Monitoring the Session

HB 824

bill adding civics to high school government standards

Became law

Verdict: No flags

No flagsInitial review
Rep. Jolanda "Jo" JonesDHouse 147

Initial review · graded Oct 20, 2026 · Headline, summary and grade are analysis of the bill text, not a finding about any person · How we grade

Caption

relating to the inclusion of civics instruction in public school government curriculum requirements for high school students.

Caption from analyzed text · version I.

Summary

Local officials, election laws, and Robert’s Rules of Order.

The bill tells the State Board of Education to add civics topics to the high school government curriculum standards. It covers the roles of state, county, city and other local officials, how voting and Texas election laws work, who can run for office, Robert's Rules of Order, and which officials represent each student. Texas high school students would be taught these topics starting with the 2025-2026 school year.

Labels

Labels: INSTANT LAW. Took effect immediately, on Jun 20, 2025. 833 of the 1,185 graded 89R laws took effect Sep 1, 2025 (derived from the bill histories, snapshot Oct 19, 2026).BACK FROM THE DEAD. Same text as a bill filed before that died: 88R HB 2634 (Died in committee). Filed in 2 sessions, counting this one. Checked against 88R only.TRY NO. 2. Filed in 2 sessions: 88R and 89R. Checked against 88R only.CROSS-PARTY HANDOFF. Lead author Jolanda "Jo" Jones (D) in the House. Lead sponsor Mayes Middleton (R) in the Senate. Party as the Legislative Reference Library lists it for the 89th Legislature.ACROSS THE AISLE. Joint authors: 3 Republicans, 2 Democrats. Party as the Legislative Reference Library lists it for the 89th Legislature.

Receipt

The receipt

89R-HB824 · 2024-11-12

SOLD BY

Rep. Jolanda "Jo" JonesDHouse 147 Rep. Terri Leo WilsonRHouse 23 Rep. Alma A. AllenDHouse 131

+ 2 more authors, 34 coauthors

ITEM

relating to the inclusion of civics instruction in public school government curriculum requirements for high school students.

WHAT IT DOES

Local officials, election laws, and Robert’s Rules of Order.

The bill tells the State Board of Education to add civics topics to the high school government curriculum standards. It covers the roles of state, county, city and other local officials, how voting and Texas election laws work, who can run for office, Robert's Rules of Order, and which officials represent each student. Texas high school students would be taught these topics starting with the 2025-2026 school year.

CHARGES

[ ] NONE FOUND

TOTAL

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version E · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version E · May 22, 2025

No first-year general revenue figure available here.

LBB published estimates · flow over the stated periods.

Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

HISTORY

  1. Filed
  2. Read first time
  3. Referred to Public Education
  4. Referred to s/c on Academic & Career-Oriented Education by chair
  5. Scheduled for public hearing in s/c on . . .
  6. Considered by s/c in public hearing
  7. Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in subcommittee
  8. Left pending in subcommittee
  9. Recalled from subcommittee
  10. Considered in public hearing
  11. Committee substitute considered in committee
  12. Reported favorably as substituted
  13. Considered in formal meeting
  14. Vote reconsidered in committee
  15. Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
  16. Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator
  17. Committee report distributed
  18. Committee report sent to Calendars
  19. Considered in Calendars
  20. Placed on General State Calendar
  21. Read 2nd time
  22. Passed to engrossment
  23. Record vote RV#2238
  24. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  25. Read 3rd time
  26. Passed
  27. Record vote RV#2303
  28. Reported engrossed
  29. Received from the House
  30. Read first time
  31. Referred to Education K-16
  32. Co-sponsor authorized
  33. Posting rule suspended
  34. Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
  35. Considered in public hearing
  36. Testimony taken in committee
  37. Left pending in committee
  38. Considered in public hearing
  39. Vote taken in committee
  40. Reported favorably w/o amendments
  41. Recommended for local & uncontested calendar
  42. Committee report printed and distributed
  43. Co-sponsor authorized
  44. Placed on local & uncontested calendar
  45. Laid before the Senate
  46. Read 2nd time & passed to 3rd reading
  47. Vote recorded in Journal
  48. Three day rule suspended
  49. Record vote
  50. Read 3rd time
  51. Passed
  52. Record vote
  53. Senate passage reported
  54. Reported enrolled
  55. Signed in the House
  56. Signed in the Senate
  57. Sent to the Governor
  58. Signed by the Governor
  59. Effective immediately
FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

SIGNED FOR BY

House · 124 yea · 18 nay

Senate · 30 yea · 1 nay

Sources

House: Final passage · May 13, 2025. Journal. Published stock for this vote. Snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

Senate: Final passage · May 28, 2025. Journal. Published stock for this vote. Snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

All floor motions and other positions below.

