Sen. Phil King introduced SB 747, a bill on Crimes, Education, and Minors, to the Texas Senate on Wednesday, Jan. 8 during the 89(R) legislative session, according to the Texas Legislature website.
More specifically, the official text was summarized by the state legislature as ’’relating to public school policies and programs regarding the production or distribution of certain intimate visual material by public school students’’.
The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.
This bill amends the Texas Education Code to enhance public school policies on bullying and the management of intimate visual material distributed by students. It allows students to be removed from class or expelled for bullying that encourages suicide or incites violence and for sharing intimate visuals without consent, including those made with AI. The definition of cyberbullying is expanded to include distributing sexually explicit images. The bill mandates that schools focus on bullying prevention, establish committees to address bullying, conduct student surveys, and develop response plans. Additionally, it stipulates that schools educate students on the legal and social consequences of sharing intimate visuals. This Act applies from the 2025-26 school year and takes effect either immediately with a two-thirds majority or on Sept. 1, 2025.
Phil King, the chair of the Senate Committee on Economic Development, proposed another five bills during the 89(R) legislative session. He is also the vice chair of the Senate Committee on Business & Commerce, a member of the Senate Committee on Committee of the Whole Senate, a member of the Senate Committee on Education K-16, a member of the Senate Committee on Transportation, and a member of the Senate Committee on Criminal Justice.
King graduated from Dallas Baptist University in 1981 with a BA and again in 1993 from Texas A&M University School of Law with a JD.
Phil King is currently serving in the Texas State Senate, representing the state’s 10th Senate district. He replaced previous state senator Beverly Powell in 2023.
Bills in Texas go through a multi-step legislative process, including committee review, debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching a final decision. Each session, there are typically thousands of bills introduced, but only a portion successfully navigate the process to become law.
You can read more about the bills and other measures here.
| Legislative Session | Bill Number | Date Introduced | Short Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 89(R) | SB 707 | 01/06/2025 | Relating to the authority of the legislature to determine that certain federal directives are unconstitutional and to prohibit certain government officers and employees from enforcing or assisting in the enforcement of the directive |
| 89(R) | SB 567 | 12/12/2024 | Relating to the use of a building owned or controlled by a public school as a polling place |
| 89(R) | SB 388 | 11/19/2024 | Relating to the legislature’s goals for electric generation capacity in this state |
| 89(R) | SB 326 | 11/13/2024 | Relating to the procedure for determining whether a student’s violation of a public school’s or public institution of higher education’s student code of conduct was motivated by antisemitism |
| 89(R) | SB 231 | 11/12/2024 | Relating to temporary emergency electric energy facilities |
| 88(4) | SB 20 | 11/07/2023 | Relating to the display of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms |
| 88(4) | SB 21 | 11/07/2023 | Relating to law enforcement agency accreditation, including a grant program to assist agencies in becoming accredited; making an appropriation |
| 88(3) | SB 22 | 10/06/2023 | Relating to the display of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms |
| 88(3) | SB 23 | 10/06/2023 | Relating to law enforcement agency accreditation, including a grant program to assist agencies in becoming accredited; making an appropriation |
| 88(1) | SB 9 | 06/05/2023 | Relating to the display of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms |
| 88(R) | SB 2509 | 03/10/2023 | Relating to enforcement of the regulation of social media platforms |
| 88(R) | SB 2510 | 03/10/2023 | Relating to statutory damages in actions brought by social media users against social media platforms for prohibited censorship |
| 88(R) | SB 2014 | 03/09/2023 | Relating to the legislature’s goals for renewable electric generating capacity |
| 88(R) | SB 2015 | 03/09/2023 | Relating to the legislature’s goals for electric generation capacity in this state |
| 88(R) | SB 2041 | 03/09/2023 | Relating to the manner in which certain criminal proceedings are conducted |
| 88(R) | SB 2042 | 03/09/2023 | Relating to prohibiting the carrying of a handgun by a member of a criminal street gang while engaged in criminal activity; creating a criminal offense; changing the eligibility for community supervision |
