Overall Vote Recommendation

Yes

Principle Criteria

Free Enterprise

Property Rights

Personal Responsibility

Limited Government

Individual Liberty

Digest

SB 1871 makes several significant changes to the Texas Education Code to enhance student discipline management and mental health support in public schools. The bill begins by amending Section 12A.004(a) to clarify that Districts of Innovation may not exempt themselves from the disciplinary rules set forth in Chapter 37, ensuring that all public school districts remain subject to statewide student behavior and discipline standards.

One of the core features of the bill is the addition of Section 22.05121, which grants professional school employees legal immunity from disciplinary proceedings when they report certain student behaviors or remove students from the classroom in good faith. This provision is intended to protect educators from professional repercussions when taking necessary disciplinary actions to ensure classroom safety and learning integrity.

The bill also revises Section 37.0012 to require a designated campus behavior coordinator to take a more active role in monitoring and managing disciplinary referrals. New duties include reporting specific offenses—such as terroristic threats or weapons violations—to the school’s threat assessment team. Additionally, Section 37.002 is expanded to give teachers greater discretion to remove students for behaviors including repeated disruption, abusive conduct, or bullying. It also establishes clearer procedures for notifying parents and outlines conditions for student readmission.

Finally, the bill adds Section 38.0393, directing the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to help school districts and open-enrollment charter schools facilitate student access to telehealth-based mental health services. The goal is to provide timely, accessible care for students experiencing mental health challenges, potentially mitigating future behavioral issues and supporting academic success.

Overall, SB 1871 reinforces classroom order, bolsters teacher authority, and integrates mental health support into school systems, reflecting a multifaceted approach to improving school safety and student well-being.

The originally filed version of SB 1871 and the Committee Substitute share the same overarching objectives—improving classroom discipline management and expanding access to student mental health services—but the Committee Substitute introduces several key refinements and structural adjustments to clarify implementation and enhance legal protections for educators.

One notable addition in the Committee Substitute is the creation of Section 22.05121, which provides immunity from disciplinary proceedings for professional employees who report student misconduct or remove students from class in good faith. This section was not included in the originally filed version and represents a meaningful enhancement to protect educators’ professional discretion and shield them from potential retaliation.

Further, while both versions update Section 37.002 of the Education Code to expand when and how teachers may remove students from class, the Committee Substitute adds more procedural protections and responsibilities, including explicit parental notification, development of a “return to class” plan, and a provision that only non-instructional staff may draft such plans. These were not as clearly delineated in the original bill.

The Committee Substitute also amends Section 12A.004(a) with updated references and syntax adjustments, reflecting editorial improvements over the filed version, though the core policy remains consistent—namely, that Districts of Innovation cannot exempt themselves from Chapter 37's discipline standards.

On the mental health side, both versions add Section 38.2545, mandating that school districts offer access to telehealth mental health services through the Texas Child Health Access Through Telemedicine (TCHATT) program. However, the Committee Substitute adds more detailed parental consent provisions, data transparency requirements, and limits on data sharing under FERPA that weren’t fully developed in the filed bill.

Overall, the Committee Substitute builds upon the filed version with additional legal protections, clarified administrative roles, and safeguards for parental rights, while maintaining the same core goals. It reflects thoughtful legislative refinement likely in response to stakeholder feedback and legal counsel.

Author (3)

Charles Perry

Brandon Creighton

Kevin Sparks

Co-Author (6)

Paul Bettencourt

Bob Hall

Adam Hinojosa

Lois Kolkhorst

Tan Parker

Royce West

Contact the Author

Sen. Charles Perry

Capitol Phone:

(512) 463-0128

Capitol Office:

EXT E1.806

E-Mail:

[email protected]

Visit Official Website

Fiscal Notes

The Legislative Budget Board (LBB) has determined that SB 1871 would have no significant fiscal implication to the state. This conclusion is based on the assumption that any administrative or implementation costs incurred by state agencies—such as the Texas Education Agency (TEA) or the Department of State Health Services—could be absorbed within existing resources.

From a local government perspective, the primary impact would fall on school districts. Districts may be required to revise their student codes of conduct and disciplinary procedures to align with the changes introduced by the bill. This includes adjustments to protocols for student removals, parent notifications, threat reporting, and the development of return-to-class plans. These administrative updates are expected to involve modest procedural costs, such as staff training or documentation updates, but are not anticipated to require substantial new funding.

