Enforcing Your Rights - The Local Accountability and Compliance Act
Enforcing Parental Rights and Child Protections
The Texas Local Accountability and State-Law Compliance Act would give parents and directly affected residents a practical path to require their own school districts, public libraries, local governments, and contractors to follow clear and binding Texas law.
Executive Summary
The bill in a few paragraphs
What this proposal does
Texas regularly creates rights for parents and duties for school districts, public libraries, municipalities, counties, and other local bodies. A statutory command, however, is only as dependable as the mechanism available when a covered entity refuses or fails to carry it out. This proposal supplies one uniform, prospective civil-enforcement process for a clear, mandatory, objectively verifiable, currently enforceable duty imposed by the Texas Constitution, a state statute, a valid state rule or standard, or a qualifying final state order.
Ordinarily, an eligible parent or directly affected resident must first serve a verified compliance notice. The entity acknowledges it, preserves records, investigates, responds, and receives time to correct the problem. A complete and truthful cure can end the dispute without litigation. If the violation continues, threatens repetition, is falsely certified as corrected, or presents an emergency, a court may declare the duty, compel performance, issue an injunction, require a corrective plan and public proof, appoint limited monitoring when lesser remedies have failed, and award reasonable fees and costs. The Act does not create a private damages award or bounty.
The bill is broader than any single education or library measure. It is designed to enforce qualifying duties already in force and those enacted later. SB 12 and SB 13 from the 89th Legislature are important current examples: SB 12 strengthened parental-rights and public-school requirements, while SB 13 addressed school-library catalogs, acquisition and challenge procedures, advisory councils, and parent-directed access. This bill gives eligible local families and residents a defined way to insist that those duties—and other qualifying Texas mandates—are actually implemented. [SB 12 enrolled text] [SB 13 Senate enrolled bill analysis]
It also prevents evasion by contract: the public entity remains responsible, and a contractor performing the governmental function is directly accountable. The attorney general may intervene when statewide interpretation or a multi-jurisdictional pattern matters and may independently sue after repeat violations or defiance of a final order. Serious knowing misconduct triggers a due-process-compliant personnel investigation, while privacy rules, federal law, constitutional rights, exclusive statutory remedies, and legitimate discretion remain protected.
Why Enforcement Matters
Turning enacted rights into usable protections
The proposal begins from a straightforward premise: the Legislature should not declare a right or impose a mandatory duty and then leave families without a timely, practical way to secure compliance. Existing Texas law provides important remedies in particular settings—including declaratory relief under Chapter 37 and administrative appeals in public education—but those routes do not automatically create one uniform process for every clear local-government duty. [Civil Practice and Remedies Code, Chapter 37] [Education Code § 7.057]
Protecting Texas Children’s Behind the Shelves project illustrates the practical side of the problem. The organization offers parents and citizens book-content reports, a challenge guide, testimony resources, training, and local chapters intended to help them investigate and use existing school and library procedures. Those advocacy materials are not themselves law and would not become enforceable through this bill; rather, they can help a resident identify facts, preserve evidence, and invoke an actual binding requirement. [Protecting Texas Children, Behind the Shelves]
A book list, advocacy rating, model policy, press release, recommendation, or technical-assistance document does not create a claim. The plaintiff must identify an operative Texas requirement with the force of law, a definite mandatory duty, a covered entity, claimant eligibility, and a material failure to comply.
This distinction protects both sides. Parents gain a usable remedy when the law is clear; local officials are not exposed to litigation merely because someone disagrees with a discretionary decision, an advisory statement, or a political viewpoint.
Coverage and Standing
Who may act, against whom, and over what duty
| Question | Bill rule | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| What law qualifies? | A Texas constitutional provision, statute, duly adopted state rule/regulation/standard, or qualifying final order with the force of law. | Excludes guidance, recommendations, model policies, and invalid or enjoined provisions. |
| What duty qualifies? | A mandatory, objectively verifiable, nondiscretionary, currently enforceable act or omission with a definite standard. | Keeps courts focused on compliance rather than substituting judgment for local discretion. |
| Who is covered? | School districts, open-enrollment charter schools, municipalities, counties, specified public libraries and districts, other local governmental bodies subject to the duty, and contractors performing it. | Public duties cannot disappear through delegation or privatization. |
| Which parents? | A parent may enforce a child-specific duty for the parent’s child and qualifying public-facing parental duties of the child’s school system. | Connects the claim to the family actually protected by the law. |
| Which residents? | A directly affected resident within the covered entity’s jurisdiction and within the class protected or benefited by the underlying requirement. | Rejects unrestricted statewide ideological standing. |
| What time horizon? | Qualifying law in force when the Act takes effect and qualifying law enacted or adopted later. | Creates a durable enforcement engine rather than a one-bill remedy. |
For school-library duties, the bill expressly recognizes parents and, for specified district-wide transparency or participation duties, affected district residents. For municipal, county, joint, contracted, or district public libraries, the resident must live in the served jurisdiction and either use or be eligible to use the service, pay supporting taxes, or otherwise belong to the protected class. Existing Texas codes separately govern municipal, county, and multi-jurisdictional library structures. [Local Government Code, Chapter 315] [Local Government Code, Chapter 323] [Local Government Code, Chapter 336]
How the Process Works
Notice, investigation, cure, and court enforcement
- Identify the duty and claimant. The notice must identify the binding requirement, definite duty, covered entity, claimant’s qualifying relationship, facts, requested correction, and available nonprivileged evidence.
- Serve verified notice. The claimant signs under penalty of perjury and delivers the notice to the designated compliance officer and appropriate officials.
- Acknowledge and preserve. The entity acknowledges receipt within five business days and immediately preserves relevant records.
- Investigate and respond. A substantive response is due within 15 business days; one fact-specific extension of no more than 10 business days is allowed for the investigation.
- Correct the violation. The ordinary cure period is 30 calendar days. Specified complex actions may extend completion to day 60, but the entity must document reasons, safeguards, milestones, and a final date.
- Publish proof. The entity supplies a certification and meaningful public proof while redacting confidential information.
- Litigate only if necessary. A complete, timely cure generally bars suit. A claim remains available for repeat violations, false certification, concealment, retaliation, incomplete correction, or another continuing need for relief.
A claimant may seek temporary relief without waiting through the ordinary process when delay risks imminent or ongoing child harm, action without legally required parental consent, disclosure of protected information, loss of a time-sensitive right, destruction or alteration of evidence, or retaliation.