| 88(R) | SB 2043 | 03/09/2023 | Relating to the prosecution of organized criminal activity involving obstructing a highway or other passageway by engaging in a reckless driving exhibition or street racing on a highway |
| 88(R) | SB 2158 | 03/09/2023 | Relating to the establishment of an adult education pilot program by the Windham School District |
| 88(R) | SB 2159 | 03/09/2023 | Relating to prohibiting the use of certain social media applications and services on devices owned or leased by state agencies |
| 88(R) | SB 2160 | 03/09/2023 | Relating to the authority of a county to restrict sex offenders from child safety zones in the unincorporated area of the county; creating a criminal offense |
| 88(R) | SB 2161 | 03/09/2023 | Relating to the age limit for a beginning position in a police department under municipal civil service |
| 88(R) | SB 2162 | 03/09/2023 | Relating to county appropriations to historical foundations or organizations |
| 88(R) | SB 2163 | 03/09/2023 | Relating to an exemption from ad valorem taxation of a portion of the appraised value of a property that is the primary residence of an adult who has an intellectual or developmental disability and is related to the owner of the property within a certain degree by consanguinity |
| 88(R) | SB 1709 | 03/07/2023 | Relating to the prosecution of the offenses of sedition and engaging in organized criminal activity; increasing criminal penalties |
| 88(R) | SB 1770 | 03/07/2023 | Relating to an exception to required disclosure under the public information law for certain electronic information held by a prosecutor, law enforcement agency, or corrections agency |
| 88(R) | SB 1771 | 03/07/2023 | Relating to the appraisal for ad valorem tax purposes of property owned by certain electric cooperatives |
| 88(R) | SB 1515 | 03/03/2023 | Relating to the display of the Ten Commandments in public schools |
| 88(R) | SB 1516 | 03/03/2023 | Relating to the procedures for an application for a writ of habeas corpus and the issuance of the writ |
| 88(R) | SB 1517 | 03/03/2023 | Relating to prohibiting certain academic boycotts of foreign countries by public institutions of higher education |
| 88(R) | SB 1518 | 03/03/2023 | Relating to the establishment of a terrorist offender registry and to the supervision of those terrorist offenders; creating criminal offenses related to terrorism |
| 88(R) | SB 1519 | 03/03/2023 | Relating to electric utility weather emergency preparedness |
| 88(R) | SB 1407 | 03/01/2023 | Relating to a severance tax exemption for oil and gas produced from certain restimulation wells; providing a civil penalty |
| 88(R) | SB 1422 | 03/01/2023 | Relating to enforcement of criminal offenses by state agencies, law enforcement agencies, political subdivisions, or local entities |
| 88(R) | SB 1287 | 02/28/2023 | Relating to the cost of interconnecting certain electric generation facilities with the ERCOT transmission system |
| 88(R) | SB 1291 | 02/28/2023 | Relating to the reimbursement of a municipality’s expenses in a ratemaking proceeding for electric or gas utilities |
| 88(R) | SB 1083 | 02/22/2023 | Relating to insurer restrictions and duties regarding repair of a motor vehicle covered under an insurance policy |
| 88(R) | SB 1124 | 02/22/2023 | Relating to qualifications of a sheriff or a candidate for sheriff |
| 88(R) | SB 1075 | 02/21/2023 | Relating to facilities and construction machinery used to respond to power outages |
| 88(R) | SB 1076 | 02/21/2023 | Relating to the deadline for approving a certificate of public convenience and necessity for certain transmission projects |
| 88(R) | SB 1015 | 02/17/2023 | Relating to periodic rate adjustments by electric utilities |
| 88(R) | SB 1016 | 02/17/2023 | Relating to the consideration of employee compensation and benefits in establishing the rates of electric utilities |
| 88(R) | SB 1020 | 02/17/2023 | Relating to the automatic expunction of arrest records and files for certain public safety employees who successfully complete a public safety employees treatment court program |
| 88(R) | SB 947 | 02/15/2023 | Relating to creating a criminal offense for damaging certain critical infrastructure facilities and providing for the prosecution of that conduct as manslaughter in certain circumstances; increasing a criminal penalty |
| 88(R) | SB 939 | 02/14/2023 | Relating to statutes of limitation and repose for certain claims arising out of residential construction |
| 88(R) | SB 873 | 02/13/2023 | Relating to residential construction liability |
| 88(R) | SB 833 | 02/10/2023 | Relating to consideration by insurers of certain prohibited criteria for ratemaking |
| 88(R) | SB 834 | 02/10/2023 | Relating to an exemption from ad valorem taxation of certain royalty interests owned by a charitable organization |
| 88(R) | SB 835 | 02/10/2023 | Relating to the availability of financial information of nonprofit corporations for public inspection |
| 88(R) | SB 604 | 01/25/2023 | Relating to land services performed by a landman |
| 88(R) | SB 537 | 01/20/2023 | Relating to the Texas State Guard uniform and insignia fund |
