Texas House passes Parental Bill of Rights

The Texas House on Sunday passed a Parental Bill of Rights that includes a ban on social transitioning of children.

The bill, SB 12, filed by state Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, already passed the Senate in March along party lines by a vote of 20-11.

In the House, the bill was carried by state Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, The Center Square reported. It passed the House by a vote of 88-47 with three voting present, not voting, according to the unofficial tally.

The bill affirms that parents are the primary decision-makers in their child’s education, bans Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) ideology in K-12 public schools, restricts teachings of sexual orientation and gender identity, simplifies public school transfers, and reforms the parental-ISD complaint process, among other measures.

The bill seeks to expand parental rights in public school education by providing a clear framework for grievances, allows for opt in or out of specific programs including sex education, health-related services, and biometric data collection. It establishes Class A misdemeanor penalties for districts that allow health-care services to be provided to students without parental consent that results in bodily injury.

It requires school boards to adopt parental engagement policies, hold meetings outside of normal workday hours, and provide online portals for public comment. It creates an appeals process for parental grievances with the principal, superintendent, school board and Texas Education Agency. It also reforms the student transfer process, including standardizing open-enrollment and district-to-district transfers with clear criteria for approvals, denials and prioritization.

It defines and prohibits DEI duties “including race-based or gender-based hiring preferences, compelled DEI statements, and ideological influence” and requires districts to implement discipline policies for violations, including firing those who don’ t comply.

SB 12 was part of an education package filed in the Senate with companion legislation in the House that also included a Teacher Bill of Rights, historic $9 billion in public school funding, and the state’s first Education Savings Account program, a bill Gov. Greg Abbott already signed into law.

Slightly before 2 a.m. Sunday, Rep. Steve Toth, R-Spring, published a statement saying the House passed his amendment to ban the social transition of children in public schools. He’d filed a bill, HB 2258, which was incorporated into SB 12 as an amendment

Toth had been working on the issue, “sweating for three sessions, and now four years later, we finally got it done,” he said. “We've banned social transition of kids in our schools,” he said, thanking his constituents and advocates who called on the legislature to support the ban. Constituents “spoke out for this and demanded that leadership would listen,” and they did, he said.

Prior to the bill passing, no state law exists that makes "it illegal to intentionally assist minors in socially transitioning,” Montgomery, Texas-based Grassroots Therapists said. Toth’s amendment “could put an end to gender ideology targeting our kids,” it said. “Social transition is NOT a harmless response to confusion. It’s the first step down a path toward irreversible medical interventions. If a child is struggling with identity, the answer isn’t to affirm confusion – it’s to affirm the body they were beautifully born in.”

After the vote, the group said, “Hallelujah! It’s now illegal in schools!! BUT, the fight continues!! It must be banned in mental health or children and families will continue being manipulated, misguided, and coerced! Licensed mental health professionals will continue ripping families apart with the gender cult ideology if they are not stopped. All of the national and state organizations for mental health continue to advocate for gender affirming care! If mental health is not stopped, then medical transitions will continue!”

Democrats and transgender activists opposed the bill, arguing it’s discriminatory.

Assuming the Senate accepts the amended House bill, it heads to the governor, who is expected to sign it into law.