| Stage | Default deadline | Protection |
|---|---|---|
| Acknowledgment | 5 business days | Names responsible offices and triggers record preservation. |
| Substantive response | 15 business days | States admitted/denied facts, legal position, interim safeguards, plan, and investigations. |
| Response extension | Up to 10 business days once | Requires specific written reasons. |
| Ordinary cure | 30 calendar days | Technical assistance does not stop the clock. |
| Complex cure | No later than day 60 | Only for specified governance, procurement, systems, contract, or intergovernmental needs. |
| Verification request | 10 business days | Allows one reasonably specific request testing the correction. |
Section-by-Section Guide
What every part of the draft does
| Bill section | Function | Practical effect |
|---|---|---|
| §§ 1–2 | Titles, findings, and purposes. | Defines the compliance-first objective, claimant groups, contractor rule, prospective remedies, and serious personnel accountability. |
| § 3 / Ch. 143B, Subch. A | Definitions, coverage, compliance officers, technical assistance, and nondelegation. | Creates the core legal vocabulary; covers future qualifying law; keeps both government and contractor responsible. |
| Subch. B | Verified notice, acknowledgment, record preservation, response, cure, proof, safe harbor, and emergencies. | Builds a structured off-ramp that favors correction before litigation while preserving urgent relief. |
| Subch. C | Claimants, defendants, proof, administrative coordination, remedies, fees, immunity, venue, limitations, defenses, and retaliation. | Creates the civil action, defines standing, and authorizes prospective court orders—not private damages. |
| Subch. D | Employee, administrator, and contractor accountability. | Requires investigation and disposition; allows suspension or termination and creates a rebuttable presumption for specified egregious knowing misconduct, subject to due process. |
| Subch. E | Referrals, privacy, exclusions, cumulative remedies, construction, and attorney-general authority. | Routes suspected misconduct to the proper body, protects confidential records, prevents double recovery, and permits state intervention or narrow independent enforcement. |
| § 4 | Education Code parental-rights cross-reference. | Makes clear that qualifying mandatory parental rights under Chapters 26 and 26A can use Chapter 143B. |
| § 5 | School-grievance coordination. | Preserves grievance rights and coordinates those proceedings with the civil compliance action. |
| § 6 | School-library enforcement cross-reference. | Connects qualifying Chapter 33 duties to the enforcement process without making the list exclusive. |
| § 7 | Educator-discipline coordination. | Connects final compliance findings to required employment and licensing processes. |
| §§ 8–10 | Municipal, county, and multi-jurisdictional public libraries. | Requires a compliance officer and provides enforcement cross-references for qualifying state-law duties in each library structure. |
| § 11 | Government Code attorney-general authority. | Cross-references intervention and enforcement powers in the attorney general’s governing code. |
| § 12 | Implementation and technical assistance. | Directs state support while confirming that assistance does not become binding law or extend deadlines. |
| § 13 | Contract transition. | Requires new or renewed covered contracts to carry compliance terms and avoids treating omitted terms as a defense. |
| §§ 14–16 | Severability, transition, and effective date. | Preserves unaffected provisions, governs pending circumstances, and sets prospective implementation. |
Available relief
When a claimant proves a violation, the court may declare the duty and noncompliance, issue temporary or permanent injunctions, order performance of a ministerial duty, require a corrective plan, direct correction of records or systems, preserve and lawfully produce evidence, require public posting, and—only after repeated failures or defiance—appoint a limited monitor. The prevailing claimant may recover reasonable attorney’s fees and costs, and immunity is waived only to the extent stated for this prospective action.
Personnel accountability
A final finding does not automatically erase due process or decide criminal guilt. It triggers an employment or contractor-personnel investigation. Suspension or termination remains available, and specified knowing conduct—such as child-safety violations, retaliation, falsification, concealment, destruction of evidence, or repeated intentional defiance—creates a rebuttable presumption favoring serious discipline. Referrals go to the agency or official that already possesses the relevant criminal, licensing, records, or professional jurisdiction.
SB 12 and SB 13
How the new enforcement engine connects to 89th Legislature protections
SB 12 and SB 13 are examples—not the outer limit—of the proposed Act. The actual text of the underlying law controls, and any provision that is stayed, enjoined, invalidated, repealed, expired, or superseded is outside Chapter 143B while that legal disability remains. [SB 12 enrolled text] [SB 13 Senate enrolled bill analysis]
| 89th Legislature subject | Potential enforceable duty | Eligible local connection | Proposed bill route |
|---|---|---|---|
| SB 12: parental rights and required school procedures | A specific, operative, mandatory notice, consent, access, records, instruction, counseling, health-service, privacy, participation, or implementation requirement. | Parent of the child; for a qualifying public-facing school duty, parent of a child enrolled in or served by the system. | Education Code §§ 26.013 and 26A.005 plus Chapter 143B notice, cure, and civil relief. |
| SB 13: school-library catalog and acquisition transparency | A definite district-wide catalog, acquisition, meeting, disclosure, or participation duty. | Parent of an enrolled/served child or an affected district resident within the protected class. | Education Code § 33.028 and Chapter 143B. |
| SB 13: parent-directed access and child-specific restrictions | A mandatory duty governing the parent’s child’s catalog access, checkout records, permission, or restriction. | Parent or person standing in parental relation to that child. | Child-specific claim under § 143B.051(a), with emergency relief if delay creates the listed harms. |
| SB 13: local advisory council or challenge procedure | A mandatory creation, membership, notice, meeting, review, or procedural duty stated in operative law. | The person whom the underlying law authorizes to participate or benefit. | District-wide claim, subject to notice and cure. |
Chapter 26 of the Education Code establishes parental rights, while Chapter 33 contains school-library provisions and Chapter 26A contains grievance procedures. The draft deliberately cross-references those chapters while preserving the Commissioner of Education’s role when a dispute actually requires educational-policy judgment or review of a discretionary board decision. [Education Code, Chapter 26] [Education Code, Chapter 33] [Education Code, Chapter 26A]
If an HD109 school district or public library has a clear duty under operative Texas law, eligible local parents and directly affected residents would not have to rely solely on repeated requests, political pressure, or an undefined escalation path. They would have a documented notice, investigation, cure, proof, and—when necessary—court-enforcement process.
Safeguards and Limits
Accountability without an unlimited cause of action
- No generalized grievance: the parent or resident must satisfy the bill’s relationship and direct-effect rules.
- No enforcement of advice: guidance, model policies, recommendations, press releases, and technical-assistance documents do not qualify.
- No attack on lawful discretion: the duty must be mandatory and objectively verifiable.
- No invalid-law claims: stayed, enjoined, invalidated, repealed, expired, or superseded requirements are excluded.
- No damages bounty: relief is prospective and compliance-oriented.
- No double recovery: cumulative remedies remain available only without duplicate recovery for the same injury.
- No privacy waiver: redaction, aggregation, pseudonyms, protective orders, and existing confidentiality laws remain controlling.
- No criminal adjudication: civil findings may support referrals but do not decide guilt or alter another offense’s elements.
- No displaced exclusive remedy: when another Texas law expressly makes a remedy exclusive, that legislative choice remains controlling.
- No override of superior law: constitutional rights, federal law, and controlling court orders are preserved.
The bill also gives local entities real incentives to solve problems promptly: a complete and timely cure ordinarily bars litigation, technical assistance is available regardless of entity size, and good-faith reasonable reliance may matter to fees or personnel consequences even though it does not excuse ongoing noncompliance.
Proposed Legislation
Draft Version 2 legislation module
Sponsor review draft
The embedded card below reproduces the supplied Version 2 legislation module. The proposal is not filing-ready until reviewed by the Texas Legislative Council; section numbering, cross-references, definitions, captions, effective-date language, and conforming amendments remain subject to professional drafting review.
Texas Local Accountability and State-Law Compliance Act
Rep. Will Campbell · House District 109 · Draft for the 90th Texas Legislature
By: ___________________H.B. No. _____
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to enforcement by parents, certain affected residents, and the attorney general of mandatory state-law duties imposed on school districts, open-enrollment charter schools, public libraries, contractors performing governmental functions, and certain local governmental entities; providing for notice and an opportunity to cure, declaratory and injunctive relief, corrective action, monitoring, employee discipline including suspension or termination, referrals, attorney's fees and costs, attorney general intervention and enforcement, technical assistance, and a waiver of sovereign and governmental immunity.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the Texas Local Accountability and State-Law Compliance Act and may also be known as the Parental Rights and Child Protection Enforcement Act.
