By: Creighton S.B. No. 1565

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to a school district's grievance procedure and to certain public school requirements and prohibitions regarding instruction and diversity, equity, and inclusion duties and the loss of funding for public schools that fail to comply with those provisions.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Chapter 1, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 1.007 to read as follows:

Sec. 1.007. COMPLIANCE WITH MANDATORY POLICY. (a) In this section, "public elementary or secondary school" means a school district and a district, campus, program, or school operating under a charter under Chapter 12.

(b) A public elementary or secondary school, the school's governing body, and the school's employees shall implement and comply with each policy the school is required to adopt under this code or other law.

SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 11, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 11.005 to read as follows:

Sec. 11.005. PROHIBITION ON DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION DUTIES. (a) In this section, "diversity, equity, and inclusion duties" means:

(1) influencing hiring or employment practices with respect to race, sex, color, or ethnicity except as necessary to comply with state or federal antidiscrimination laws;

(2) promoting differential treatment of or providing special benefits to individuals on the basis of race, color, or ethnicity;

(3) developing or implementing policies, procedures, or training programs that reference race, color, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation except as necessary to comply with state or federal law;

(4) compelling, requiring, inducing, or soliciting any person to provide a diversity, equity, and inclusion statement or giving preferential consideration to any person based on the provision of a diversity, equity, and inclusion statement; and

(b) Except as required by state or federal law, a school district:

(1) may not assign diversity, equity, and inclusion duties to any person; and

(2) shall prohibit a district employee, contractor, or volunteer from engaging in diversity, equity, and inclusion duties.

(c) A school district shall adopt a policy and procedure for the appropriate discipline, including termination, of a district employee or contractor who engages in or assigns to another person diversity, equity, and inclusion duties.

(d) Nothing in this section may be construed to limit or prohibit a school district from acknowledging or teaching the significance of state and federal holidays or commemorative months and how those holidays or months fit into the themes of history and the stories of this state and the United States of America in accordance with the essential knowledge and skills adopted under Subchapter A, Chapter 28.

SECTION 3. 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) diversity, equity, and inclusion duties under Section 11.005.

SECTION 4. Section 26.011, Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 26.011. LOCAL GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE [COMPLAINTS]. (a) The board of trustees of each school district shall adopt a grievance procedure under which the board shall:

(1) address each grievance [complaint] that the board receives concerning a violation of the prohibition under Section 11.005 or of a right guaranteed by this chapter:

(A) if the grievance is filed not later than six school weeks after the date on which the parent received notice of an incident giving rise to the grievance; or

(B) regardless of whether the grievance was filed during the period prescribed by Paragraph (A) if the grievance was informally brought to the attention of school district personnel during that period;

(2) allow a parent at any time before a final decision by the board to provide additional evidence regarding the parent's grievance; and

(3) allow a parent to file more than one grievance at the same time.

(b) The board of trustees of a school district is not required by Subsection (a) or Section 11.1511(b)(13) to address a grievance [complaint] that the board receives concerning a student's participation in an extracurricular activity that does not involve a violation of a right guaranteed by this chapter. This subsection does not affect a claim brought by a parent under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Section 1400 et seq.) or a successor federal statute addressing special education services for a child with a disability.

(c) The board of trustees of a school district shall ensure a grievance procedure adopted under Subsection (a):

(1) authorizes a parent to file a grievance with the principal of the district campus the parent's child attends or the person designated by the district to receive grievances for that campus;

(2) requires that a principal or the person designated by the district to receive grievances for a campus:

(A) acknowledge receipt of a grievance under Subdivision (1) not later than two school business days after receipt of the grievance; and

(B) not later than the 14th school business day after receipt of a grievance described by Subdivision (1), provide to the parent who submitted the grievance written documentation of the decision regarding the issue that gave rise to the grievance, including:

(i) an explanation of the findings that contributed to the decision;

(ii) notification regarding the parent's right to appeal the decision; and

(iii) the timeline for appealing the decision;

(3) requires that, if a parent appeals a decision under Subdivision (2) not later than the 14th school business day after receiving notice of the decision, the superintendent or the superintendent's designee provide to the parent not later than the 14th school business day after receipt of the appeal written documentation of the decision regarding the issue that gave rise to the grievance, including:

(A) an explanation of the findings that contributed to the decision;

(B) notification regarding the parent's right to appeal the decision; and

(C) the timeline for appealing the decision;

(4) requires that, if a parent appeals a decision under Subdivision (3) not later than the 14th school business day after receiving notice of the decision, the board hear the grievance in a closed session at the board's next regular meeting that occurs on or after the 14th school business day after the date the board receives notice of the appeal; and

(5) requires that, not later than the 10th school business day after the date of a board meeting described by Subdivision (4), the board provide to the parent written documentation of the board's decision regarding the issue that gave rise to the grievance, including notice that the parent may appeal to the commissioner in writing under Section 7.057, if applicable.

