H.B. No. 3822 introduces new provisions to the Texas Education Code regarding parental leave policies for public school classroom teachers. It mandates that each school district or open-enrollment charter school adopt a paid parental leave policy for teachers who have been employed for at least 12 months and have worked a minimum of 1,250 hours in the preceding year. Under this policy, teachers are entitled to 40 days of paid leave for the birth of their own child and 20 days for the birth of a child by their spouse or for adoption. Additionally, teachers are not required to exhaust their paid vacation and sick leave before taking this paid leave, and the new provisions clarify that this leave does not create any additional employment rights or causes of action against the schools.

The bill also establishes a separate parental leave policy for teachers who have been employed for less than 12 months or have not met the 1,250-hour requirement, allowing them to take up to 12 weeks of leave, which must first be covered by their available paid leave before transitioning to unpaid leave. Furthermore, a new section is added to provide school districts with an annual allotment equal to the compensation of employees who received paid parental leave under the new policies. The act is set to take effect in the 2025-2026 school year, with school districts required to adopt the new policies by September 1, 2025.

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