SECTION 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) The legislature finds that:
(1) the Texas Constitution, state statutes, and lawfully adopted or issued state rules, regulations, standards, orders, and directives impose mandatory duties on school districts, open-enrollment charter schools, public libraries, municipalities, counties, library districts, special districts, local governmental corporations, education service centers, other local governmental entities, and persons performing governmental functions under contract;
(2) a right or protection is ineffective when a covered local governmental entity, contractor, or responsible employee may materially disregard a clear legal duty without a timely and practical means to compel compliance;
(3) parents should have an enforceable means to protect rights concerning their own children, including rights involving notice, consent, records, instruction, counseling, health-related services, school-library materials, access restrictions, safety, and privacy;
(4) residents directly affected by a public-facing duty should have an enforceable means to require their own school district, public library, municipality, county, district, or other covered local governmental entity to perform that duty;
(5) a covered local governmental entity may not avoid a mandatory state-law duty by delegating performance to a contractor, nonprofit operator, management company, charter holder, interlocal entity, or other third party;
(6) local notice and voluntary correction should ordinarily precede litigation;
(7) technical assistance may help local entities achieve prompt compliance, but assistance may not excuse, postpone, or diminish a mandatory legal duty;
(8) enforcement should secure compliance, correction, transparency, and accountability rather than provide a private damages award or bounty;
(9) knowing or intentional defiance, concealment, retaliation, falsification, repeated noncompliance, and knowing violations affecting child safety warrant serious employment consequences, including suspension or termination after applicable due process; and
(10) civil compliance proceedings should preserve and transmit evidence of possible criminal, licensing, educator, records, or other misconduct without determining criminal guilt or changing the elements of another offense.
(b) The purposes of this Act are to:
(1) create a uniform procedure through which an eligible parent or affected resident may compel performance of a clear, mandatory, currently enforceable duty imposed by a binding state requirement, whether the requirement exists on the effective date of this Act or takes effect afterward;
(2) provide a covered entity a prompt opportunity to investigate and correct noncompliance;
(3) require public proof of correction while protecting confidential information;
(4) authorize effective prospective relief and reasonable enforcement costs without authorizing damages under this Act;
(5) ensure that contracting, delegation, privatization, or interlocal performance does not defeat compliance or accountability;
(6) authorize the attorney general to intervene in an action presenting an issue of statewide importance and to bring an independent action after a repeat violation or defiance of a final order;
(7) require a due-process-compliant investigation and disciplinary disposition for responsible employees and administrators, with suspension or termination available and presumptively required for specified egregious misconduct; and
(8) preserve constitutional rights, federal law, controlling court orders, exclusive statutory remedies, and lawful discretionary authority.
SECTION 3. CIVIL PRACTICE AND REMEDIES CODE.
Title 6, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is amended by adding Chapter 143B to read as follows:
CHAPTER 143B. ENFORCEMENT OF MANDATORY STATE-LAW DUTIES BY CERTAIN LOCAL GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES AND CONTRACTORS
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 143B.001. SHORT TITLE.
This chapter may be cited as the Texas Local Accountability and State-Law Compliance Act.
Sec. 143B.002. DEFINITIONS.
In this chapter:
(1) “Affected resident” means an individual who:
(A) resides within the territorial jurisdiction of the covered local governmental entity against which relief is sought; and
(B) has a statutory interest in, uses, is eligible to use, pays taxes supporting, or is directly affected by the public service, facility, process, record, protection, or benefit to which the covered state-law duty applies.
(2) “Binding state requirement” means a requirement imposed by:
(A) a provision of the Texas Constitution;
(B) a statute of this state;
(C) a rule, regulation, standard, or other generally applicable requirement that:
(i) is duly adopted by a state agency, the State Board of Education, or another state officer or body with rulemaking authority;
(ii) is within the adopting officer's or body's lawful authority; and
(iii) has the force and effect of law; or
(D) a final order or directive that:
(i) is lawfully issued by a state agency, state officer, or state body under express constitutional or statutory authority;
(ii) applies to the covered entity or to a class that includes the covered entity;
(iii) requires compliance by the covered entity; and
(iv) has the force and effect of law.
The term includes a requirement described by Paragraphs (A)-(D) that is in effect on the effective date of this chapter or that takes effect afterward. The term does not include nonbinding guidance, a model policy, a press release, a recommendation, informal correspondence, a technical-assistance document, an advisory statement, or a local policy except as provided by Subdivision (11).
(3) “Child-specific duty” means a covered state-law duty concerning a particular child's parental notice, consent, records, instruction, counseling, health-related service, privacy, school-library use, library-access restriction, safety, or another right held by the child's parent, guardian, or person standing in parental relation.
(4) “Contractor” means a private person, nonprofit organization, management company, charter holder, interlocal entity, or other nongovernmental or governmental person that, under a contract, grant, memorandum, delegation, interlocal agreement, or other arrangement, performs or administers a governmental function or covered state-law duty for or on behalf of a covered local governmental entity. The term includes a subcontractor to the extent the subcontractor performs the function or duty.
(5) “Covered entity” means a covered local governmental entity or a contractor performing a covered state-law duty for or on behalf of a covered local governmental entity.
(6) “Covered local governmental entity” means:
(A) a school district;
(B) an open-enrollment charter school, including the charter holder, governing body, and management company, when performing a public-education duty imposed by state law;
(C) a municipality or county;
(D) a municipal public library, county library, joint library, multi-jurisdictional library district, or another public library operated, funded, or controlled by a political subdivision;
(E) a special district, local governmental corporation, education service center, interlocal entity, or other political subdivision expressly subject to a covered state-law duty; or
(F) another local governmental entity or local public body subject to a covered state-law duty.
(7) “Covered state-law duty” means a mandatory, objectively verifiable, nondiscretionary act or omission required of a covered entity by a binding state requirement that is currently enforceable and that identifies or permits a court to identify a definite standard of performance.
(8) “Eligible claimant” means a person authorized by Section 143B.051.
(9) “Knowing noncompliance” means that a responsible employee or responsible official:
(A) had actual knowledge of the covered state-law duty and the material facts constituting noncompliance; and
(B) intentionally refused to perform the duty or failed to take reasonable corrective action after verified notice and a reasonable opportunity to correct.
(10) “Parent” includes a parent, guardian, or person standing in parental relation to a child.
(11) “Required implementation policy” means a local policy, procedure, plan, or operational control that a binding state requirement requires a covered entity to adopt, maintain, or follow. A required implementation policy is enforceable under this chapter only to the extent necessary to perform the underlying covered state-law duty.
(12) “Repeat violation” means materially similar noncompliance occurring after:
(A) a complete or purported cure;
(B) a final judicial or administrative order;
(C) a prior substantiated verified notice; or
(D) a written disciplinary disposition concerning the same or a substantially similar duty.
(13) “Responsible employee” means an officer, administrator, supervisor, employee, contractor, subcontractor, or agent whose assigned duties include performing, implementing, supervising, certifying, or ensuring compliance with the covered state-law duty.
(14) “Responsible official” means the officer or member of a governing body who has legal authority to provide prospective relief or compel the covered entity's compliance.
(15) “Substantially prevailing claimant” means an eligible claimant who obtains:
(A) a final judgment granting material relief on the merits; or
(B) material correction after suit is filed when the court finds that the suit was a substantial factor in obtaining the correction.
Sec. 143B.003. APPLICABILITY; CONTINUING COVERAGE.
(a) This chapter applies only to a covered state-law duty owed by a covered entity.
(b) This chapter applies to a required implementation policy only as provided by Section 143B.002(11).
(c) This chapter does not create a substantive restriction on constitutionally protected speech or expression. It provides a remedy only for performance of a covered state-law duty created independently of this chapter.
(d) Subject to Section 143B.103, this chapter applies to a binding state requirement in effect on the effective date of this chapter and to a binding state requirement enacted, adopted, or lawfully issued after that date. A separate amendment to this chapter is not required for a later binding state requirement to be enforceable under this chapter.
(e) The applications expressly identified elsewhere in this Act, including parental-rights, public-education, school-library, and public-library applications, are illustrative and not exclusive. This chapter applies across subject matters to every covered state-law duty that satisfies this chapter.
(f) The fact that a particular code provision does not contain a cross-reference to this chapter does not by itself preclude enforcement of a covered state-law duty imposed by that provision.
Sec. 143B.004. DESIGNATION OF COMPLIANCE OFFICER.
(a) Each covered local governmental entity shall designate an officer or employee to receive verified notices under this chapter and shall conspicuously post the person's name, title, mailing address, electronic-mail address, and telephone number on the entity's Internet website.
