SJR 12 Texas Senate · 89th Legislature (2025)

Proposing a constitutional amendment establishing a parent's right to direct a child's education.

SJR 12 proposes a constitutional amendment to establish a parent's right to direct their child's education in Texas. It would add Section 37 to the Texas Constitution, defining "parent" broadly to include natural parents, stepparents, adoptive parents, guardians, and legal custodians. The amendment guarantees specific rights: choosing public school options, selecting alternatives like private or homeschool, accessing school materials and records (including health records), and attending school meetings - without restriction based on disability. This is a procedural bill requiring voter approval in the November 2025 election.
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Nov 2024
Committee Review
Apr 2025
Senate Passage
Apr 2025
House Passage
Governor
Introduced Nov 12, 2024 Last action Apr 17, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Engrossed · 3 edits · Apr 7, 2025
MINOR
The bill text was reformatted and reorganized from an introduced draft to an engrossed version, with no substantive policy changes to the constitutional amendment content. The core provisions establishing parental rights to direct a child's education remain identical, though the layout was cleaned up and standardized for final printing.
TECHNICAL

Formatting and layout were updated to convert from draft markup to final engrossed bill text, including removal of draft headers, page numbers, and amendment symbols.

Added accessibility statement at the top regarding WCAG 2.1 compliance for digital content.

Removed draft-specific headers, page numbers, and internal amendment markers that were used during the legislative process.

Floor votes · Senate Apr 7, 2025

How they voted

209
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 30
Apr 7, 2025
D Democratic10
1 Yea 9 Nay
90% Nay
R Republican20
19 Yea 1
95% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
26
Key actions
6
Committee
7
Apr 17, 2025
Committee
Referred to Public Education
lower
Apr 17, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
lower
Apr 8, 2025
Introduced
Received from the Senate
lower
Apr 7, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed
upper
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
Feb 27, 2025
Upper · Passed
Left pending in committee
upper
Feb 27, 2025
Upper · Passed
Testimony taken in committee
upper
Feb 3, 2025
Committee
Referred to Education K-16
upper
Feb 3, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
upper
8 primary · 2 co-sponsors

Sponsors