TEA: State Law Requiring Prior Written Parental Consent for Sex Education Instruction Expired Aug. 1

The TEA this afternoon issued this advisory to districts that a provision contained in a state law passed in 2021 requiring districts to first obtain prior (“opt in”) written consent from a parent before a student may receive instruction in human sexuality expired today (Aug. 1, 2024).

Nevertheless, “school systems should continue requiring parental consent prior to offering human sexuality instruction to students, which is fully permitted by the authority granted to school districts” under the Texas Education Code, the correspondence says.

The advisory goes on to list several state-law provisions related to parental rights in general — and human sexuality instruction specifically — that still apply without an expiration date.

Of special note, the advisory says, is the parental right to “remove the student from any part of the district’s human sexuality instruction without subjecting the student to any disciplinary action, academic penalty or other sanction imposed by the district or the student’s school.”