(b) Failure to make the designation does not defeat notice if the notice is delivered to the entity's chief administrative officer and presiding officer.
Sec. 143B.005. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.
(a) A state agency or state officer with jurisdiction over a binding state requirement may provide a covered entity technical assistance, model forms, nonbinding compliance checklists, or training concerning that requirement or this chapter.
(b) The attorney general may publish a model verified-compliance notice, model acknowledgment, model compliance certification, and general training materials concerning this chapter.
(c) Technical assistance under this section:
(1) is advisory and does not have the force of law unless separately adopted under lawful rulemaking authority;
(2) does not extend a deadline, excuse noncompliance, create a safe harbor, or establish a defense; and
(3) may not delay immediate record preservation or action necessary to prevent child harm, action without legally required parental consent, retaliation, or destruction or alteration of evidence.
(d) A covered entity may request assistance regardless of population, enrollment, revenue, or service-area size. No population-based extension applies under this chapter.
Sec. 143B.006. NONDELEGATION OF COMPLIANCE; CONTRACTORS.
(a) A covered local governmental entity remains legally responsible for complete performance of each covered state-law duty imposed on the entity regardless of whether performance is assigned, contracted, delegated, privatized, or transferred to a contractor.
(b) A contractor performing or administering a covered state-law duty:
(1) is independently subject to this chapter to the extent of the contracted or delegated function;
(2) shall comply with notice, investigation, preservation, correction, certification, employee-accountability, referral, and court-order requirements applicable to that function; and
(3) may be joined as a defendant when necessary to obtain complete prospective relief.
(c) The covered local governmental entity and contractor are jointly responsible for complete prospective compliance. Allocation of responsibility, indemnity, insurance, or reimbursement between them does not limit a claimant's right to obtain relief under this chapter.
(d) A covered local governmental entity shall actively supervise a contractor's performance of a covered state-law duty and shall use available contractual remedies to secure compliance, including corrective action, withholding payment when authorized, suspension, nonrenewal, or termination of the contract when warranted.
(e) A contract entered into, renewed, or materially amended on or after the effective date of this chapter that includes performance of a covered state-law duty must require the contractor and each subcontractor to:
(1) comply with this chapter;
(2) preserve and provide lawful access to relevant records;
(3) cooperate with notices, investigations, court proceedings, monitoring, and referrals;
(4) implement corrective action;
(5) conduct the employee-accountability process required by this chapter for its responsible personnel; and
(6) acknowledge that contracting does not relieve the covered local governmental entity of the underlying duty.
(f) Failure to include a required contractual term does not limit the application of this chapter, relieve either person of a covered state-law duty, or provide a defense.
SUBCHAPTER B. NOTICE, INVESTIGATION, AND CURE
Sec. 143B.021. VERIFIED COMPLIANCE NOTICE.
(a) Except as provided by Section 143B.028 or 143B.107, an eligible claimant must provide a verified compliance notice before filing an action under this chapter.
(b) The notice must state, to the best of the claimant's knowledge:
(1) the binding state requirement and covered state-law duty at issue;
(2) the covered entity and, if known, each responsible office, contractor, or employee;
(3) the material facts constituting the alleged noncompliance;
(4) how the claimant qualifies under Section 143B.051;
(5) the affected child, service, public right, or legally protected interest, using initials or another protected identifier when appropriate;
(6) the corrective action requested; and
(7) the supporting nonprivileged evidence reasonably available to the claimant.
(c) The claimant shall sign the notice under penalty of perjury.
Sec. 143B.022. DELIVERY AND ACKNOWLEDGMENT.
(a) The claimant shall deliver the notice by a method providing proof of delivery to:
(1) the designated compliance officer;
(2) the chief administrative officer;
(3) the presiding officer of the governing body;
(4) the general counsel, if the entity employs or retains general counsel; and
(5) each known contractor materially responsible for performing the duty.
(b) Not later than the fifth business day after receipt, the covered local governmental entity shall acknowledge the notice in writing and identify the official responsible for the review. A responsible contractor shall provide the covered local governmental entity and claimant the name of the contractor's reviewing official within the same period.
(c) Omission of a contractor from the notice does not defeat the claim against the covered local governmental entity and does not prevent later joinder of the contractor if the claimant did not reasonably know the contractor's identity or role.
Sec. 143B.023. RECORD PRESERVATION.
(a) Receipt of a verified compliance notice imposes a duty on each covered entity and each person with custody or control of potentially relevant records to suspend routine destruction and preserve relevant evidence.
(b) Relevant evidence may include contracts, subcontracts, policies, procedures, electronic mail, text or other electronic messages, access logs, circulation records, catalogs, challenge records, meeting notices and recordings, training records, consent forms, certifications, invoices, performance reports, and disciplinary records.
(c) This section does not make a confidential record public or authorize disclosure contrary to state or federal law. The covered entity shall preserve the record in its original form and may provide a redacted or protected copy when disclosure is authorized or ordered.
Sec. 143B.024. INVESTIGATION AND SUBSTANTIVE RESPONSE.
(a) The covered local governmental entity shall conduct or ensure a good-faith investigation and provide a substantive written response not later than the 20th business day after receipt.
(b) Each responsible contractor shall cooperate and provide the entity all information reasonably necessary for the response.
(c) The response must:
(1) admit or deny each material allegation;
(2) identify the governing legal requirement and material evidence considered;
(3) identify each responsible governmental office and contractor;
(4) state whether corrective action is required;
(5) identify each corrective action, responsible office or contractor, and completion date; and
(6) state whether an employment, contract, licensing, or referral investigation has been opened.
(d) The entity may extend the response deadline once for not more than 10 business days by written notice stating specific facts showing why additional investigation is reasonably necessary. An extension does not extend an emergency deadline ordered by a court.
Sec. 143B.025. CURE PERIOD.
(a) Except as provided by Section 143B.028, the covered entity has 30 calendar days after acknowledgment to complete correction.
(b) The covered local governmental entity may extend completion to not later than the 60th calendar day after acknowledgment only if correction reasonably requires action at a properly posted governing-body meeting, rulemaking, procurement, material system modification, contract modification, or coordination with another governmental body. Before the 30th day, the entity must give the claimant written reasons, interim safeguards, milestones, and a final completion date.
(c) An extension may not permit continuation of avoidable harm to a child, action without legally required parental consent, retaliation, or destruction or alteration of evidence.
(d) A request for or receipt of technical assistance does not extend a deadline.
Sec. 143B.026. PUBLIC PROOF OF CORRECTION.
(a) A cure is complete only when the covered local governmental entity and, when applicable, the responsible contractor:
(1) perform the covered state-law duty;
(2) correct each policy, practice, record, contract control, access control, catalog, notice, form, training requirement, or operational deficiency necessary to prevent recurrence;
(3) provide the claimant a written compliance certification signed under penalty of perjury by the chief administrative officer or the officer's designee and by an authorized officer of each responsible contractor;
(4) identify the corrective action, responsible office or contractor, completion date, and evidence of implementation; and
(5) post a redacted compliance certification and supporting nonconfidential proof in an accessible location on the governmental entity's Internet website for at least two years.
(b) The certification may not disclose information made confidential by law. The entity shall use redaction, aggregation, pseudonyms, protective orders, or another lawful method to provide meaningful proof without disclosing protected information.
(c) The claimant may make one written request for reasonably specific verification. The covered entity shall respond not later than the 10th business day after receipt.
Sec. 143B.027. SAFE HARBOR.
(a) A complete and timely cure under Section 143B.026 bars an action concerning the corrected occurrence unless the claimant shows:
(1) a repeat violation;
(2) a materially false certification;
(3) concealment or destruction of material evidence;
(4) retaliation;
(5) a continuing or threatened injury not corrected by the purported cure; or
(6) failure to correct a contractor-control deficiency that permits recurrence.
(b) Correction after suit is filed does not automatically moot a claim for reasonable fees and costs incurred to obtain compliance or the court's authority to verify completion and prevent repetition.