Additionally, the bill mandates that school districts offer students access to mental health services via telehealth if such services are made available through the Texas Child Health Access Through Telemedicine (TCHATT) program. While this could increase the usage of school-based mental health services, participation remains contingent on program availability and parental consent. Importantly, districts are not required to fund or operate the services themselves, and the TCHATT program already operates through external partnerships and state-funded university health systems. As such, the fiscal burden on schools is expected to be minimal and largely logistical in nature.

Overall, SB 1871 aims to enhance classroom safety and student mental health support without imposing significant new financial obligations on the state or local school systems.

Vote Recommendation Notes

Texas Policy Research recommends that lawmakers vote YES on SB 1871 for its strong reinforcement of classroom safety, educator authority, and student support mechanisms. The bill directly responds to rising concerns among educators, parents, and administrators about the increasing frequency of student misconduct, classroom disruptions, and threats of violence. By updating Chapter 37 of the Education Code, the bill provides educators with clearer authority to remove students for unruly or threatening behavior and expands the scope of offenses that can trigger removal or expulsion, including bullying and exhibiting or threatening to use a weapon.

The legislation importantly introduces legal immunity for school employees acting in good faith when reporting violations or removing students, thus strengthening protections for staff against unfair disciplinary action. This upholds the liberty principle of Individual Responsibility and affirms educator rights in disciplinary decision-making. The inclusion of procedural safeguards—such as parental notifications, return-to-class plans, and appeal rights—also reflects a measured and transparent approach to student discipline, ensuring due process while maintaining order in the classroom.

From a Limited Government standpoint, SB 1871 balances school autonomy with regulatory clarity. Notably, it prohibits the Texas Education Agency from penalizing schools based on the volume of disciplinary actions taken, which shields districts from top-down pressure to ignore serious behavioral issues in the interest of statistical optics.

Equally commendable is the bill’s expansion of mental health access for students via the Texas Child Health Access Through Telemedicine (TCHATT) program. It mandates that schools offer access (where available) to telehealth services while embedding strong parental consent provisions and privacy safeguards. This approach bolsters Personal Responsibility and Individual Liberty, empowering families to participate in mental health decisions and ensuring services are voluntary and consent-driven.

Overall, the bill enhances school safety, affirms the rights of educators, and improves access to mental health care without imposing significant fiscal burdens on the state or local districts.

Individual Liberty: The bill affirms the liberty of teachers and school staff by granting them immunity from disciplinary action when acting in good faith to report or remove disruptive students. This protects educators from retaliation and reinforces their autonomy and authority in the classroom—core components of individual liberty. The bill expands the role of school threat assessment teams and campus behavior coordinators in identifying “concerning student behaviors,” some of which may not involve criminal conduct. While intended for safety, this could lead to subjective profiling or preemptive intervention without parental knowledge, potentially infringing on the liberty of students and families in edge cases.
Personal Responsibility: The bill encourages personal accountability by strengthening the consequences for students who engage in bullying, violence, or serious classroom disruption. It removes ambiguity around when and how a teacher can remove a student and requires behavioral patterns or offenses to be reported for appropriate intervention. The bill reinforces that actions have consequences, especially when safety and learning environments are jeopardized, aligning with a key liberty principle that individuals are responsible for their conduct.
Free Enterprise: The bill does not regulate or interfere with private markets directly. However, by facilitating school access to the TCHATT telehealth network, it may indirectly expand market demand for private and university-based mental health services. This could enhance the mental health services landscape in Texas without imposing price controls or mandates. At the same time, by mandating access where services are offered, the bill treads carefully to avoid interfering with voluntary participation by schools or families.
Private Property Rights: The bill does not directly impact private property or ownership rights. However, by strengthening the ability of teachers to maintain control over their classrooms, it could be argued to reinforce the stewardship educators have over their professional environment—though this is a looser application of the principle.
Limited Government: The bill generally aligns with the principle of limited government by empowering local school officials—such as teachers, principals, and campus behavior coordinators—to manage classroom discipline without excessive state interference. It reinforces local autonomy by prohibiting the Texas Education Agency (TEA) from penalizing districts based on the volume of student disciplinary actions, thus resisting top-down mandates aimed at artificially reducing removals or suspensions. However, the bill also introduces some new state-level oversight responsibilities, such as requiring TEA to verify district compliance with mental health service offerings and adopt a model “return-to-class” plan. While these provisions slightly expand the administrative role of the state, they are primarily aimed at implementation support rather than centralized control, maintaining a balance that leans toward decentralized governance.

View Bill Text and Status