Texas House bill by Rep. Leo Wilson regulates instructional materials in public schools

Passed bill authored by State Rep. Terri Leo-Wilson aims to regulate the purchase and use of instructional materials in public schools, focusing on restricting content deemed obscene or harmful and aligning with the State Board of Education’s rejected list, according to the Texas Legislature website.

In the House, 40 Democrats and 72 Republicans voted in favor of the bill, while 16 Democrats and 12 Republicans opposed it.

Meanwhile, in the Senate, seven Democrats and 20 Republicans voted in favor, while four Democrats voted against it.

Terri Leo-Wilson introduced the bill in the Texas House on Thursday, Feb. 20, during the 89th regular legislative session.

Leo-Wilson graduated from Texas A&M University with a BS.

Leo-Wilson, a Republican, was elected to the Texas State House in 2023 to represent the state’s 23rd House district, replacing previous state representative Mayes Middleton.

According to the Texas Legislature, the bill’s official text was summarized as follows: ‘Relating to the purchase, adoption, and use of instructional materials by public schools’.

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill amends the Texas Education Code to regulate the purchase, adoption, and use of instructional materials by public schools, effective with the 2025-26 school year. It prohibits schools from using funds to purchase instructional materials that contain obscene or harmful content or are on the State Board of Education’s rejected list. The bill adds a limitation that school districts may not adopt or use any rejected instructional material and specifies that open education resources must also not be on the rejected list. Additionally, local funds can be used to purchase materials not on the rejected list, providing schools flexibility in selecting instructional resources. The Act will take effect immediately if it obtains the required legislative votes, otherwise, it will become effective on Sept. 1, 2025.

The bill was co-authored by Rep. Jeff Leach (Republican – District 67), Rep. Mihaela Plesa (Democrat – District 70), and Rep. Mitch Little (Republican – District 65), along with 40 other authors.

The bill received its final legislative approval on Thursday, May 29, and was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday, June 20.

Bills in Texas go through a multi-step legislative process, including committee review, debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching a final decision. Each session, there are typically thousands of bills introduced, but only a portion successfully navigate the process to become law.

You can read more about the bills and other measures here.