2025 · Regular session · Senate bill
SB207
SB207 expressly includes mental-health appointments in the school excused-absence rule for health-care appointments.
Official caption: Relating to excused absences from public school for certain students to attend mental health care appointments.
Official report lists Senate author(s): Paxton, Johnson. This does not identify sponsors or amendment drafters.
Bill explanation published · Version and amendment review scope is stated below · Individual amendment records may not be separately annotated.
Bill highlights
Selected points from the published explanation. Follow each point to its source-linked context; conditions and limits may matter.
- SB207 expressly includes mental-health appointments in the school excused-absence rule for health-care appointments.
- A school district must excuse a temporary absence for an appointment with a health-care professional, including a mental-health professional, for the student or the student’s child, if the student starts classes or returns to school on the same day as the appointment.
- The bill adds “including mental health professionals” to the existing health-care appointment provision.
What does it do?
SB207 expressly includes mental-health appointments in the school excused-absence rule for health-care appointments. It was signed and took effect May 30, 2025, and applies beginning with the 2025–2026 school year. Official history; Final law.
A school district must excuse a temporary absence for an appointment with a health-care professional, including a mental-health professional, for the student or the student’s child, if the student starts classes or returns to school on the same day as the appointment. The same-day condition remains: this provision is not an unrestricted entitlement to miss an entire school day for any mental-health reason.
The bill adds “including mental health professionals” to the existing health-care appointment provision. It does not create a new treatment program, pay for appointments, or require a student to obtain mental-health treatment.
What changed along the way?
The introduced, Senate committee, engrossed, House committee and enrolled versions contain the same operative change and school-year application. The official amendment index lists no floor amendments, and both committees reported the bill without amendments. The differences in the archived versions are presentation and enrollment certification, not a later change to eligibility. All text versions; Amendment index.
For the full amendment record, open the official amendment index.
Official bill versions
Compare the published text versions in the official text index. A change is not attributed to a specific amendment here without a verified record.
Who could benefit—and who could bear the costs?
The latest fiscal note, May 2, 2025 for the engrossed version, anticipates no fiscal implication for the state or local governments. The introduced-version fiscal note reaches the same conclusion. This is a government-budget estimate, not a promise that families will have no treatment, transportation or scheduling costs. Latest fiscal note.
The explicit wording may reduce uncertainty for families and schools about qualifying mental-health appointments, including appointments for a student’s child. Schools still must apply the appointment and same-day attendance conditions. The bill does not quantify improved access, educational outcomes or family savings. Enacted conditions.
Official sources
- Bill history and latest recorded action
- Bill versions, analyses and fiscal notes
- Action history and votes
- Amendment index
Catalog report retrieved 2026-10-25. Check the official record for corrections or later changes.
