TEXAS, USA — It’s back-to-school time as the first district in the Houston area returns to class this week. By the time Sept. 1 rolls around, a series of new laws will affect how those schools are run.
State lawmakers in Texas only meet once every two years, so these new rules will last through at least 2025. Changes to public education were top priorities for the state’s governor and lieutenant governor.
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Most of these bills that passed will become law on Sept. 1. Here is a breakdown of the changes in your child’s classroom.
House Bill 567
One is the Crown Act.
It bans race-based hair discrimination in education, among other areas, and covers styles like locs and braids.
Two students from the Houston area inspired the change in law after they were told to cut their hair or face discipline.
House Bill 1605
House Bill 1605 will give parents access to the materials teachers use to teach their kids.
It’ll also set aside nearly $800 million to invest in open-source, high-quality instructional materials to save teachers planning time.
Senate Bill 1697
Senate Bill 1697 will let parents decide whether their child should repeat a grade up to eighth grade or a high school course unless they’ve met all graduation requirements.
House Bill 900
Finally, House Bill 900 brings a big change that will happen in school libraries.
By next April, book vendors will have to assign ratings to books based on depictions or references to sex.
Books deemed “sexually explicit” would be removed from bookshelves. Those deemed “sexually relevant” will require parents’ permission for the student to check out.
You might have heard about vouchers or education savings accounts recently.
Those “school choice” bills generated a lot of buzz during the legislative session but didn’t pass.
Gov. Greg Abbott is expected to call a special session, possibly in October, to tackle those issues.
Other bills that grabbed headlines this year but ultimately failed would have raised teacher pay, restricted discussion on LGBTQ people, and required the 10 Commandments to be posted in classrooms.