2025 · Regular session · Senate bill
SB226
SB226 gives families a specific way to prove school-district residency when a child is in a parental child safety placement.
Official caption: Relating to establishing residency for children who are the subject of parental child safety placement agreements for purposes of admission into public schools.
Official report lists Senate author(s): West. 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.
- SB226 gives families a specific way to prove school-district residency when a child is in a parental child safety placement.
- For a school-age child, the placement agreement must include a DFPS letter with the child’s placement address and the required statement that it serves as proof of residence for public-school enrollment.
- A parental child safety placement is a temporary out-of-home arrangement with a caregiver under a written, DFPS-approved agreement during an abuse-or-neglect investigation or while the parent or other person receives department services.
- The bill was signed and took effect June 20, 2025.
What does it do?
SB226 gives families a specific way to prove school-district residency when a child is in a parental child safety placement. The parent or guardian may give the district a Department of Family and Protective Services letter confirming the placement agreement and that the child’s address during the agreement is within the district. Final law.
For a school-age child, the placement agreement must include a DFPS letter with the child’s placement address and the required statement that it serves as proof of residence for public-school enrollment. The bill addresses residency evidence; it does not waive every other enrollment requirement or turn the placement into permanent legal custody.
A parental child safety placement is a temporary out-of-home arrangement with a caregiver under a written, DFPS-approved agreement during an abuse-or-neglect investigation or while the parent or other person receives department services. It is not simply any informal stay with a relative. Existing statutory definition.
The bill was signed and took effect June 20, 2025. The school-residency change applies beginning with the 2025–2026 school year. The new agreement-letter requirement applies only to placement agreements executed on or after June 20; earlier agreements remain governed by the law in effect when executed. Official history; Application provisions.
What changed along the way?
The introduced, Senate committee, engrossed, House committee and enrolled versions contain the same operative letter, residency and transition provisions. Both committees reported the bill without amendments, and no floor amendment is listed. Only presentation markers and enrollment certifications differ among the archived versions. 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 7, 2025 for the engrossed version, anticipates no significant state or local fiscal impact and assumes costs can be absorbed with existing resources. The introduced note reaches the same conclusion. Latest fiscal note.
A standard DFPS letter may reduce uncertainty about where a temporarily placed child can enroll. DFPS must supply the required letter, and districts must handle it as the specified residency evidence. Families still need to complete applicable enrollment steps. The fiscal note does not quantify avoided school absences, family savings or improved educational outcomes. Letter and residency rules.
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.
