The gist
The 89th regular legislative session ran from January 2025 to June 2025 with over 1,000 bills signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott, according to Texas Legislature Online. Numerous bills impact Texas school districts and school boards.
During the KISD trustees’ regular Jan. 12 meeting, proposed changes were unanimously approved by trustees with board President Doug James absent.
Diving deeper
According to Jan. 13 meeting documents, modifications to local policies include:
- Raising the threshold for construction projects that need board approval from $50,000 to $100,000
- Adding language to the academic dishonesty policy to account for students using artificial intelligence programs to complete coursework without teacher permission
- Requiring teachers to share class syllabuses with district administrators and the parents of every student in their class and that parents be notified of each book their child checks out from the library
- Expanding the reasons district leaders can choose not renew contracts with employees, including if someone with a disability can’t fulfill major parts of their job, “with or without reasonable accommodation”
- Requirements that relevant campus staff and teachers be notified of threats made against a campus, even if they’re made via social media
