SB207

Regular Session

Relating to excused absences from public school for certain students to attend mental health care appointments.

LowStandard timeline

Low Cost

Effective:2025-09-01

Enforcing Agencies

Texas Education Agency (TEA) • Local Independent School Districts

Compliance Analysis

Key implementation requirements and action items for compliance with this legislation

Implementation Timeline

Effective Date: September 1, 2025 (Applies to the 2025-2026 school year).
Compliance Deadline: August 1, 2025. Healthcare providers and HR departments must update policies before the school year commences.
Agency Rulemaking: The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is not explicitly required to create new rules, but local Independent School Districts (ISDs) will update Student Codes of Conduct during Summer 2025. Monitor local board meetings for specific attendance coding instructions.

Immediate Action Plan

Immediately: Audit current excuse note templates; discard generic "medical" notes in favor of specific "mental health professional" citations.
By July 15, 2025: Update practice scheduling software to open mid-day slots for school-aged patients.
By August 1, 2025: Send a blast communication to patient families informing them of the new law and encouraging school-day booking to reduce waitlists.
By August 1, 2025: HR Directors must update "Family/Medical Leave" guidance documents to explicitly include mental health maintenance for dependents.

Operational Changes Required

Contracts

Patient Service Agreements: Mental health practices must review cancellation policies. Since these absences are now legally excused, practices should enforce cancellation fees for school-day appointments, as "inability to miss school" is no longer a valid defense for late cancellations.
Employment Agreements: No changes required, but HR policy interpretation must align dependent care leave for mental health appointments with existing medical leave protocols.

Hiring/Training

Front Desk/Admin: Scheduling staff must be trained to aggressively book adolescent patients during mid-day hours (10:00 AM – 2:00 PM) to relieve after-school bottlenecks.
HR Managers: Train supervisors to approve partial-day leave requests for employees transporting children to therapy, recognizing this as a state-sanctioned medical necessity.

Reporting & Record-Keeping

Excuse Templates: Providers must update standard excuse notes. The note must verify the appointment time and explicitly state the provider is a "mental health professional."
Time-Stamping: Because the law requires the student to attend school for part of the day to qualify for the excuse, documentation must include "Time In" and "Time Out" to prove the student had time to return to campus.

Fees & Costs

Budget Impact: Negligible direct costs.
Revenue Opportunity: Mental health practices should anticipate increased revenue through better utilization of non-peak (school day) hours.

Strategic Ambiguities & Considerations

Definition of "Professional": The statute uses the broad term "mental health professional" without specifying licensure (e.g., LPC vs. Life Coach). Until TEA clarifies, businesses must assume this privilege applies strictly to licensed clinicians (LPC, LCSW, LMFT, PhD, PsyD, MD/DO). Notes from non-licensed counselors may be rejected by school districts.
Telehealth Validity: The law refers to a "temporary absence" to attend an appointment. It is unclear if a student conducting a telehealth session *on campus* (e.g., in a nurse's office) qualifies, or if they must physically leave the premises.

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Legislative Timeline

This bill's path through the Texas Legislature

TopicsEducation Education--primary & Secondary Education--primary & Secondary--admission & Attendance Mental Health & Substance Abuse

Official Analysis

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BILL ANALYSIS

Senate Research Center	S.B. 207
89R2507 ANG-F	By: Paxton; Johnson
	Education K-16
	2/10/2025
	As Filed

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

Schools are required to excuse student absences for appointments with health care professionals; however, school districts have not consistently interpreted this statute as requiring excused absences for appointments with mental health professionals.

The proposed legislation simply clarifies that appointments with a mental health professional are excused absences.

As proposed, S.B. 207 amends current law relating to excused absences from public school for certain students to attend mental health care appointments.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking to a state officer, institution, or agency.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Section 25.087(b), Education Code, as follows:

(b) Requires a school district to excuse a student from attending school for certain purposes, including a temporary absence resulting from an appointment with mental health professionals for the student or the student's child if the student commences classes or returns to school on the same day of the appointment.

SECTION 2. Provides that this Act applies beginning with the 2025�2026 school year.

SECTION 3. Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2025.

Senate Authors

Sen. Angela PaxtonRepublican · Primary Author

Joint Authors

Nathan Johnson (D)

Coauthors (5)

House Sponsor

Rep. Terri Leo-WilsonRepublican · Primary Sponsor

Bill Text(with markup)

S.B. No. 207

View bill text in multiple formats on Texas Legislature website

Fiscal NoteView Original

	AN ACT
	relating to excused absences from public school for certain
	students to attend mental health care appointments.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1. Section 25.087(b), Education Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(b) A school district shall excuse a student from attending
	school for:
	(1) the following purposes, including travel for those
	purposes:
	(A) observing religious holy days;
	(B) attending a required court appearance;
	(C) appearing at a governmental office to
	complete paperwork required in connection with the student's
	application for United States citizenship;
	(D) taking part in a United States naturalization
	oath ceremony;
	(E) serving as an election clerk; or
	(F) if the student is in the conservatorship of
	the Department of Family and Protective Services, participating, as
	determined and documented by the department, in an activity:
	(i) ordered by a court under Chapter 262 or
	263, Family Code, provided that it is not practicable to schedule
	the participation outside of school hours; or
	(ii) required under a service plan under
	Subchapter B, Chapter 263, Family Code;
	(2) a temporary absence resulting from an appointment
	with health care professionals, including mental health
	professionals, for the student or the student's child if the
	student commences classes or returns to school on the same day of
	the appointment; or
	(3) an absence resulting from a serious or
	life-threatening illness or related treatment that makes the
	student's attendance infeasible, if the student or the student's
	parent or guardian provides a certification from a physician
	licensed to practice medicine in this state specifying the
	student's illness and the anticipated period of the student's
	absence relating to the illness or related treatment.
	SECTION 2. This Act applies beginning with the 2025-2026
	school year.
	SECTION 3. 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. If this
	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
	Act takes effect September 1, 2025.

LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 89TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION


March 17, 2025

TO:	Honorable Brandon Creighton, Chair, Senate Committee on Education K-16

FROM:	Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board

IN RE:	SB207 by Paxton (Relating to excused absences from public school for certain students to attend mental health care appointments.), As Introduced

No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

Local Government Impact

No fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.

Source Agencies:

701 Texas Education Agency

LBB Staff:

JMc, JPE, SL, MJe

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Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about SB207

What does Texas SB207 do?

SB207 mandates that Texas public schools accept appointments with mental health professionals as valid, excused absences, placing them on equal legal footing with physical medical appointments. This legislation effectively expands billable capacity for mental health practices by opening school-day slots for adolescent patients, provided strict documentation regarding the student's return to school is maintained. Implementation Timeline Effective Date: September 1, 2025 (Applies to the 2025-2026 school year).

Who authored SB207?

SB207 was authored by Texas Senator Angela Paxton during the Regular Session.

When was SB207 signed into law?

SB207 was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on May 30, 2025.

Which agencies enforce SB207?

SB207 is enforced by Texas Education Agency (TEA) and Local Independent School Districts.

How urgent is compliance with SB207?

The compliance urgency for SB207 is rated as "low". Businesses and organizations should review the requirements and timeline to ensure timely compliance.

What is the cost impact of SB207?

The cost impact of SB207 is estimated as "low". This may vary based on industry and implementation requirements.

What topics does SB207 address?

SB207 addresses topics including education, education--primary & secondary, education--primary & secondary--admission & attendance and mental health & substance abuse.

Legislative data provided by LegiScanLast updated: November 25, 2025

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