(d) The parties may mutually agree to adjust the timeline for the procedure under this section.

(e) Notwithstanding Subsection (d), if a grievance submitted under this section involves an employee who is on documented leave that is scheduled to begin or has begun before the grievance is submitted, the district may alter the timeline for the procedure under this section to make a reasonable accommodation for the employee's leave. The district must provide notice of the change to the parent who submitted the grievance.

SECTION 5. Chapter 26, Education Code, is amended by adding Sections 26.0111 and 26.0112 to read as follows:

Sec. 26.0111. GRIEVANCE HEARING BEFORE HEARING EXAMINER. (a) This section applies only to a grievance regarding a violation of:

(1) Section 11.005, 28.0022, or 28.004 or Chapter 38 or the implementation of those provisions by a school district; or

(2) Chapter 551, Government Code, involving school district personnel.

(b) If a parent has exhausted the parent's options under the local grievance procedure established by the board of trustees of a school district under Section 26.011 regarding a grievance to which this section applies, and the grievance is not resolved to a parent's satisfaction, the parent may file a written request with the commissioner for a hearing before a hearing examiner under this section not later than the 30th school business day after the date on which the board of trustees of the district resolved the parent's grievance under Section 26.011. The parent must provide the district with a copy of the request and must provide the commissioner with a copy of the district's resolution of the grievance. The parties may agree in writing to extend by not more than 10 school business days the deadline for requesting a hearing.

(c) The commissioner shall assign a hearing examiner to review the grievance in the manner provided by Section 21.254. The hearing examiner has the powers described by Sections 21.255 and 21.256 and shall conduct the hearing in the manner provided by those sections as if the parent were a teacher.

(d) Not later than the 60th business day after the date on which the commissioner receives a parent's written request for a hearing, the hearing examiner shall complete the hearing and make a written recommendation that includes proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law. The recommendation of the hearing examiner is final and may not be appealed.

(e) Sections 21.257(c), (d), and (e) apply to a hearing under this section in the same manner as a hearing conducted under Subchapter F, Chapter 21.

(f) The costs of the hearing examiner, the court reporter, the original hearing transcript, and any hearing room costs, if the hearing room is not provided by the school district, shall be paid by the school district if the hearing examiner finds in favor of the parent.

(g) Notwithstanding Subsection (d), if a parent fails to appear at a hearing under this section, the hearing examiner is not required to complete the hearing and may not make a recommendation in favor of the parent.

Sec. 26.0112. TESTIMONY BEFORE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION. If the commissioner adopts the recommendation of a hearing examiner finding against a school district under Section 26.0111 in at least five grievances to which that section applies involving the district during a school year, the superintendent of the school district must appear before the State Board of Education to testify regarding the hearing examiner's findings and the frequency of grievances against the district.

SECTION 6. Section 28.0022, Education Code, is amended by amending Subsection (f) and adding Subsection (h) to read as follows:

(f) This section does not create a private cause of action against a teacher, administrator, or other employee of a school district or open-enrollment charter school. [A school district or open-enrollment charter school may take appropriate action involving the employment of any teacher, administrator, or other employee based on the individual's compliance with state and federal laws and district policies.]

(h) A school district or open-enrollment charter school shall adopt a policy and procedure for the appropriate discipline, including termination, of a district or school employee or contractor who engages in or assigns to another person an act prohibited by this section.

SECTION 7. Subchapter A, Chapter 48, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 48.013 to read as follows:

Sec. 48.013. CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE WITH CERTAIN LAWS REQUIRED. (a) Not later than September 30 of each year, the superintendent of a school district or open-enrollment charter school shall certify to the agency that the district or school is in compliance with this section and Sections 11.005 and 28.0022.

(b) The certification required by Subsection (a) must:

(1) be:

(A) approved by a majority vote of the board of trustees of the school district or the governing body of the open-enrollment charter school at a public meeting that includes an opportunity for public testimony and for which notice was posted on the district's or school's Internet website at least seven days before the date on which the meeting is held; and

(B) submitted electronically to the agency; and

(2) include:

(A) a description of the policies and procedures required by Sections 11.005(c) and 28.0022(h) and the manner in which district or school employees and contractors were notified of those policies and procedures;

(B) any existing policies, programs, procedures, or trainings that were altered to ensure compliance with this section or Section 11.005 or 28.0022; and

(C) any cost savings resulting from actions taken by the school district or open-enrollment charter school to comply with this section.

(c) The agency shall post each certification received under Subsection (a) on the agency's Internet website.

SECTION 8. Section 11.005, Education Code, as added by this Act, and Sections 12.104(b) and 28.0022, Education Code, as amended by this Act, apply beginning with the 2025-2026 school year.

SECTION 9. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this section, 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.

(b) Section 48.013, Education Code, as added by this Act, takes effect September 1, 2025.