Dear SBISD parents, guardians, students and staff,

Legislation passed in the Regular Session of the 89th Texas Legislature yielded new laws impacting public school districts, students, parents, and staff. Outlined below are two of these laws and SBISD’s plans to implement them.

House Bill 1481 – Personal Communications Devices

For several years, SBISD Board policy has prohibited the use of personal wireless communications devices* during the school day for elementary and middle school students. With the passage of HB 1481, beginning this school year all SBISD students, including SBISD high school students, must keep their cell phones and other devices* turned off or silenced and stowed out of sight during the instructional day.

The law does provide exceptions for students with documented medical needs or special education/504 accommodations.

Violation of this law may result in disciplinary action in accordance with the SBISD Student Code of Conduct.

Please click here for FAQs regarding HB 1481.
*Devices include cell phones, smartwatches, smartglasses, tablets, wireless headphones or earbuds, radio devices, gaming devices, paging devices or any other electronic device capable of telecommunication or digital communication.

Senate Bill 12 – Parental Rights

SB 12 contains several new requirements related to parental rights. Today we are writing to inform you of a portion of the law – specifically around student clubs. SB 12 requires parent permission for all student club participation at all grade levels. SB 12 also bans student clubs “based on sexual orientation or gender identity.”

To comply with SB 12, SBISD parents and guardians will be notified when their student expresses interest in joining any co-curricular or non-curricular club. Parents/guardians will be required to submit a consent form that will be available in Skyward Family Access, and students will not be allowed to take part in club activities without such consent received in advance.

As an additional component of SB 12, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) is developing a Parent Handbook. We will share this handbook and any other information related to these new laws as we receive TEA guidance and/or related board policies are enacted by our Trustees in the weeks ahead.

How you can help.

Please speak with your children so they are prepared for the changes they can expect in the year ahead. Make sure your contact information is up to date with SBISD and your child’s campus since students will not be able to look up phone numbers on their phones during the instructional day. Additionally, please continue to look for more information forthcoming as new guidance is received from TEA.

We look forward to a great year ahead! We thank you in advance for your patience, understanding, partnership and support as we work to implement these and other new state laws.