Sec. 143B.028. EMERGENCY ACTION.
(a) An eligible claimant may file an action without awaiting expiration of a notice or cure period if specific facts show that delay presents a substantial risk of:
(1) imminent harm to a child;
(2) continued action without legally required parental consent;
(3) repeated exposure or denial likely to recur before the cure period expires;
(4) unlawful disclosure, concealment, or withholding of protected information;
(5) destruction or material alteration of evidence; or
(6) retaliation.
(b) If practicable, the claimant shall provide the notice required by Section 143B.021 before filing. The court may require an abbreviated response or cure consistent with protection from imminent harm.
SUBCHAPTER C. CIVIL ACTION
Sec. 143B.051. ELIGIBLE CLAIMANTS; STATUTORY INTEREST.
(a) A parent may bring an action concerning a child-specific duty owed with respect to the parent's child.
(b) A parent of a child enrolled in or served by a school district, open-enrollment charter school, or contractor performing a public-education function may bring an action concerning a district-wide or school-wide mandatory duty governing parental access, school-library catalogs, library-material acquisition, child-specific library restrictions, checkout records, challenge procedures, required parental participation, or another public-facing parental right.
(c) An affected resident of a school district may bring an action concerning a mandatory district-wide school-library catalog, acquisition, challenge, meeting, transparency, or public-access duty if the resident is within the class that the underlying law authorizes to participate in or benefit from that duty.
(d) An affected resident may bring an action concerning a mandatory public-facing duty of a municipal, county, joint, contracted, or district public library serving the jurisdiction in which the resident lives if the resident:
(1) is eligible to use or pays taxes supporting the library service; and
(2) alleges a concrete denial of, interference with, or material risk to a statutory interest created for residents, patrons, parents, children, or the public served by that library.
(e) An affected resident may bring an action concerning another covered local governmental entity or its contractor only if the resident is directly affected by the particular duty and is within the class protected or benefited by the binding state requirement.
(f) The statutory interests created by this section are personal to the eligible claimant and are sufficient to seek the prospective relief authorized by this chapter. This section does not authorize a statewide abstract grievance or an action based solely on disagreement with a discretionary policy choice.
(g) Eligibility under this section does not depend on whether the binding state requirement was enacted, adopted, or lawfully issued before, on, or after the effective date of this chapter.
Sec. 143B.052. DEFENDANTS.
(a) An action must be brought against the covered local governmental entity.
(b) A responsible contractor may be joined when necessary for complete prospective relief. Joinder does not relieve the covered local governmental entity of responsibility.
(c) A responsible official may be named only in the official's official capacity and only when necessary to provide prospective relief.
(d) This chapter does not create personal civil liability or a damages claim against an employee, administrator, trustee, librarian, contractor employee, or other individual.
Sec. 143B.053. ELEMENTS.
An eligible claimant must plead and prove by a preponderance of the evidence:
(1) a currently enforceable covered state-law duty;
(2) qualification under Section 143B.051;
(3) a material act or omission constituting noncompliance;
(4) compliance with Subchapter B or facts supporting Section 143B.028; and
(5) continuing injury, threatened repetition, incomplete correction, false certification, retaliation, or another legally cognizable need for relief.
Sec. 143B.054. ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDINGS.
(a) The notice-and-cure procedure under this chapter satisfies any requirement to exhaust a local grievance or administrative remedy before an action seeking performance of a ministerial covered state-law duty, unless the statute creating the duty expressly makes another remedy exclusive.
(b) A dispute requiring educational-policy judgment, review of the merits of a discretionary board decision, or another determination committed by law to the commissioner of education remains subject to Section 7.057, Education Code, and other applicable law.
(c) Filing a grievance does not waive relief under this chapter. Time reasonably spent pursuing a grievance concerning the same facts tolls a deadline under this chapter.
Sec. 143B.055. RELIEF.
(a) On finding a violation, the court shall grant the relief reasonably necessary to secure complete and durable compliance and may:
(1) declare the covered duty and the material noncompliance;
(2) issue temporary or permanent injunctive relief;
(3) order performance of a ministerial duty;
(4) approve and enforce a written corrective-action plan with deadlines, milestones, and responsible offices and contractors;
(5) order correction of policies, contracts, contractor controls, access controls, catalogs, notices, forms, training, records practices, or required implementation policies;
(6) order preservation and lawful production of relevant nonprivileged evidence;
(7) order public posting of the final order, corrective plan, milestones, and completion certification with redactions required by law;
(8) appoint a qualified independent monitor for a repeat violation, materially false certification, intentional concealment, retaliation, or knowing noncompliance if less intrusive relief is inadequate;
(9) order the employee-accountability process required by Section 143B.081;
(10) order a covered local governmental entity to exercise lawful contract oversight or remedies necessary to secure compliance; and
(11) grant relief against a responsible contractor necessary to perform the delegated duty.
(b) The court may retain jurisdiction for a reasonable period to verify completion.
(c) The court may not under this chapter award compensatory, punitive, exemplary, or statutory damages; a civil penalty payable to the claimant; or a relator's share or bounty.
Sec. 143B.056. ATTORNEY'S FEES AND COSTS.
(a) The court shall award a substantially prevailing claimant reasonable and necessary attorney's fees, taxable court costs, reasonably necessary expert fees, and reasonable pre-suit investigation expenses directly related to establishing the violation.
(b) A defendant may recover fees only as authorized by generally applicable sanctions law or on a finding, supported by written reasons, that the claim was frivolous, groundless, and brought in bad faith.
(c) A claimant may not recover the same fee or expense more than once under this chapter and another law.
(d) The attorney general may not recover attorney's fees from the state but may recover taxable court costs and reasonable investigation expenses from a covered entity found to have defied a final order or committed a repeat violation, to the extent permitted by law.
Sec. 143B.057. IMMUNITY WAIVER.
(a) Sovereign and governmental immunity to suit are waived clearly and unambiguously for a claim brought in accordance with this chapter by an eligible claimant or the attorney general and only to the extent of the declaratory, injunctive, specific-performance, corrective-action, compliance-verification, monitoring, contract-oversight, attorney's-fee, cost, and expense relief expressly authorized by this chapter.
(b) Immunity from damages is not waived. This chapter creates no damages remedy.
(c) An official sued in an official capacity may assert any defense available to the covered local governmental entity except immunity to suit waived by this section.
Sec. 143B.058. VENUE; EXPEDITED PROCEEDINGS.
(a) Except as provided by Section 143B.107, venue is mandatory in a district court in the county in which:
(1) the covered local governmental entity's principal administrative office is located;
(2) the affected child receives services, if the claim concerns a child-specific duty; or
(3) the claimant regularly receives in-person public-library services, if the claim concerns a public-library duty and the covered entity regularly provides those services in that county.
(b) Venue under Subsection (a)(3) may not be based solely on remote access to a website, electronic catalog, database, or digital material from a county in which the covered entity does not regularly provide in-person library services.
(c) The court shall give priority to an action involving imminent child safety, parental notice or consent, time-sensitive instruction or services, retaliation, threatened loss of evidence, a repeat violation, or defiance of a final order.
Sec. 143B.059. LIMITATIONS.
(a) Except for a continuing violation, an action must be brought not later than the second anniversary of the date the claimant knew or reasonably should have known of the material facts constituting noncompliance.
(b) A continuing violation is actionable while ongoing, but relief for a completed occurrence outside the limitations period is available only to establish repetition, intent, notice, or the need for prospective relief.
(c) The period is tolled during the notice-and-cure process and during a grievance or administrative proceeding concerning the same facts.
Sec. 143B.060. DEFENSES.
