TEA trainer outlines 2025 school-law changes affecting discipline, safety and library reviews
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Summary
A TEA-registered provider, Carrie Carter, gave Godley ISD trustees a legislative update highlighting changes to discipline procedures, school-safety requirements, parents’‑rights rules for library materials and new reporting timelines for educator misconduct. She urged trustees to update district policies and systems accordingly.
Carrie Carter, a TEA-registered provider, told Godley ISD trustees the 2025 legislative session produced several statutory changes that trustees should incorporate into local policy and operations.
Carter said session activity included more than 3,500 filed bills and roughly 1,155 bills signed by the governor; she identified parents’ rights, school funding and education savings accounts as recurring statewide themes. She reviewed specific items that trustees will need to implement or monitor at the district level, including discipline, school safety, library material review processes and new reporting requirements.
On discipline, Carter summarized a law that clarifies when teachers may remove a student from class and requires districts to convene a committee to create a plan to return that student to class. She emphasized federal procedural protections for students with disabilities — including manifestation‑determination reviews — remain in force and must guide local decisions.
Carter reviewed safety-related changes that affect operations and personnel. One statute requires that security officers complete school‑safety training within 90 days of contract start; districts that choose to exempt themselves from SRO staffing must reaffirm that exemption in a public meeting. She also described a requirement that every campus have at least one airway‑clearance device in student dining areas and that staff be trained to use it alongside AED/CPR and epinephrine training.
On technology policy, Carter told trustees districts must adopt rules on personal electronic devices: the law restricts students’ use of personal cell phones, tablets and smartwatches during the school day unless the district issues the device. She warned districts that county and TEA reporting could be triggered if local policies create reporting inconsistencies in instructional‑minute accounting.
Carter explained new rules on educator misconduct and reporting: the definition of reportable misconduct was broadened to include improper relationships and communications with students, and some superintendent reporting deadlines were shortened. She urged district leaders to ensure staff complete updated training and to use the TEA misconduct portal as required.
On library materials and parents’ rights, Carter said districts must maintain a materials‑review committee and post newly acquired titles for public review; classroom libraries may present practical questions for local counsel and policy adjustments. She advised trustees to await TEA guidance on fine details but to prepare district processes now.
Carter closed by urging trustees to work with legal counsel and regional service providers to align policies to new statutes, to keep TEAMS/attendance coding accurate for funding, and to prepare for near‑term commissioner guidance on issues such as GPA standardization and ESA implementation.