Text of TX HB 2659 (2023)

Relating to protection for a public school employee's refusal to participate in certain inclusivity policies.

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As introduced

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88R9185 PRL-D By: Leo-Wilson H.B. No. 2659 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT relating to protection for a public school employee's refusal to participate in certain inclusivity policies. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Subchapter Z, Chapter 22, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 22.903 to read as follows: Sec. 22.903. PROTECTION FOR REFUSAL TO PARTICIPATE IN CERTAIN INCLUSIVITY POLICIES. A school district or open-enrollment charter school may not discipline, retaliate against, or otherwise discriminate against a district or school employee who, because of the employee's sincerely held religious beliefs, refuses to: (1) complete the LGBTQ Inclusivity in Schools: A Self-Assessment Tool published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; or (2) implement a district or school policy based on a recommendation provided by that publication. SECTION 2. 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, 2023.