It is a defense that:
(1) no covered state-law duty existed or was currently enforceable;
(2) the act or omission was expressly authorized by controlling state or federal law or required by a controlling court order;
(3) the entity completed a cure qualifying under Section 143B.027;
(4) compliance was legally or factually impossible despite documented good-faith efforts, provided that:
(A) lack of funding alone is not a defense if the legislature made the duty unconditional; and
(B) delegation, contracting, subcontracting, privatization, or failure of a contractor is not a defense for the covered local governmental entity; or
(5) the claim seeks review of a discretionary choice excluded by Section 143B.103.
Sec. 143B.061. ANTI-RETALIATION.
(a) A covered entity or responsible employee may not retaliate against a claimant, child, patron, employee, contractor, witness, or person assisting with a notice, grievance, investigation, suit, intervention, enforcement action, or referral under this chapter.
(b) Retaliation includes a materially adverse action that would deter a reasonable person from exercising or assisting with a right under this chapter.
(c) The court may order immediate cessation, restoration of access or status, correction of records, protection of the affected person, contract remedies, and the employee-accountability process required by Section 143B.081.
SUBCHAPTER D. EMPLOYEE, ADMINISTRATOR, AND CONTRACTOR ACCOUNTABILITY
Sec. 143B.081. MANDATORY INVESTIGATION AND DISCIPLINARY DISPOSITION.
(a) A final order finding material noncompliance shall identify, to the extent supported by admissible evidence, each office, contractor, or category of employee whose acts or omissions materially caused, authorized, concealed, certified, or failed to correct the violation.
(b) Not later than the 10th business day after a final order becomes enforceable, each employing covered entity shall open a formal employment investigation of each potentially responsible employee and administrator identified by the evidence. The investigation must be conducted by a person who was not responsible for the violation and who is not subordinate to a person under investigation.
(c) The entity shall determine whether the conduct was:
(1) a good-faith mistake promptly corrected;
(2) negligent material noncompliance;
(3) knowing noncompliance;
(4) a repeat intentional violation;
(5) retaliation;
(6) concealment, destruction, or material alteration of evidence;
(7) a materially false compliance certification; or
(8) a knowing violation of a covered child-safety, parental-consent, parental-notice, or parental-access duty.
(d) The entity shall issue a written disciplinary disposition not later than the 45th day after opening the investigation. The disposition must impose an employment consequence reasonably proportionate to the finding, including:
(1) documented corrective instruction or training for a good-faith mistake promptly corrected;
(2) formal counseling, retraining, probation, suspension, or other discipline for negligent material noncompliance; and
(3) serious discipline, up to and including termination, for knowing noncompliance.
(e) Termination remedy for egregious misconduct. There is a rebuttable presumption that termination is the appropriate employment disposition for a responsible employee or administrator found, after applicable notice and opportunity to be heard, to have committed:
(1) a repeat intentional violation;
(2) retaliation materially affecting a claimant, child, patron, employee, or witness;
(3) intentional concealment, destruction, or material alteration of evidence;
(4) a materially false compliance certification made knowingly or with reckless disregard for the truth; or
(5) a knowing violation of a covered child-safety, parental-consent, parental-notice, or parental-access duty that caused or created a substantial risk of material harm to a child.
(f) The employing authority shall terminate the responsible employee or administrator described by Subsection (e) unless, after the full process required by applicable constitutional, statutory, contractual, civil-service, and local-policy protections, the final decision maker enters written findings based on clear and convincing evidence that:
(1) the employee or administrator did not engage in the conduct described by Subsection (e); or
(2) extraordinary mitigating circumstances make termination manifestly unjust and a specified lesser sanction will protect affected children, parents, patrons, and the public and prevent recurrence.
(g) A final disposition under Subsection (f)(2) must state the extraordinary mitigating circumstances, the lesser sanction imposed, safeguards against recurrence, and why termination was not imposed. The nonconfidential portion must be presented to the governing body at an open meeting and posted with the compliance record.
(h) An administrator or supervisor is responsible under this section if the person had actual notice, had authority to investigate, direct, prevent, or correct the noncompliance, and knowingly failed to take reasonable action. A governing body or contractor may not insulate an administrator by delegating the duty to a subordinate after receiving notice.
(i) A contractor shall apply this section to responsible contractor personnel. The covered local governmental entity shall verify completion and, when a contractor fails to comply, use lawful contract remedies sufficient to protect the public and prevent recurrence.
(j) The court may compel an employing entity to timely conduct the process, apply the presumption, provide due process, issue the required disposition, and make the required nonconfidential disclosure. The court may not select, hire, or directly discharge an employee and may not substitute its judgment for a lawful final employment decision supported by the written findings required by this section.
(k) Nothing in this section diminishes a protection or procedure under Chapter 21, Education Code, a civil-service law, a contract, or the United States or Texas Constitution. Those protections govern the manner of discipline; they do not excuse the entity from initiating and completing the process required by this section.
Sec. 143B.082. LICENSING, EMPLOYMENT, AND CONTRACT REFERRALS.
(a) If a final order or disciplinary disposition indicates possible educator-code, license, certification, professional-conduct, records, or reportable employment misconduct, the covered entity shall transmit certified copies of the order, admissible evidence designated by the court, and final disposition to each licensing or oversight body with jurisdiction.
(b) For a certified educator, a required referral shall be made to the Texas Education Agency or State Board for Educator Certification, as applicable.
(c) If misconduct involves a contractor, the covered local governmental entity shall also transmit the disposition to each public entity known to have a substantially similar active contract with the contractor, to the extent permitted by law, and shall consider the disposition in renewal, termination, responsibility, and future procurement decisions.
Sec. 143B.083. PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY REPORT.
(a) The covered local governmental entity shall post a redacted report stating:
(1) the number and category of governmental and contractor employees and administrators investigated;
(2) whether each allegation was substantiated;
(3) the category of discipline imposed, including termination, suspension, probation, training, contract action, or no discipline; and
(4) each referral made.
(b) The report may not identify a child or disclose confidential student, patron, medical, counseling, personnel, licensing, procurement-protected, or investigative information.
(c) This section does not require or prohibit disclosure of an employee's name. Disclosure is governed by otherwise applicable public-information, confidentiality, and personnel law.
SUBCHAPTER E. ATTORNEY GENERAL; REFERRALS; PRIVACY; CONSTRUCTION
Sec. 143B.101. CERTIFIED REFERRAL OF POSSIBLE OFFENSE OR MISCONDUCT.
(a) If a final order or admitted evidence provides reasonable grounds to believe conduct may constitute a criminal offense, records offense, retaliation offense, licensing violation, or other reportable misconduct, the clerk of the court shall transmit certified copies of the final order and evidence designated by the court to the authority having legal jurisdiction.
(b) A recipient may include a district or county attorney, an appropriate law-enforcement agency, the attorney general, the Texas Education Agency, the State Board for Educator Certification, another occupational licensing agency, a contracting governmental entity, or a civil-service authority.
(c) A civil finding under this chapter does not establish criminal guilt, alter an element or mens rea requirement, change an evidentiary rule, create criminal prosecutorial authority, or compel prosecution.
Sec. 143B.102. PRIVACY AND PROTECTED RECORDS.
(a) A court shall protect information made confidential or privileged by state or federal law, including protected student, library-user, medical, counseling, personnel, licensing, procurement-protected, and active-investigation information.
(b) The court may use initials or pseudonyms for minors, seal narrowly defined exhibits, conduct an in camera review, issue a protective order, limit discovery, and release a redacted public compliance record.
(c) Preservation under this chapter does not waive confidentiality, privilege, or an exception to public disclosure.
Sec. 143B.103. EXCLUSIONS.
This chapter does not authorize:
(1) review of a discretionary choice for which a binding state requirement provides no objective performance standard;
(2) enforcement of informal guidance, technical assistance, or a recommendation lacking the force of law;
(3) interference with prosecutorial, law-enforcement, judicial, or quasi-judicial discretion;
(4) an election contest, tax protest, procurement protest, contract claim, or tort claim governed by another exclusive remedy;
(5) a challenge under this chapter to the validity of a state statute, state rule, regulation, standard, order, or directive;
(6) circumvention of a remedy that another statute expressly makes exclusive;
(7) an order requiring violation of federal law or a controlling court order; or
(8) enforcement of a repealed, expired, superseded, invalidated, stayed, or enjoined provision to the extent it is not legally operative.