No flags

THANK YOU FOR CHECKING THE RECEIPT

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

Jolanda "Jo" Jones

Donors

Carrin Patman$15,000Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC$9KHouston Federation of Teachers COPE$7K

Not tied to this bill.

Sources

The author's campaign account only. Own money and internal transfers are separate on the member page.

Derived itemized flow · Oct 28, 2024 to Oct 12, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Carrin Patman$15,000.00
Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC$9,000.00

Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC

$9,000.00

Cash
$9,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$9,000.00

Also funds 137 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 24, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Dec 1, 2024 to Apr 1, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 100986920, 101030360, 101059410.

Houston Federation of Teachers COPE$7,000.00

Houston Federation of Teachers COPE

$7,000.00

Cash
$7,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$7,000.00

Also funds 2 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Dec 11, 2024 to Jun 30, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Sources

Derived itemized flow · on Dec 11, 2024. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 100986920.

Money

Missing data does not establish zero giving. Display amounts are rounded.

×

Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC

$9,000.00

Cash
$9,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$9,000.00

Also funds 137 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 24, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Dec 1, 2024 to Apr 1, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 100986920, 101030360, 101059410.

×

Houston Federation of Teachers COPE

$7,000.00

Cash
$7,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$7,000.00

Also funds 2 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Dec 11, 2024 to Jun 30, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Sources

Derived itemized flow · on Dec 11, 2024. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 100986920.

Votes5

Senate May 28, 2025

Final passage

Yea
30
Nay
1
Present, not voting
Not printed
Absent
Not printed
Excused
Not printed
Names

Named positions matched to lawmakers. See the journal for unmatched names.

Senate journal

Names were not printed for yea. Only the named positions are included in member records.

The journal row lists three votes in order: passage to third reading, suspension of the three-day rule, and final passage. This entry records final passage. Repeated tallies belong to separate votes.

Sources

HB 824 (Middleton) Relating to the inclusion of civics instruction in public school government curriculum requirements for high school students. (viva voce vote) (30-1) "Nay" Sparks (30-1) "Nay" Sparks

Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.

  • Yea: 30 (published)
  • Nay: 1 (published)
  • Present, not voting: Not printed
  • Absent: Not printed
  • Excused: Not printed

Senate journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

Senate May 28, 2025

Suspension of the three-day rule

Yea
30
Nay
1
Present, not voting
Not printed
Absent
Not printed
Excused
Not printed
Names

Named positions matched to lawmakers. See the journal for unmatched names.

Senate journal

Names were not printed for yea. Only the named positions are included in member records.

The journal row lists three votes in order: passage to third reading, suspension of the three-day rule, and final passage. This entry records suspension of the three-day rule. Repeated tallies belong to separate votes.

Sources

HB 824 (Middleton) Relating to the inclusion of civics instruction in public school government curriculum requirements for high school students. (viva voce vote) (30-1) "Nay" Sparks (30-1) "Nay" Sparks

Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.

  • Yea: 30 (published)
  • Nay: 1 (published)
  • Present, not voting: Not printed
  • Absent: Not printed
  • Excused: Not printed

Senate journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

Senate May 28, 2025

Passage to third reading

Yea
Not printed
Nay
Not printed
Present, not voting
Not printed
Absent
Not printed
Excused
Not printed
Names

Senate journal

Names were not printed. No individual positions are inferred.

The journal row lists three votes in order: passage to third reading, suspension of the three-day rule, and final passage. This entry records passage to third reading. Repeated tallies belong to separate votes.

Voice vote. No numeric tally or individual yeas are inferred.

Sources

HB 824 (Middleton) Relating to the inclusion of civics instruction in public school government curriculum requirements for high school students. (viva voce vote) (30-1) "Nay" Sparks (30-1) "Nay" Sparks

Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.

  • Yea: Not printed
  • Nay: Not printed
  • Present, not voting: Not printed
  • Absent: Not printed
  • Excused: Not printed

Senate journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

House May 13, 2025

Yea
124
Nay
18
Present, not voting
2
Absent
2
Excused
4
Names

Named positions matched to lawmakers. See the journal for unmatched names.

House journal

Sources

Record 2303

HB 824 was passed by (Record 2303): 124 Yeas, 18 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.

Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.

  • Yea: 124 (published)
  • Nay: 18 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 2 (published)
  • Absent: 2 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 4 (derived from named list)

House journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

House May 12, 2025

Yea
123
Nay
18
Present, not voting
1
Absent
3
Excused
5
Names

Named positions matched to lawmakers. See the journal for unmatched names.

House journal

Sources

Record 2238

CSHB 824 was passed to engrossment by (Record 2238): 123 Yeas, 18 Nays, 1 Present, not voting.

Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.

  • Yea: 123 (published)
  • Nay: 18 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 1 (published)
  • Absent: 3 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 5 (derived from named list)

House journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

Witnesses13
For
10
Against
0
On
3
Names

For

  • Association of Texas Professional Educators (ATPE)2 registrations
  • DFER TX1 registration
  • Good Reason Houston1 registration
  • Methodist Healthcare Ministries1 registration
  • Self2 registrations
  • Texas AFT1 registration
  • Texas State Teachers Association1 registration
  • Texas state teachers association1 registration

On

  • Self1 registration
  • Texas Education Agency2 registrations
Sources

13 parsed registrations across the loaded witness lists.

Derived stock of witness registrations. Repeated appearances count separately. Organizations and self-representation appear as printed.

House witness list. Source snapshot 2026-10-20, Central time.

Senate witness list. Source snapshot 2026-10-20, Central time.

Fiscal

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version E · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version E · May 22, 2025

No first-year general revenue figure available here.

LBB published estimates · flow over the stated periods.

Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

How this was graded

Analysis of text version I by claude-opus-5-5, Oct 20, 2026, against the published rubric.

FILED BEFORE

Filed 2 times: 88R and 89R. Checked against 88R only.

88R HB 2634

by Rep. Jolanda Jones, same lead author · Died in committee · same text

Introduced text

Last action, Mar 13, 2023: Referred to Public Education

Relating to the inclusion of civics instruction in public school government curriculum requirements for high school students.

Caption, 88R bill history

Sources

Texas House · Filed Nov 12, 2024

06/20/2025 E Effective immediately

Texas Legislature Online · Introduced · House Committee Report · Engrossed · Senate Committee Report · Enrolled

Data snapshot Oct 26, 2026 at 4:20 AM CDT. Grades, charges, quotes and corrections follow the published record.

Coauthors
Salman BhojaniDHouse 92 Rhetta Andrews BowersDHouse 113 Benjamin BumgarnerRHouse 63 Briscoe CainRHouse 128 Aicha DavisDHouse 109 Mano DeAyalaRHouse 133 Mark DorazioRHouse 122 Lulu FloresDHouse 51 Josey GarciaDHouse 124 Linda GarciaDHouse 107 Stan GerdesRHouse 17 Barbara Gervin-HawkinsDHouse 120 Vikki GoodwinDHouse 47 Ryan GuillenRHouse 31 Donna HowardDHouse 48 Ann JohnsonDHouse 134 Suleman LalaniDHouse 76 Don McLaughlinRHouse 80 Terry MezaDHouse 105 Penny Morales ShawDHouse 148 Christina MoralesDHouse 145 Eddie MoralesDHouse 74 Sergio Muñoz Jr.DHouse 36 Dade PhelanRHouse 21 Mihaela PlesaDHouse 70 Richard Peña RaymondDHouse 42 Ron ReynoldsDHouse 27 Keresa RichardsonRHouse 61 Ana-María Rodríguez RamosDHouse 102 Nate SchatzlineRHouse 93 Lauren Ashley SimmonsDHouse 146 Cody VasutRHouse 25 Charlene Ward JohnsonDHouse 139 Trey WhartonRHouse 12
Sponsors
Mayes MiddletonRSenate 11
Cosponsors
Donna CampbellRSenate 25 Molly CookDSenate 15

House committee · Public Education · Committee vote 11 aye, 0 nay, 4 absent · Out of committee

Senate committee · Education K-16 · Committee vote 9 aye, 0 nay, 2 absent · Out of committee

Companion

SB 2643 by Middleton (identical)

Subjects

Education--Primary & Secondary--Curriculum

EDUCATION, STATE BOARD OF

Text

The text as introduced · 224 words

89R2171 CMO-D

By: Jones of Harris
H.B. No. 824

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the inclusion of civics instruction in public school

government curriculum requirements for high school students.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 28.002, Education Code, is amended by

adding Subsection (h-3) to read as follows:

(h-3) In adopting the essential knowledge and skills for the

government component of the social studies curriculum for high

school students, the State Board of Education shall adopt essential

knowledge and skills to develop each student's civic knowledge,

including:

(1) the role of governmental officials, including:

(A) statewide elected officials;

(B) county officials;

(C) city councilors; and

(D) other local governmental officials;

(2) the voting process and election laws of this

state;

(3) the eligibility requirements to run for elected

office in this state;

(4) Robert's Rules of Order; and

(5) the elected officials who represent the student at

each level of government.

SECTION 2. This Act applies beginning with the 2025-2026

school year.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives

a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as

provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this

Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this

Act takes effect September 1, 2025.