Relating to excused absences from public school for certain students to attend mental health care appointments.
Summary
SB 207 amends the Texas Education Code to require school districts to excuse a student’s temporary absence for an appointment with health care professionals, including mental health professionals, for the student or the student’s child, so long as the student returns to school the same day. The bill also preserves existing excused-absence categories for religious observances, court appearances, citizenship-related appointments, naturalization ceremonies, election clerk service, and certain Department of Family and Protective Services-related activities.
The bill further keeps in place the excused-absence rule for serious or life-threatening illness or related treatment when attendance is infeasible, provided the student or parent/guardian supplies a physician’s certification describing the illness and expected absence period. The new mental-health-related language broadens the scope of excused absences to explicitly include mental health care, while limiting the excuse to same-day return to school for that category of appointment.
Impact
SB 207 changes Section 25.087(b) of the Education Code by adding mental health professionals to the list of health care appointments that must be excused as temporary absences, affecting public school attendance policies statewide. School districts must treat qualifying same-day appointments for students or their children as excused absences, which may reduce attendance penalties and require districts to adjust attendance tracking and documentation practices. The bill applies beginning with the 2025-2026 school year and took effect immediately upon passage.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have received overwhelmingly positive and noncontroversial support. It passed the Senate unanimously and the House by a very large margin, with no recorded opposition in either chamber. The absence of committee transcript debate suggests the measure was broadly accepted as a student-support and mental-health access bill.
Contention
There is little evidence of substantive contention in the available record. The main policy choice reflected in the bill is the balance between supporting access to mental health care and limiting the excused absence to appointments that allow the student to return to school the same day. Any potential concern would likely center on attendance accountability and the administrative burden on districts, but no specific opposition or amendment disputes are shown in the voting history or committee materials.