Sec. 143B.104. CUMULATIVE REMEDIES; NO DOUBLE RECOVERY.
(a) Except as provided by Section 143B.103(6), this chapter is cumulative of another remedy available under law.
(b) This chapter does not create or imply a damages remedy or expand another law's waiver of immunity.
(c) A claimant may not obtain duplicate relief, fees, or costs for the same work or injury.
Sec. 143B.105. LIBERAL CONSTRUCTION FOR COMPLIANCE; CONSTITUTIONAL CONSTRUCTION.
(a) This chapter shall be construed to provide an effective remedy for performance of a covered state-law duty while preserving due process, protected speech, privacy, and lawful discretion.
(b) If a construction would create a serious constitutional conflict, the court shall adopt a lawful narrower construction that preserves the chapter's compliance function.
Sec. 143B.106. NOTICE TO ATTORNEY GENERAL; INTERVENTION.
(a) A claimant filing an action under this chapter shall serve the attorney general with a copy of the petition and each amended petition not later than the seventh day after filing.
(b) Failure to timely serve the attorney general does not deprive the court of jurisdiction. On motion of the attorney general, the court may allow a reasonable period for review that does not prejudice emergency relief or materially delay the claimant's action.
(c) The attorney general may intervene as a matter of right if the attorney general certifies that the action:
(1) presents a question concerning the construction or uniform statewide application of a binding state requirement;
(2) concerns a pattern or practice affecting more than one covered local governmental entity or jurisdiction;
(3) presents a substantial issue involving parental rights, child safety, public access, governmental transparency, contractor accountability, or defiance of state law; or
(4) is otherwise of statewide importance.
(d) Intervention does not displace the claimant, impair the claimant's entitlement to relief or fees, or authorize the attorney general to settle or dismiss the claimant's individual claim without the claimant's consent.
(e) The attorney general may obtain the relief authorized by this chapter but may not obtain damages, a civil penalty, or a claimant's statutory fee award.
Sec. 143B.107. INDEPENDENT ENFORCEMENT BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.
(a) The attorney general may bring an action in the name of the state against a covered entity if the attorney general has reasonable cause to believe that the covered entity:
(1) committed a repeat violation; or
(2) failed or refused to comply with a final judicial or administrative order requiring performance of a covered state-law duty.
(b) Before filing an action based solely on a repeat violation, the attorney general shall provide the covered entity written notice identifying the duty, facts, and demanded correction and allow 10 business days to demonstrate complete correction. No additional notice is required before an action based on defiance of a final order.
(c) The attorney general may seek declaratory, injunctive, specific-performance, corrective-action, monitoring, contract-oversight, evidence-preservation, referral, and employee-accountability relief authorized by this chapter.
(d) Venue for an action under this section lies in:
(1) Travis County; or
(2) a county in which venue would otherwise be mandatory under Section 143B.058.
(e) An action under this section does not bar an eligible claimant's action concerning the same conduct. The court shall coordinate related actions to prevent inconsistent orders and duplicate relief.
(f) Sovereign and governmental immunity to suit are waived as provided by Section 143B.057.
(g) This section does not create criminal prosecutorial authority or authorize damages or a civil penalty.
SECTION 4. EDUCATION CODE — PARENTAL-RIGHTS CROSS-REFERENCE.
Chapter 26, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 26.013 to read as follows:
Sec. 26.013. CIVIL ENFORCEMENT OF MANDATORY PARENTAL RIGHTS.
(a) A parent may enforce a clear, mandatory, currently enforceable duty under this chapter, or a required implementation policy adopted under this chapter, as provided by Chapter 143B, Civil Practice and Remedies Code.
(b) A school district, open-enrollment charter school, charter holder, governing body, management company, or contractor performing a covered public-education duty shall comply with a final order and employee-accountability requirement under Chapter 143B, Civil Practice and Remedies Code.
(c) A school district or open-enrollment charter school may not avoid responsibility by assigning or contracting performance to another person.
(d) This section does not authorize a court to review the merits of a discretionary educational determination or to order disclosure prohibited by state or federal law.
SECTION 5. EDUCATION CODE — GRIEVANCE COORDINATION.
Chapter 26A, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 26A.005 to read as follows:
Sec. 26A.005. COORDINATION WITH CIVIL COMPLIANCE ACTION.
(a) A person filing a grievance may also deliver a verified compliance notice under Chapter 143B, Civil Practice and Remedies Code.
(b) For performance of a ministerial duty, completion of the notice-and-cure process under Chapter 143B, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, satisfies local administrative exhaustion unless another law expressly makes the grievance or commissioner-appeal process exclusive.
(c) A discretionary education dispute or an appeal from the merits of a board decision remains subject to Section 7.057 and other applicable law.
(d) A school district, open-enrollment charter school, or contractor may not retaliate against a person for using either process.
SECTION 6. EDUCATION CODE — SCHOOL-LIBRARY ENFORCEMENT.
Subchapter B, Chapter 33, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 33.028 to read as follows:
Sec. 33.028. CIVIL ENFORCEMENT OF MANDATORY LIBRARY DUTIES.
(a) A parent of a student enrolled in a school district or open-enrollment charter school may enforce a clear, mandatory, currently enforceable duty under this subchapter concerning:
(1) access to a library catalog;
(2) a parent-submitted restriction on the parent's child's access to library material;
(3) access to the child's library-use records;
(4) acquisition and approval of library material;
(5) a library-material challenge, temporary access restriction, or appeal;
(6) a local school-library advisory council or review committee; or
(7) notice, meeting, minutes, recording, or public-posting requirements.
(b) A resident of the district may enforce a duty described by Subsection (a)(4), (5), (6), or (7) if the underlying provision authorizes district residents to participate or creates a public-facing duty for their benefit.
(c) A school district or open-enrollment charter school remains responsible for compliance when a vendor, cooperative, digital-platform provider, catalog provider, management company, nonprofit organization, or other contractor performs a library function.
(d) Enforcement is governed by Chapter 143B, Civil Practice and Remedies Code.
(e) A court may not under this section require enforcement of a provision that is stayed, enjoined, invalidated, repealed, expired, or otherwise not legally operative.
SECTION 7. EDUCATION CODE — EMPLOYEE DISCIPLINE COORDINATION.
Subchapter A, Chapter 21, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 21.0063 to read as follows:
Sec. 21.0063. DISCIPLINE FOLLOWING LOCAL-COMPLIANCE ORDER.
(a) A school district, open-enrollment charter school, charter holder, or management company receiving a final order under Chapter 143B, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, shall initiate and complete the investigation and disciplinary disposition required by Section 143B.081 of that code.
(b) A proposed suspension or termination must be carried out under the notice, hearing, appeal, contract, and due-process provisions otherwise applicable to the employee.
(c) The applicability of an employment procedure does not excuse the employing entity from initiating and completing the process or applying the rebuttable presumption required by Section 143B.081, Civil Practice and Remedies Code.
SECTION 8. LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE — MUNICIPAL PUBLIC LIBRARIES.
Chapter 315, Local Government Code, is amended by adding Section 315.007 to read as follows:
Sec. 315.007. COMPLIANCE OFFICER; ENFORCEMENT OF MANDATORY PUBLIC-LIBRARY DUTIES.
(a) A municipality that operates or funds a public library shall designate the municipal manager, library director, or another officer as the responsible official for compliance with mandatory state-law duties governing the library.
(b) An affected resident may enforce a clear, mandatory, currently enforceable state-law duty governing the municipal public library as provided by Chapter 143B, Civil Practice and Remedies Code.
