Texas Senate bill by Sen. King mandates excused absences for religious instruction

Passed bill authored by State Sen. Phil King seeks to establish excused absences for students attending religious instruction courses outside school hours, aiming to accommodate parental consent and clarify responsibilities for attendance and transportation, according to the Texas Legislature website.

In the Senate, 10 Democrats and 20 Republicans voted in favor of the bill, while one Democrat opposed it.

Meanwhile, in the House, 40 Democrats and 83 Republicans voted in favor, while 12 Democrats voted against it.

Phil King introduced the bill in the Texas Senate on Monday, Feb. 3, during the 89th regular legislative session.

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.

King, a Republican, was elected to the Texas State Senate in 2023 to represent the state’s 10th Senate district, replacing previous state senator Beverly Powell.

According to the Texas Legislature, the bill’s official text was summarized as follows: ‘Relating to excused absences from public school for the purpose of attending a released time course’.

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill mandates Texas school districts and open-enrollment charter schools to excuse students from attending school for at least one but not more than five hours per week to participate in a “released time course,” defined as a course in religious instruction provided by a private entity. Parents or legal guardians must request the absence, and provide written consent, while the private entity must maintain attendance records and assume liability for students during the course. The bill requires the transportation responsibility to fall on the private entity, parent, guardian, or student, and ensures students make up any schoolwork missed. Schools are prohibited from using funds to facilitate such courses and private entities cannot hold classes on school property unless allowed through neutral access policies. By Jan. 1, 2026, schools must adopt the excused absence policy, and the act takes effect Sept. 1, 2025.

The bill received its final legislative approval on Wednesday, May 28, and was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday, June 20.

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.