Legislative Updates
Texas 89th Legislative Session – Summary of Education Bills
HB 2 – Teacher Pay, School Funding, and Academic Support
Raises teacher salaries significantly, funds support staff, expands teacher prep and mentoring programs, boosts special education and early reading, increases Pre-K access, adds career/technical education funding, and strengthens school safety funding. Also gives teachers more authority over disruptive students and enhances their rights.
HB 6 – Student Discipline Reform
Gives teachers the power to remove students for disruptive behavior without prior documentation, limits how and when students can return to class, and strengthens disciplinary tools, including new virtual expulsion options.
HB 27 – Personal Financial Literacy
Replaces the current economics requirement with a dedicated financial literacy course for high school students beginning with the class of 2030.
HB 33 – School Emergency Response
Requires schools to have breach tools, ballistic shields, and standardized crisis communication protocols, and it mandates joint drills and reports with law enforcement after incidents.
HB 100 – Instructional Materials Restriction
Starting in 2026-27, schools may not buy or use instructional materials formally rejected by the State Board of Education.
HB 121 – School Safety Personnel Standards
Improves training requirements and re-evaluation rules for school safety officers, requires more mental health expertise on threat assessment teams, and allows TEA to assist districts during emergencies.
HB 1481 – Classroom Cell Phone Ban
Requires districts to adopt policies banning student phone use during the school day, while allowing exceptions for medical or educational needs.
Please visit our FAQ page for more details about how Argyle ISD will implement the ban.
HB 1522 – Open Meetings Transparency
Extends notice for school board meetings to three business days prior to the posted meeting date.
SB 2 – Education Savings Accounts (ESAs)
Creates a state-run account that lets eligible families use public funds for private educational expenses, starting in 2026-27.
SB 4 and SB 23 – Homestead Exemption Increases
Raises the school property tax exemption from $100,000 to $140,000 for most homeowners, and from $10,000 to $60,000 for seniors and disabled Texans, pending voter approval in November 2025.
SB 10 – Ten Commandments Display
Requires every public school classroom to display a poster of the Ten Commandments starting in the 2025-26 school year if posters or framed copies that comply with the requirements are donated.
SB 11 – School Prayer Option
Requires school boards to take a “record vote” on a resolution adopting a policy requiring every campus to provide a period of prayer and reading of the Bible or other religious text by March 1, 2026
SB 12 – Parental Rights and Content Bans
Expands parental grievance rights, requires districts to notify parents of incidents and health changes, and bans DEI, CRT, gender identity clubs, and related instruction in public schools.
Read the Argyle ISD SB 12 Resolution regarding SB 12 and Parental Rights
SB 13 – Library Book Oversight
Grants parents the right to review and challenge library materials, requires districts to respond within 90 days, and allows for local library councils to review content.
SB 204 – Parental Rights Handbook
Requires TEA to create a parental rights handbook and districts to distribute it to parents annually; board members must complete related training.
SB 260 – School Finance and Safety Enhancements
Increases base funding per student, boosts safety allotments, simplifies funding processes, and creates new funding for coastal insurance and dual language programs.
SB 401 – UIL Access for Homeschoolers
Mandates school districts allow homeschool students to participate in UIL sports and activities unless the board opts out; homeschoolers can join through nearby districts that haven’t opted out.
SB 569 – Virtual and Hybrid Learning Law
Replaces the old virtual school law with stricter quality standards and allows enrollment-based funding for full-time online schools after commissioner approval.
SB 571 – Mandatory Misconduct Reporting
Requires superintendents to report abuse, inappropriate behavior, or boundary violations within 48 hours, and shortens the timeline for child abuse reporting to 24 hours.
SB 843 – School Bond Transparency
Creates a public database of district bonds, taxes, and bond projects that districts must keep updated.
SB 991 – Chronic Absenteeism Tracking
Adds chronically absent and truant students to the "at-risk" list and requires public reporting of related data for schools and campuses.
SB 1173 – Purchasing Flexibility
Raises the threshold for required bidding on school purchases from $50,000 to $100,000.
SB 1191 – GPA Calculation Standards
Requires the Commissioner of Education to create a single method for calculating high school GPA across the state, giving consistent weight to advanced and dual-credit courses.
SB 1453 – Tax Rate Disclosure Rule
Districts can’t raise tax rates above what’s needed to pay debts without a board vote and public disclosure of how much lower the rate could be.
SB 2314 – College Application Support
Requires students to decide before graduation whether to open a My Texas Future account to get help applying for college or financial aid.
SB 568 – Special Education Funding Reform
Adds $250 million for special education services with new funding tiers, increases evaluation reimbursements, and improves support for regional day programs.