(c) The municipality remains legally responsible for compliance when a contractor or nonprofit operator performs a library function and shall require that person to preserve records, cooperate with a compliance investigation, conduct required personnel accountability, and implement corrective action under Chapter 143B, Civil Practice and Remedies Code.
(d) Contracting, delegation, privatization, or operation by a nonprofit organization does not relieve the municipality or operator of an applicable covered state-law duty.
(e) This section does not create a substantive library-content restriction independent of another binding state requirement.
SECTION 9. LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE — COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARIES.
Subchapter A, Chapter 323, Local Government Code, is amended by adding Section 323.014 to read as follows:
Sec. 323.014. COMPLIANCE OFFICER; ENFORCEMENT OF MANDATORY PUBLIC-LIBRARY DUTIES.
(a) The commissioners court shall designate the county librarian or another county officer as the responsible official for compliance with mandatory state-law duties governing a county library or library service provided under this subchapter.
(b) An affected resident may enforce a clear, mandatory, currently enforceable state-law duty governing the county library or contracted library service as provided by Chapter 143B, Civil Practice and Remedies Code.
(c) The county remains legally responsible for compliance when another public or private person provides library service by contract, interlocal agreement, grant, or other arrangement.
(d) A contract or agreement under this subchapter must require the library provider to preserve records, cooperate with a compliance investigation, conduct required personnel accountability, implement corrective action, and comply with a final order under Chapter 143B, Civil Practice and Remedies Code.
(e) Failure to include a requirement described by Subsection (d) does not relieve the county or provider of an applicable duty.
(f) This section does not create a substantive library-content restriction independent of another binding state requirement.
SECTION 10. LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE — MULTI-JURISDICTIONAL LIBRARY DISTRICTS.
Subchapter E, Chapter 336, Local Government Code, is amended by adding Section 336.161 to read as follows:
Sec. 336.161. COMPLIANCE OFFICER; ENFORCEMENT OF MANDATORY PUBLIC-LIBRARY DUTIES.
(a) The board shall designate the executive director, library director, or another district officer as the responsible official for compliance with mandatory state-law duties governing the district and each library it operates or causes to be operated.
(b) An affected resident of the district may enforce a clear, mandatory, currently enforceable state-law duty governing the district, a district library, or a contracted library service as provided by Chapter 143B, Civil Practice and Remedies Code.
(c) The district remains legally responsible when a contractor or nonprofit operator performs a library function and shall require compliance with Chapter 143B, Civil Practice and Remedies Code.
(d) The board shall comply with the employee-accountability process under Section 143B.081, Civil Practice and Remedies Code. The board's authority under Sections 336.102 and 336.103 includes suspension or termination through that process, subject to applicable due process.
(e) This section does not create a substantive library-content restriction independent of another binding state requirement.
SECTION 11. GOVERNMENT CODE — ATTORNEY GENERAL AUTHORITY.
Subchapter A, Chapter 402, Government Code, is amended by adding Section 402.0231 to read as follows:
Sec. 402.0231. LOCAL COMPLIANCE ACTIONS.
The attorney general may intervene in or bring an action as authorized by Sections 143B.106 and 143B.107, Civil Practice and Remedies Code.
SECTION 12. IMPLEMENTATION AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.
(a) Not later than March 1, 2027, the attorney general may publish the model documents and general training materials authorized by Section 143B.005, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, as added by this Act.
(b) Not later than March 1, 2027, the Texas Education Agency, the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, and each other state agency that elects to provide technical assistance under Section 143B.005, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, may publish nonbinding materials explaining how entities within the agency's jurisdiction may integrate this Act into existing compliance, grievance, contracting, and records-preservation procedures.
(c) The absence or delayed publication of technical-assistance material does not delay the effective date of this Act, excuse noncompliance, or create a defense.
SECTION 13. CONTRACT TRANSITION.
(a) A covered local governmental entity shall include the terms required by Section 143B.006(e), Civil Practice and Remedies Code, in each applicable contract entered into, renewed, or materially amended on or after the effective date of this Act.
(b) Not later than January 1, 2028, each covered local governmental entity shall review each existing contract involving performance of a covered state-law duty and provide the contractor written notice of the obligations imposed by Chapter 143B, Civil Practice and Remedies Code.
(c) This section does not postpone application of Chapter 143B, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, or relieve an entity or contractor from a duty that otherwise applies.
SECTION 14. SEVERABILITY.
Every provision, section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, word, and application of this Act is severable. If any provision or application is held invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions and applications may not be affected.
SECTION 15. TRANSITION.
(a) Chapter 143B, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, as added by this Act, applies only to a verified compliance notice delivered, an attorney general notice issued, or an action based on defiance of a final order occurring on or after the effective date of this Act.
(b) Conduct occurring before the effective date may be considered only to establish notice, intent, repetition, concealment, contractor-control deficiencies, or the need for prospective relief concerning a violation occurring or continuing on or after the effective date.
(c) This Act does not affect a proceeding filed before the effective date.
SECTION 16. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Act takes effect September 1, 2027, except that this Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
References
Sources are organized by the sections of this article they principally inform. Citations follow APA 7th Edition format. Primary legal sources and clearly identified supporting materials are annotated below.
Texas Legislation and Statutes — Sections 1–7 and Legislation Block
Texas Legislature Online. (2025). Senate Bill 12, enrolled text, 89th
Legislature.
https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/89R/billtext/html/SB00012F.HTM
Annotation: Primary legislative text used to identify the parental-rights and public-school duties discussed as examples. The operative statute and any controlling court orders govern actual enforceability.
Texas Legislature Online. (2025). Senate Bill 13, Senate enrolled bill
analysis, 89th Legislature.
https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/89R/analysis/html/SB00013F.htm
Annotation: Official legislative analysis used to organize the school-library catalog, acquisition, advisory, challenge, and parent-access crosswalk.
Texas Constitution and Statutes. Civil Practice and Remedies Code,
Chapter 37.
https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CP/pdf/CP.37.pdf
Annotation: Existing declaratory-judgment authority consulted when distinguishing the proposal’s specialized notice-and-cure action from general declaratory relief.
Texas Constitution and Statutes. Education Code, Chapters 26, 26A, and
33.
Chapter 26 · Chapter 26A · Chapter 33
Annotation: Primary codified authorities for parental rights, grievance procedures, and school-library requirements that the draft cross-references.
Texas Constitution and Statutes. Local Government Code, Chapters 315,
323, and 336.
Chapter 315 · Chapter 323 · Chapter 336
Annotation: Primary statutes governing municipal, county, and multi-jurisdictional public-library structures used for the draft’s conforming provisions and venue analysis.
Texas Constitution and Statutes. Government Code, Chapter 402.
https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/GV/pdf/GV.402.pdf
Annotation: Primary authority governing the attorney general, consulted for the intervention and independent-enforcement cross-reference.
Community Implementation Resource — Section 2
Protecting Texas Children. (n.d.). Behind the Shelves.
https://protectingtexaschildren.com/behind-the-shelves
Annotation: Advocacy resource providing book-content reports, challenge guidance, testimony materials, and chapter support. It is used here to explain the constituent evidence-gathering and participation context; its ratings and advocacy conclusions are not treated as binding legal authority.
Drafting Record — Legislation Block
Campbell, W. (2026). Texas Local Accountability and State-Law Compliance Act, Draft Version 2; Legislative Analysis Version 2; Authority and Section Crosswalk Version 2; Sponsor Review Decisions Version 2.
Annotation: Sponsor-review materials controlling the proposal’s policy design, section explanations, claimant matrix, legal safeguards, and current draft status. These are proposal documents, not enacted Texas law.
Drafting and legal-status note: This article explains a proposed bill. It is not legal advice and does not represent a final determination that any particular entity has violated law. The bill text should be reviewed by the Texas Legislative Council before filing, and readers should consult the current codified law and controlling judicial orders when evaluating any specific duty.