TEA works on rules for parent notification

Ahead of the 2026-27 school year, the Texas Education Agency has been working on rules to implement a portion of Senate Bill 12 requiring notification to parents about services related to a student’s mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being.

The law known as the Parental Bill of Rights and authored by Sen. Brandon Creighton passed during the 2025 legislative session. It codifies a parent’s absolute right to direct their child’s education and requires school boards to make all information about these rights available to parents each school year. 

To comply with this requirement as the law took effect on Sept. 1, 2025, TEA created a form that details parental rights and options, including the right to withhold consent for or exempt the parent’s child from certain activities and instruction, related to:

• Courses of study and supplemental services
• Instructional materials and library materials
• Health education instruction
• Instruction regarding sexual orientation and gender identity
• School options, including virtual and remote schooling 
• Immunizations
• Gifted and talented programs
• Promotion, retention, and graduation
• Grade, class rank, and attendance
• State standards and requirements
• Data collection practices
• Health care services, including notice and consent
• Special education and bilingual education
• Grievance procedures

SB 12 also requires school districts to post each course’s syllabus or instructional plan online. Teachers must provide this information to district administration and the parent of each child in their classes at the beginning of each semester. 

School districts must obtain parental “opt-in” consent for physical, psychiatric, or psychological services, screenings, and assessments at the beginning of each school year. Without explicit consent, school nurses and staff are generally barred from providing treatment, including administering non-emergency medication, with exceptions for first aid, such as offering bandages or checking a student’s temperature.

TEA has spent the past year working on rules and model guidelines for districts to comply with the portion of SB 12 that requires TEA to “adopt a procedure for school districts to notify the parent of a student enrolled in the district regarding any change in services provided to or monitoring of the student related to the student’s mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being.” 

TEA released a draft of those rules in June, including definitions that distinguish between what is considered health-care or health-related services and monitoring and what falls under general caretaking and first aid.

TCTA has been involved in the process, submitting comments on the proposed rules to ensure compliance with SB 12. 

In the proposed rules, TEA defines health-related services and general caretaking in the following ways:

• Health-related services are short-term, non-invasive activities designed to promote a student’s mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being but are not considered a health-care service. Health-related services are different from health-care services in that they are typically designed to promote healthy student behaviors and not considered formal, clinical, or therapeutic methods that rise to the level of health-care services. Some examples include school counseling services related to mental or emotional health that do not rise to the level of therapy; first-aid; and specialized health-related instruction. 
• General caretaking is noninvasive actions to address minor student claims of feeling unwell or adult observations of a student being physically unwell, such as cleaning spills or other accidents, offering a change of clothing if necessary, and providing support that an adult would typically provide to support a child’s expressions of being unwell. Some examples include responding to in-the-moment emotional behavioral challenges by actions such as inquiring about a child’s well-being, attempting to calm a student if they are crying, or defusing a situation where a student is observably angry.

TEA’s proposed rules aim to clarify the difference between health-related services, which generally require parental consent, and routine caretaking activities that teachers, nurses, and other school staff perform every day. This distinction is important because it helps educators understand when parental consent is required and when they can continue providing routine support to students with confidence. TCTA will continue participating in the rulemaking process to advocate for clear, practical guidance that protects educators.

The proposed rules also would require schools to notify parents within one school day, or as soon as feasible, if a student discloses information indicating an adverse change in the student’s mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being. TCTA has concerns about this provision because its broad language could require notification for a wide range of student behaviors, making the rule difficult to interpret and apply consistently across campuses.

These are just two of many proposed rules implementing SB 12. TCTA is actively reviewing each proposal and will continue working with TEA to ensure the final rules provide clear expectations and minimize unintended burdens on educators.

In the meantime, educators should focus on complying with SB 12 by following district procedures. At the beginning of each school year, districts must obtain parental consent for the health-care and health-related services offered on campus. Before providing a student with any nonemergency health-care or health-related service, verify that the required parental consent has been obtained. Educators should also follow district procedures for notifying parents of any changes in services provided to, or monitoring of, a student’s mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being. 

This article is not a substitute for legal advice. TCTA members with questions should call 888-879-8282 to speak confidentially with a staff attorney. This article appeared in the Summer 2026 issue of The Classroom Teacher.