding the appearance and language of the poster.

SB 11 Middleton/Spiller

Requires each school district to take a record vote on establishing a period for prayer and reading religious text during each school day. If approved by the board, students must have a consent form signed by a parent in order to partcipate, and employees can also only participate by providing their own written consent. Also deletes current language and prohibits a person from encouraging a student to pray or refrain from praying in school.

SB 204 Paxton/Leo-Wilson

Requires TEA to create a handbook that explains all rights of a parent regarding the education of their child, to be made available on the TEA website.

SB 226 West/Bernal

Clarifies how residency is established for children in parental child safety placements for the purpose of school admission.

SB 412 Middleton/Patterson [signed by governor]

Provides an affirmative defense to prosecution for providing obscene materials to minors or employing a child for a sexual performance if the offender was a judicial or law enforcement officer discharging their official duties.

Removes educational, scientific, or other similar justifications as an affirmative defense for providing obscene materials to children.

SB 826 Parker/Little

Makes driving under the influence in an active school zone a state jail felony, where in other circumstances, it is a Class B misdemeanor.

SB 1316 M. Cook/Cunningham [signed by governor]

Extends the prohibition on tobacco advertising within 1,000 feet of a church or school to include e-cigarette advertisements as well.

SB 1415 Hughes/Hull [signed by governor]

Specifies the date of the back-to-school tax-free weekend for clothing/schools and school supplies to be the weekend of the first Friday in August.

SB 1418 Campbell/Ashby [signed by governor]

Cleanup bill that clarifies the names of college admissions assessments like the PSAT, SAT, and ACT in statute.

SB 2929 Creighton/Louderback [signed by governor]

Allows referees and judges at UIL events to eject unruly spectators without a verbal warning. Previously, such spectators were allowed one "strike" before ejection; the bill was filed in response to reports of referees and judges being threatened by spectators during and after UIL events.

SJR 34 Hughes/Frank

Constitutional amendment that would specifically protect the right of parents to direct their child's upbringing. To be considered on the November 4, 2025, ballot.

Updates from the Capitol

Publication Date

June 13, 2025