SB 207: schools must excuse absences for mental health appointments

Caption

relating to excused absences from public school for certain students to attend mental health care appointments.

Summary

Mental health professionals join the health care appointment list.

The bill adds mental health professionals to the list of health care appointments for which a public school district must excuse a student's absence. It touches public school students, their children, and school districts that track attendance. On the ground, a student who sees a counselor or therapist and returns to school the same day gets an excused absence starting with the 2025-2026 school year.

Labels

Labels: INSTANT LAW. Took effect immediately, on May 30, 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 SB 1101 (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.ACROSS THE AISLE. Joint authors: 1 Republican, 1 Democrat. Party as the Legislative Reference Library lists it for the 89th Legislature.

Receipt

The receipt

89R-SB207 · 2024-11-12

SOLD BY

Sen. Angela PaxtonRSenate 8

Sen. Nathan JohnsonDSenate 16

+ 5 coauthors

ITEM

relating to excused absences from public school for certain students to attend mental health care appointments.

WHAT IT DOES

Mental health professionals join the health care appointment list.

The bill adds mental health professionals to the list of health care appointments for which a public school district must excuse a student's absence. It touches public school students, their children, and school districts that track attendance. On the ground, a student who sees a counselor or therapist and returns to school the same day gets an excused absence starting with the 2025-2026 school year.

CHARGES

[ ] NONE FOUND

TOTAL

No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version E · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version E · May 2, 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

Nov 12, 2024Received by the Secretary of the Senate
Nov 12, 2024Filed
Feb 3, 2025Read first time
Feb 3, 2025Referred to Education K-16
Feb 5, 2025Co-author authorized
Mar 6, 2025Co-author authorized
Mar 18, 2025Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
Mar 18, 2025Considered in public hearing
Mar 18, 2025Testimony taken in committee
Mar 18, 2025Left pending in committee
Mar 25, 2025Considered in public hearing
Mar 25, 2025Vote taken in committee
Mar 26, 2025Reported favorably w/o amendments
Mar 26, 2025Recommended for local & uncontested calendar
Mar 26, 2025Committee report printed and distributed
Mar 27, 2025Co-author authorized
Mar 31, 2025Placed on intent calendar
Apr 1, 2025Co-author authorized
Apr 1, 2025Rules suspended-Regular order of business
Apr 1, 2025Read 2nd time & passed to engrossment
Apr 1, 2025Vote recorded in Journal
Apr 1, 2025Three day rule suspended
Apr 1, 2025Record vote
Apr 1, 2025Read 3rd time
Apr 1, 2025Passed
Apr 1, 2025Record vote
Apr 1, 2025Reported engrossed
Apr 2, 2025Received from the Senate
Apr 9, 2025Read first time
Apr 9, 2025Referred to Public Education
May 6, 2025Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
May 7, 2025Considered in public hearing
May 7, 2025Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee
May 7, 2025Left pending in committee
May 9, 2025Considered in formal meeting
May 9, 2025Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
May 9, 2025Vote reconsidered in committee
May 9, 2025Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
May 12, 2025Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator
May 13, 2025Committee report distributed
May 13, 2025Committee report sent to Calendars
May 15, 2025Considered in Calendars
May 19, 2025Placed on General State Calendar
May 19, 2025Read 2nd time
May 19, 2025Passed to 3rd reading
May 19, 2025Record vote RV#2955
May 19, 2025Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
May 20, 2025Read 3rd time
May 20, 2025Passed
May 20, 2025Record vote RV#3025
May 20, 2025House passage reported
May 20, 2025Reported enrolled
May 21, 2025Signed in the Senate
May 21, 2025Signed in the House
May 21, 2025Sent to the Governor
May 30, 2025Signed by the Governor
May 30, 2025Effective immediately

FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

SIGNED FOR BY

House · 145 yea · 0 nay

Senate · 31 yea · 0 nay

Sources

House: Final passage · May 20, 2025. Journal. Published stock for this vote. Snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

Senate: Final passage · Apr 1, 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

Angela Paxton

Donors

James Stanton$47,500Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC$40KGary Blake$30,000

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 27, 2024 to Jun 30, 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.

James Stanton$47,500.00

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC$40,000.00

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC

$40,000.00

Cash: $40,000.00
Paid by others: $0.00
Total: $40,000.00

Also funds 124 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 10, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team

Sources

Derived itemized flow · Dec 11, 2024 to Jun 30, 2025. 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: 100982305, 101012314.

Gary Blake$30,000.00

Money

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

×

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC

$40,000.00

Cash: $40,000.00
Paid by others: $0.00
Total: $40,000.00

Also funds 124 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 10, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team

Sources

Derived itemized flow · Dec 11, 2024 to Jun 30, 2025. 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: 100982305, 101012314.

Votes5

House May 20, 2025

Yea: 145
Nay: 0
Present, not voting: 2
Absent: 2
Excused: 1

Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 3025

SB 207 was passed by (Record 3025): 145 Yeas, 0 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.

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

Yea: 145 (published)
Nay: 0 (published)
Present, not voting: 2 (published)
Absent: 2 (derived from named list)
Excused: 1 (derived from named list)

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

House May 19, 2025

Yea: 141
Nay: 0
Present, not voting: 3
Absent: 2
Excused: 4

Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 2955

SB 207 was passed to third reading by (Record 2955): 141 Yeas, 0 Nays, 3 Present, not voting.

