To the Administrator Addressed (TAA) Correspondence

Required Trustee Parental Rights Training and Parental Rights Handbook Available

Parental Rights Training

Senate Bill 204, passed by the 89th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2025, added Texas Education Code (TEC), §11.159(b-2), requiring the State Board of Education (SBOE) to develop a training for school board trustees on the rights of a parent regarding the education of the parent's child. In April 2026, the SBOE adopted the new parental rights training.

The SBOE Parental Rights Training for School Board Trustees is now available on TEA Learn.

Trustees must meet the parental rights training requirement by completing the online course developed by the SBOE and provided by the Texas Education Agency (TEA).

Current trustees must complete the training, as required by Section 3 of Senate Bill 204. Newly elected trustees or appointed school board members must complete the training within 120 calendar days after election or appointment. For future election cycles, a candidate for school board may complete the training up to one year before he or she is elected or appointed.

Trustees who complete the training receive a certificate of completion from TEA Learn. School districts must maintain verification of completion of the parental rights training for each of their trustees.

To access TEA Learn courses, users must create a TEA Learn account and register for the applicable course. TEA Learn accounts are available to anyone who needs access to training. Guidance on account setup, course registration, and other frequently asked questions can be found on the TEA Learn Help Page. If you experience difficulties creating an account, registering for a course, or accessing training, you may also submit a Help Desk ticket through the same site for assistance: https://tealearn.zendesk.com/.

If you have questions about the training, please contact Corinne French, Director of Board Engagement, at boardtraining@tea.texas.gov.  

Parental Rights Handbook

Senate Bill 204 also added TEC, §26.0025, which requires TEA to create and maintain a handbook that explains all rights of a parent regarding the education of the parent's child. The handbook is now available on the agency’s website: TEA Parental Rights Handbook.

Senate Bill 12, passed by the 89th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2025, also required TEA to develop a form for use by school districts to provide information about parental rights and options to parents each school year. TEA has updated the Parental Rights and Options Information Form to include a link to the Parental Rights Handbook.

As a reminder, each district is required to provide the Parental Rights and Options Information Form to parents upon a child’s enrollment in the district for the first time and to the parent of each child enrolled in the district at the beginning of each school year. It further requires each district to post the form in a prominent location on the district’s website.