The bill, S.B. No. 451, amends various sections of the Education Code to regulate the purchase, adoption, and use of instructional materials by public schools in Texas. Key provisions include prohibiting the use of funds to purchase instructional materials that contain obscene or harmful content, or that are on the list of rejected instructional materials maintained by the State Board of Education. Additionally, school districts and open-enrollment charter schools are restricted from adopting or using any instructional materials that appear on this rejected list.

Furthermore, the bill introduces a new section that mandates school districts to only adopt open education resource instructional materials that are not included on the rejected list. It also allows districts to use local funds to purchase instructional materials, provided they are not on the rejected list. The provisions of this act will take effect starting with the 2025-2026 school year, and it will become effective immediately if it receives a two-thirds vote from both houses of the legislature; otherwise, it will take effect on September 1, 2025.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: Education Code 31.0211, Education Code 31.073, Education Code 31.106 (Education Code 31)