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

Yea: 141 (published)
Nay: 0 (published)
Present, not voting: 3 (published)
Absent: 2 (derived from named list)
Excused: 4 (derived from named list)

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

Senate Apr 1, 2025

Yea: 31
Nay: 0
Present, not voting: Not printed
Absent: Not printed
Excused: Not printed

Names

Senate journal

Names were not printed. No individual positions are inferred.

Sources

Senator Paxton moved that Senate Rule 7.18 and the Constitutional Rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended and that SB 207 be placed on its third reading and final passage. The motion prevailed by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0. The bill was read third time and was passed by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.

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

Yea: 31 (published)
Nay: 0 (published)
Present, not voting: Not printed
Absent: Not printed
Excused: Not printed

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

Senate Apr 1, 2025

Yea: 31
Nay: 0
Present, not voting: Not printed
Absent: Not printed
Excused: Not printed

Names

Senate journal

Names were not printed. No individual positions are inferred.

Sources

Senator Paxton moved that Senate Rule 7.18 and the Constitutional Rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended and that SB 207 be placed on its third reading and final passage. The motion prevailed by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.

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

Yea: 31 (published)
Nay: 0 (published)
Present, not voting: Not printed
Absent: Not printed
Excused: Not printed

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

Senate Apr 1, 2025

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.

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

Sources

The bill was read second time and was passed to engrossment by a viva voce vote.

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.

Witnesses82

For: 73
Against: 5
On: 4

Names

For

Association of Texas Professional Educators (ATPE)2 registrations
Baptist General Convention of Texas Christian Life Commission2 registrations
Children at Risk1 registration
Coalition of Texans with Disabilities2 registrations
Disability Rights Texas2 registrations
Girls Empowerment Network1 registration
IDRA (Intercultural Development Research Association)1 registration
Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA)1 registration
Methodist Healthcare Ministries1 registration
NAMI Texas2 registrations
National Association of Social Workers- Texas Chapter1 registration
National Association of Social Workers-Texas1 registration
Self22 registrations
Self; Autism Society of Texas1 registration
Self; Spark Change Project1 registration
Self; Students Engaged in Advancing Texas2 registrations
Self; Texas AFT1 registration
Self; Texas Association of School Psychologists1 registration
Self; Texas Association of School Psychologists (TASP)1 registration
Self; Texas Parent to Parent1 registration
Self; Texas School Nurses Organization1 registration
Texans Care for Children2 registrations
Texas Association of School Boards1 registration
Texas CASA2 registrations
Texas Classroom Teachers Association2 registrations
Texas Council of Community Centers1 registration
Texas Counseling Association2 registrations
Texas Health Resources1 registration
Texas Health Resources (THR)1 registration
Texas Hospital Association1 registration
Texas Medical Association1 registration
Texas Pediatric Society1 registration
Texas Psychological Association2 registrations
Texas PTA2 registrations
Texas State Teachers Assoc1 registration
Texas State Teachers Association1 registration
The Arc of Texas1 registration
The Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops1 registration
TX-American Federation of Teachers1 registration
United Ways of Texas1 registration

Against

Self5 registrations

On

Self1 registration
Texas Education Agency3 registrations

Sources

82 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 fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version E · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version E · May 2, 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 SB 1101

by Sen. Paxton, same lead author · Died in committee · same text

Introduced text

Last action, Mar 9, 2023: Referred to Education

Relating to excused absences from public school for certain students to attend mental health care appointments.

Caption, 88R bill history

Sources

Texas Senate · Filed Nov 12, 2024

05/30/2025 E Effective immediately

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

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

Coauthors

Molly CookDSenate 15

Sarah EckhardtDSenate 14

Juan "Chuy" HinojosaDSenate 20

José MenéndezDSenate 26

Mayes MiddletonRSenate 11

Companion

HB 5251 by Leo Wilson (identical)

Subjects

Education--Primary & Secondary--Admission & Attendance

Mental Health & Substance Abuse

Text

The text as introduced · 352 words

89R2507 ANG-F

By: Paxton, Johnson
S.B. No. 207

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to excused absences from public school for certain

students to attend mental health care appointments.

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

SECTION 1. Section 25.087(b), Education Code, is amended to

read as follows:

(b) A school district shall excuse a student from attending

school for:

(1) the following purposes, including travel for those

purposes:

(A) observing religious holy days;

(B) attending a required court appearance;

(C) appearing at a governmental office to

complete paperwork required in connection with the student's

application for United States citizenship;

(D) taking part in a United States naturalization

oath ceremony;

(E) serving as an election clerk; or

(F) if the student is in the conservatorship of

the Department of Family and Protective Services, participating, as

determined and documented by the department, in an activity:

(i) ordered by a court under Chapter 262 or

263, Family Code, provided that it is not practicable to schedule

the participation outside of school hours; or

(ii) required under a service plan under

Subchapter B, Chapter 263, Family Code;

(2) a temporary absence resulting from an appointment

with health care professionals , including mental health

professionals, for the student or the student's child if the

student commences classes or returns to school on the same day of

the appointment; or

(3) an absence resulting from a serious or

life-threatening illness or related treatment that makes the

student's attendance infeasible, if the student or the student's

parent or guardian provides a certification from a physician

licensed to practice medicine in this state specifying the

student's illness and the anticipated period of the student's

absence relating to the illness or related treatment.

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.

Verdict: No flags

The receipt

SOLD BY

ITEM

WHAT IT DOES

CHARGES

TOTAL

HISTORY

SIGNED FOR BY

Donors

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC

House May 20, 2025

House May 19, 2025

Senate Apr 1, 2025

Senate Apr 1, 2025

Senate Apr 1, 2025

For

Against

On

88R SB 1101

Companion