Texans deserve to live in a state where teachers are paid fairly for their hard work, where the lights stay on during heavy rain and heat waves, and where every community has clean water. We deserve schools that reflect our full histories and identities. We deserve to live safely, speak freely, and be treated well, no matter who we are or where we come from.
But during the 89th Texas Legislative Session, a handful of politicians and their greedy corporate backers made decisions that will leave us worse off.
Instead of addressing the basic needs of Texans, they passed bills that punish educators, censor classroom lessons, target vulnerable communities, and limit our rights — while ignoring what we actually elected them to do.
What Passed and What It Means
Lawmakers threatened our free speech and religious freedom.
Legislators passed S.B. 10, requiring K-12 public schools to display a Protestant version of the Ten Commandments in every classroom. If Governor Abbott signs S.B. 10 into law, we will file suit to uphold our country’s constitutional commitment to the separation of church and state.
S.B. 11 creates space in K-12 public schools for organized prayer and Bible reading, making children from various religious or nonreligious backgrounds feel excluded in a place where they should feel safe, accepted, and free to be themselves.
S.B. 12 bans K-12 public school teachers and student groups from discussing or supporting topics related to race, gender, or sexual orientation. That means the law would prohibit LGBTQIA+ groups like Gay-Straight Alliances in public schools. The bill prohibits school employees from "assisting" a student's gender transition and could lead to some school districts trying to "out" trans and nonbinary students to their parents.
S.B. 13 sets up a process to remove books from K-12 public school libraries based on vague standards like “community values,” a tactic that overwhelmingly targets books by and about LGBTQIA+ people and communities of color.
At the college level, S.B. 2972 restricts student protest and public expression, in response to movements supporting Palestinian rights. The bill rolls back bipartisan free speech protections passed in 2019 and signed into law by Abbott.
Lawmakers launched cruel attacks against immigrant communities.
S.B. 8 requires local law enforcement to work directly with ICE, diverting limited resources while undermining public safety and community trust.
S.B. 1 added another $6.5 billion to the state’s already bloated border budget — despite the governor’s own argument that immigration enforcement should be handled by the federal government.
S.B. 17 prohibits the sale of land in Texas to people and companies from China, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and any other country the governor chooses to ban. The move essentially allows the Texas governor to dictate foreign policy while promoting racial profiling and discrimination based solely on someone’s nationality or political associations.
Lawmakers are trying to erase trans Texans.
H.B. 229 rewrites legal definitions of “male” and “female” in a way that removes recognition of trans people across state law.
S.B. 1257 imposes burdensome requirements on insurance companies providing gender-affirming care, in an attempt to increase barriers for adults to access essential and often life-saving treatment.
These policies don’t reflect what most Texans want. They reflect the priorities of a small group of politicians trying to dictate who belongs and who doesn’t in the second-most diverse state in the country.
Who is Harmed
While much of this legislation amounts to little more than bullying masquerading as policy, it’s still policy that makes it more difficult for a wide range of Texans — including children — to build a good life in our state.
- Trans youth have been pushed off medical care and are compelled to leave the state.
- Students and educators face escalating censorship, whether it’s through banning books or suppressing their protest rights.
- Immigrant families are subject to overwhelming levels of policing, surveillance, and harassment.
- People working to make ends meet are even more likely to end up behind bars in pretrial detention before they’ve even had their day in court.
What Didn’t Pass — But Still Matters
Some of the most dangerous bills didn’t make it into law this session, not because they weren’t serious threats, but because Texans showed up. We organized, spoke out, and made clear what kind of future we refuse to accept.
SJR 1 would have changed the Texas Constitution to allow judges to automatically deny bail to people perceived as immigrants. It relied on broad, unverified assumptions and would have led to more people being jailed for long periods without due process. Another bill would have stripped in-state tuition from undocumented students known as Dreamers, who are young Texans that have long called this state home.
Lawmakers also tried to criminalize support for abortion access, even when that support happened entirely outside Texas. The bill threatened to isolate people seeking care and punish anyone who helped them. S.B. 16 would have required voters to show documented proof of citizenship, such as a passport or birth certificate, to register to vote — which would have made it more difficult for young and elderly voters to cast a ballot in a state that’s already one of the hardest to vote in.
Other proposals targeted how LGBTQIA+ Texans live and participate in public life. Lawmakers introduced bills to ban trans people from using public restrooms that align with their gender identity, threatening dignity and safety. S.B. 18 sought to cut funding from public libraries that host events where drag performers read to children, censoring programs that celebrate reading, expression, and inclusion.
Our Work Continues
While Texas classrooms go without certified teachers and the grid continues to falter during extreme weather, lawmakers spent their time pushing bills that punish, exclude, and distract. They didn’t fix what’s broken — they chose to legislate their personal beliefs over the public good.
When elected officials use their power this way, it’s not just politics. It’s a failure to govern — and Texans pay the price.
These laws will continue to affect our classrooms, courtrooms, and communities. But we’re ready and working to help Texans stay informed, safe, and supported. From Amarillo to Brownsville and Beaumont to El Paso, we believe in a Texas that works for all of us — a Texas where each person has an equal say in the decisions that shape our future and everyone can build a good life.
The ACLU of Texas is working alongside you to create a better Texas for all of us. No exceptions.
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