East Central ISD trustees to certify initial compliance with Texas Senate Bill 12; district to seek DOI to keep current grievance timelines

East Central Independent School District officials told trustees on Friday that they will present a resolution next week certifying the district's intent to comply with Senate Bill 12 while the district finalizes policy and handbook language and awaits additional guidance from state agencies.

The superintendent, speaking to the board, said the resolution satisfies the law's near-term certification requirement and gives staff time to update policies and employee handbooks: "By considering this resolution next week and passing it, the board is basically saying, we're gonna comply with the law," the superintendent said. Trustees were told the certification is intended to meet a statutory deadline while legal counsel and the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) complete recommended policy language.

Why it matters: Senate Bill 12 includes multiple operational requirements for school districts, including parental-consent rules for certain medical and counseling services, posting requirements for instructional materials and student records access, restrictions on certain employee training and duties, and new timelines and levels for grievance appeals. Several of those changes could lengthen timelines for complaints and expand steps before a board review, staff said.

District leaders recommended a two-part approach. First, adopt a resolution next week acknowledging the law and the district's commitment to comply. Second, ask the DEIC to approve continued use of the district's existing grievance procedures under the district's District of Innovation designation so the district need not immediately adopt the new statutory timelines if the DOI process allows that accommodation. "The best path to consider is DOI and then to let us stick with current policy," the superintendent said.

What staff told trustees: - Consent and emergency exceptions: Staff said the district is already using consent forms for medical and counseling services and will continue to call parents in emergent cases. "If the child is in need, it does say that, we can definitely service that child immediately," the superintendent said. - Employee handbook and training: Staff said they will add clarifying language to the employee handbook to reflect statutory prohibitions on assigning or requiring employees to perform DEI duties and to prohibit unauthorized disclosure of student health records or biometric data. Legal counsel and TASB model language will be used to draft the handbook updates. - Grievance timelines and DOI path: Legal staff and leadership argued the state's new four-tier grievance process and extended filing windows could substantially lengthen complaint resolution (staff cited 60-to-90-day windows at some levels in the statute). District counsel recommended pursuing the DOI route so the district can keep its current, shorter timelines that administrators and community members have used successfully. "Our process is pretty comprehensive, pretty thorough," legal counsel said; the DOIC must approve a DOI amendment with a two-thirds vote before the board may adopt it.

Next steps and board action: Staff will present the certification/resolution as an action item at the next regular meeting. They will take proposed handbook and policy language to the DEIC for vetting and, if the DEIC approves, return with a recommendation for board adoption. Staff also said they will publish required parent-access information on the district website and continue operational changes (consent forms, parental records access via the website, posting syllabi) as guidance becomes available.

Authorities referenced: Senate Bill 12; TASB guidance and model employee-handbook language; relevant TEA guidance as it becomes available.

Ending: Trustees did not vote on the resolution at the work session; staff said they would bring a formal action item next week after the DEIC and legal review processes advance.