Bill Text: TX SB237 | 2025-2026 | 89th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to a public school paid parental leave policy, an allotment under the Foundation School Program for the cost of providing paid parental leave under that policy, and the eligibility of certain children for free prekindergarten programs.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-03 - Referred to Education K-16 [SB237 Detail]

Download: Texas-2025-SB237-Introduced.html

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89R4141 RAL-D
By: Johnson S.B. No. 237

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a public school paid parental leave policy, an
allotment under the Foundation School Program for the cost of
providing paid parental leave under that policy, and the
eligibility of certain children for free prekindergarten programs.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 22, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 22.0035 to read as follows:
Sec. 22.0035. PAID PARENTAL LEAVE POLICY. (a) A school
district or open-enrollment charter school may adopt a paid
parental leave policy under which a full-time employee of the
district or school is entitled to paid parental leave following
the:
(1) birth of a child;
(2) birth of a child by the employee's spouse;
(3) birth of a child by a gestational surrogate; or
(4) adoption of a child.
(b) If a school district or open-enrollment charter school
adopts a paid parental leave policy described by Subsection (a),
the policy:
(1) must provide:
(A) eight consecutive weeks of paid parental
leave for an employee who is the primary caregiver of the child; or
(B) four consecutive weeks of paid parental leave
for an employee who is the spouse of the primary caregiver of the
child;
(2) must require that:
(A) an employee be employed on a full-time basis
by the school district or open-enrollment charter school for at
least 12 months before becoming eligible for paid parental leave;
(B) an employee's eligibility for paid parental
leave expires on the six-month anniversary of the date of the
child's birth or placement with the employee; and
(C) an employee who has been granted paid
parental leave under the policy take the leave concurrently with
leave for which the employee is eligible under the federal Family
and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. Section 2601 et seq.); and
(3) may not require an employee to first use all
available and applicable paid vacation and sick leave before taking
paid parental leave under the policy.
(c) Not later than November 1 of each even-numbered year,
the agency shall prepare and submit to the legislature a report on
paid parental leave provided under a policy adopted under this
section. The report must include:
(1) the number of employees who took paid parental
leave under the policy during the preceding two years,
disaggregated by school district and open-enrollment charter
school;
(2) the costs of providing paid parental leave under
the policy during the preceding two years;
(3) projections regarding future participation in and
costs of paid parental leave provided under the policy; and
(4) any recommendations for legislative or other
action.
SECTION 2. Section 29.153(b), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) A child is eligible for enrollment in a prekindergarten
class under this section if the child is at least three years of age
and:
(1) is unable to speak and comprehend the English
language;
(2) is educationally disadvantaged;
(3) is homeless, regardless of the residence of the
child, of either parent of the child, or of the child's guardian or
other person having lawful control of the child;
(4) is the child of an active duty member of the armed
forces of the United States, including the state military forces or
a reserve component of the armed forces, who is ordered to active
duty by proper authority;
(5) is the child of a member of the armed forces of the
United States, including the state military forces or a reserve
component of the armed forces, who was injured or killed while
serving on active duty;
(6) is or ever has been in:
(A) the conservatorship of the Department of
Family and Protective Services following an adversary hearing held
as provided by Section 262.201, Family Code; or
(B) foster care in another state or territory, if
the child resides in this state; [or]
(7) is the child of a person eligible for the Star of
Texas Award as:
(A) a peace officer under Section 3106.002,
Government Code;
(B) a firefighter under Section 3106.003,
Government Code; or
(C) an emergency medical first responder under
Section 3106.004, Government Code; or
(8) is the child of a person employed as a classroom
teacher at a public primary or secondary school in this state.
SECTION 3. Subchapter D, Chapter 48, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 48.157 to read as follows:
Sec. 48.157. HEALTHY FAMILIES ALLOTMENT. For each employee
who received paid parental leave under a policy adopted under
Section 22.0035 during the preceding school year, a school district
is entitled to an annual allotment equal to the amount of the
employee's compensation for the period for which the employee
received paid parental leave under that policy.
SECTION 4. Section 22.0035, Education Code, as added by
this Act, and Section 29.153(b), Education Code, as amended by this
Act, apply beginning with the 2025-2026 school year.
SECTION 5. (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 48.157, Education Code, as added by this Act,
takes effect September 1, 2025.