{"id":10433,"date":"2025-06-10T09:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T14:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aclutx.org\/news\/89th-texas-legislatures-regular-session\/"},"modified":"2025-06-10T09:30:00","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T14:30:00","slug":"89th-texas-legislatures-regular-session","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aclutx.org\/news\/89th-texas-legislatures-regular-session\/","title":{"rendered":"The 89th Texas Legislature\u2019s Regular Session"},"content":{"rendered":"

Texans deserve to live in a state where teachers are paid fairly for their hard work, where the lights stay on during heavy rain and heat waves, and where every community has clean water. We deserve schools that reflect our full histories and identities. We deserve to live safely, speak freely, and be treated well, no matter who we are or where we come from.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

But during the 89th Texas Legislative Session, a handful of politicians and their greedy corporate backers made decisions that will leave us worse off. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Instead of addressing the basic needs of Texans, they passed bills that punish educators, censor classroom lessons, target vulnerable communities, and limit our rights \u2014 while ignoring what we actually elected them to do.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

What Passed and What It Means<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

Lawmakers threatened our free speech and religious freedom.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong>
Legislators passed S.B. 10, requiring K-12 public schools to display a Protestant version of the Ten Commandments in every classroom. If Governor Abbott signs S.B. 10 into law, we will <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>file suit<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a> to uphold our country\u2019s constitutional commitment to the separation of church and state.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

S.B. 11<\/a> creates space in K-12 public schools for organized prayer and Bible reading, making children from various religious or nonreligious backgrounds feel excluded in a place where they should feel safe, accepted, and free to be themselves. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

S.B. 12<\/a> <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>bans K-12 public school teachers and student groups from discussing or supporting topics related to race, gender, or sexual orientation. That means the law would prohibit LGBTQIA+ groups like Gay-Straight Alliances in public schools. The bill prohibits school employees from \"assisting\" a student's gender transition and could lead to some school districts trying to \"out\" trans and nonbinary students to their parents.<\/p>\n

S.B. 13<\/a> sets up a process to remove books from K-12 public school libraries based on vague standards like \u201ccommunity values,\u201d a tactic that overwhelmingly targets books by and about LGBTQIA+ people and communities of color. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

At the college level, S.B. 2972<\/a> restricts student protest and public expression, in response to movements supporting Palestinian rights. The bill rolls back bipartisan free speech protections passed in 2019 and signed into law by Abbott. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Lawmakers launched cruel attacks against immigrant communities.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

S.B. 8<\/a> requires local law enforcement to work directly with ICE, diverting limited resources while undermining public safety and community trust. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

S.B. 1 added another $6.5 billion to the state\u2019s already bloated border budget \u2014 despite the governor\u2019s own argument that immigration enforcement should be handled by the federal government. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

S.B. 17<\/a> prohibits the sale of land in Texas to people and companies from China, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and any other country the governor chooses to ban. The move essentially allows the Texas governor to dictate foreign policy while promoting racial profiling and discrimination based solely on someone\u2019s nationality or political associations.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Lawmakers are trying to erase trans Texans.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

H.B. 229<\/a> rewrites legal definitions of \u201cmale\u201d and \u201cfemale\u201d in a way that removes recognition of trans people across state law. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

S.B. 1257 imposes burdensome requirements on insurance companies providing gender-affirming care, in an attempt to increase barriers for adults to access essential and often life-saving treatment.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

These policies don\u2019t reflect what most Texans want. They reflect the priorities of a small group of politicians trying to dictate who belongs and who doesn\u2019t in the second-most diverse state in the country.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Who is Harmed<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

While much of this legislation amounts to little more than bullying masquerading as policy, it\u2019s still policy that makes it more difficult for a wide range of Texans \u2014 including children \u2014 to build a good life in our state. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n