Relating to public school policies and programs regarding the production or distribution of certain intimate visual material by public school students.
SB 747 amends the Education Code to address the production, distribution, and threatened release of intimate visual material involving public school students. The bill expands the definition of cyberbullying to include the creation or sharing of videos or images that depict, or appear to depict, another student with intimate parts exposed or engaged in sexual conduct, including material generated with artificial intelligence. It also authorizes removal from class, placement in a disciplinary alternative education program, or expulsion for a student who releases or threatens to release such material without consent.
The bill further requires the Texas Education Agency to update minimum standards for district anti-bullying policies so they specifically address incidents involving intimate images, including AI-generated content. It directs school districts to strengthen prevention, reporting, and response procedures, and it updates school-based educational programs to cover the legal and personal consequences of sharing sexual images of minors, the relationship between bullying and such conduct, and the risks posed by AI-generated intimate imagery. The bill applies beginning with the 2025-2026 school year.
SB 747 would modify multiple provisions in the Education Code governing bullying, cyberbullying, discipline, and school district policy requirements. It broadens the legal definition of cyberbullying, adds a new disciplinary basis for students who distribute or threaten to distribute nonconsensual intimate visual material, and requires school districts to include specific policy language and response procedures for these incidents. It also expands TEA and school program content to address AI-generated intimate images and the consequences of sharing sexual visual material, affecting students, districts, and school administrators statewide.
The available legislative history suggests the bill moved forward without recorded opposition in the provided vote data, and there are no committee transcript excerpts indicating controversy. The overall tone of the bill is preventative and protective, focusing on student safety, anti-bullying measures, and education about the harms of intimate image sharing. Its framing indicates broad support for stronger school responses to cyberbullying and nonconsensual image distribution, especially as it relates to emerging AI technology.
The main policy issues likely to draw scrutiny are the expanded disciplinary consequences for students, including expulsion, and the breadth of the cyberbullying definition as it applies to images that merely "appear to depict" a student. Another possible point of contention is the inclusion of AI-generated material, which raises questions about proof, intent, and false accusations. The bill also implicates the balance between school safety and student discipline, with school districts required to adopt more detailed policies, reporting mechanisms, and educational programming.