Relating to prohibiting election activities committed by a member of the board of trustees or superintendent of an independent school district or on certain school district premises; creating criminal offenses.
SB 875 prohibits school board members, superintendents, and campus administrators in Texas independent school districts from using district resources - like email, phones, or mailing lists - for political campaigning. It also bans political signs on school campuses for more than 48 hours outside early voting periods or election day. Violations are classified as Class A misdemeanors for board members/superintendents and Class B misdemeanors for campus administrators. The law directly affects school district officials and campus operations, aiming to keep educational facilities neutral during elections.
Bill status
died
3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2025
Committee Review
May 2025
Senate Passage
Apr 2025
House Passage
Governor
Introduced Jan 22, 2025
Last action May 26, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
Introduced
→
Engrossed
·
5 edits
·
Apr 1, 2025
MODERATE
The bill was reformatted from an introduced draft to an engrossed version, with substantive policy changes including expanded scope of prohibited election activities, new exceptions for political forums, and updated effective dates. The changes clarify that school board members and superintendents cannot use district resources for electioneering, while creating specific exceptions for hosting political forums and conventions under certain conditions.
Scope change
The bill's scope was expanded to include superintendents in addition to board members, and new exceptions were added for political forums and conventions that meet specific criteria regarding timing and equal access.
SCOPE
Added superintendent to the list of officials prohibited from using district resources for electioneering activities
REQUIREMENT
Modified electioneering prohibition to include specific exceptions for hosting political forums and conventions when certain conditions are met
Added requirement that political forums must allow equal opportunity for all candidates and parties to use district facilities
DEFINITION
Added formal definition of 'electioneer' to clarify what activities are prohibited
TIMELINE
Updated effective date to September 1, 2025 for the new provisions
Floor votes · Senate Mar 31, 2025
How they voted
20–9
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 30
Mar 31, 2025
D
Democratic10
90% Nay
R
Republican20
95% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
43
Key actions
15
Committee
14
Amendments
3
May 23, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report sent to Calendars
lower
May 23, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report distributed
lower
May 21, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
lower
May 21, 2025
Lower · Passed
Left pending in committee
lower
May 21, 2025
Committee
Failed to receive affirmative vote in comm.
lower
May 20, 2025
Lower · Passed
Left pending in committee
lower
May 20, 2025
Lower · Passed
Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee
lower
Apr 22, 2025
Committee
Referred to Public Education
lower
Apr 22, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
lower
Apr 2, 2025
Introduced
Received from the Senate
lower
Apr 1, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed
upper
Mar 31, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed to engrossment as amended
upper
Mar 31, 2025
Upper · Passed
Amended
upper
Mar 31, 2025
Introduced
Amendment(s) offered
upper
Mar 31, 2025
Senate · Passed
Senate Vote: pass (20-9-1)
senate
Mar 17, 2025
Upper · Passed
Committee report printed and distributed
upper
Mar 17, 2025
Upper · Passed
Reported favorably w/o amendments
upper
Mar 13, 2025
Upper · Passed
Vote taken in committee
upper
Mar 10, 2025
Upper · Passed
Left pending in committee
upper
Mar 10, 2025
Upper · Passed
Testimony taken in committee
upper
Feb 13, 2025
Committee
Referred to State Affairs
upper
Feb 13, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
upper
2 primary · 1 co-sponsor
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Brian Birdwell
RRepublican
P
Charles Cunningham
RRepublican
Co
Paul Bettencourt
RRepublican
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