Victory! Important Parental Rights Priority Bills Signed by Governor Abbott into Law
Austin, TX – June 23, 2025: Over the weekend, Governor Greg Abbott signed Texas Values priority bills, SB 12 and SB 13, into law.
SB 12 by Senator Brandon Creighton, also known as the “Parental Bill of Rights,” is a comprehensive bill increasing parental involvement and control in their children’s education in public schools, including banning instruction and guidance on harmful sexual orientation and gender identity concepts.
SB 13 by Senator Paxton strengthens parental oversight in public school libraries to protect against student access to pornographic books and materials, and establishes local school library advisory councils to provide recommendations on library material standards and policies.
Jonathan Covey, Policy Director for Texas Values said:
“The Texas Parental Bill of Rights draws a clear line in the sand: activists and bureaucrats do not control the education of students – parents do. For too long, politicized gender ideology has influenced minds and discussions in the classrooms of Texas – but that is coming to an end. Governor Abbott’s signature on SB 12 ensures that we put parents in the driver’s seat and actual learning as the goal of public education.”
Mary Elizabeth Castle, Director of Government Relations for Texas Values said:
“Governor Abbott signing SB 13 into law is a huge win for parents who seem to face an unending problem of pornographic books in kid’s school libraries. This law will provide clearer guidelines for schools to follow when selecting and removing library books. We are confident that the law will be upheld in Court.”
Texas Values has spent years side by side with a broad coalition of parents battling school districts, such as Austin ISD, to prevent radical LGBT ideologies from being taught in public school textbooks. SB 12 now solves this issue with a clear legislative mandate. In addition, SB 13 fixes shortcomings of bills from previous sessions and makes it clear that parents have control over the library content their child may access.
Texas Values policy team members provided expert testimony and support for SB 12 and 13 during Texas Senate and House committee hearings and throughout the legislative process, and Texas Values was a leading statewide organization fighting for this crucial legislation.
Texas Values policy team is available for comment. Please contact Ashley at media@txvalues.org or 737-314-2450 (m) to schedule an interview.
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About Texas Values
Texas Values is the largest statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to standing for faith, family, and freedom in Texas. More information is available at txvalues.org.