The Senate Education K-16 Committee held a lengthy day of testimony Thursday on several bills, including a bill increasing restrictions on school libraries. 

Senate Bill (SB) 13 by Sen. Angela Paxton (R–McKinney) would add “indecent” and “profane” content to the list of prohibited library materials. The bill would also require parents to have access to library materials and to monitor the items their students check out. It would require the creation of local school library advisory councils to address challenges to library books. 

The committee also heard SB 12, an omnibus “parental rights” bill by Sen. Brandon Creighton (R–Conroe), which states that parents have the right to review all curriculum and instructional materials (a right parents already hold and have long held) as well as student academic and health records.  

The bill also incorporates parts of individual bills heard Thursday, including legislation that would open up district transfers and ban “diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) duties” while creating grievance processes for enforcing DEI prohibitions. 

ATPE submitted neutral testimony and offered amendment language on SB 12 to rectify an unintended consequence of the changes to grievance procedures that could disadvantage teachers in employment proceedings. 

Other bills heard include: 

• SB 400 by Sen. Lois Kolkhorst (R–Brenham), which would require parents to opt in before the administration of any psychological testing or surveys. Kolkhorst filed a committee substitute that clarifies that “check-ins” are not affected by the bill.  
• Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 12 by Paxton, which would amend the Texas Constitution to enumerate a list of parental rights regarding public education, including the right to choose a public or private school. 
• SB 686 by Paxton, which would require school districts to approve transfers from other districts provided there is adequate capacity and prohibit those districts from charging tuition for transfers. 
• ATPE-supported SB 204 by Paxton, which would direct the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to create an online handbook outlining parents’ rights in the public school system. Paxton offered a committee substitute that aligns the timeline for developing the handbook with the State Board of Education (SBOE) review cycle. 
• SB 609 by Paxton, which is intended to require school districts to implement legislation adopted by the Texas Legislature. 
• SB 371 by Sen. Donna Campbell (R–New Braunfels), which would change sex education from opt-out to opt-in. 
• SB 1565 by Creighton, which would ban “diversity, equity, and inclusion duties” in public schools and create a grievance process for enforcing alleged violations of DEI prohibitions.  
• SB 813 by Sen. Bryan Hughes (R–Mineola), which would set up an alternative grievance system based on regional boards divided by Education Service Centers (ESC). 

The committee recessed without taking any votes.