Legislative Priorities - 89th Session

The 89th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature began Jan. 14, 2025, and runs through June 2, 2025.

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What TSNO is Watching This Session

TSNO is keeping its eye on a number of bills that would impact school nursing practice. We will be adding to the list throughout the session. Updated Bill Tracks will be added to this folder weekly on Wednesdays. 

CLICK HERE to View the Weekly TSNO Bill Tracks.

TSNO will also be keeping its eye on several bills related to schools that will not directly impact school nursing practice such as pushes for enrollment-based funding; additional education requirements related to bullying, healthy relationships, and certain health conditions; mental health services in schools; excused absences for certain health conditions; social media and cell phone use; e-cigarette marketing and teen access; and more.

Your input is valuable!  If you see a bill that you think TSNO should be following, please email bechark.tsno@gmail.com with the Bill Number, a brief summary of the bill's intent, and your rationale for why it's important to school nursing.

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TSNO's Legislative Priorities in 2025

Medication Access

  • Over-the-Counter Medication
  • Life-Saving Glucagon
  • Statewide Standing Orders for Rescue Meds

Emergency Response

  • Cardiac Emergency Response
  • Updates to Stock Epinephrine Law

Healthy School Environment

  • Disease Prevention Through Vaccination
  • SHARS Billing for all Medicaid-Enrolled Students

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Priorities and Bill Tracking

Texas Coalition for Healthy Minds - Mental Health Matters

Partnership for a Healthy Texas - Conquering Obesity

Texas Public Health Coalition - Putting Public Health First

Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living - Healthy Children in a Healthy World

Texas Nurses Association - Elevating Nursing Practice

The Immunization Partnership - Promoting Public Health Through Immunization

Helpful Links

Texas Legislature Online - Your most up-to-date resource for bills filed, committee hearings, learning about the legislative process, and more

Who Represents Me? - Use this link to find out who represents you at both the State and Federal levels.

How a Bill Becomes a Law in Texas - This handbook includes all the details of the legislative process in Texas, with charts on pages 15-16 showing all the steps a bill must survive to become a law. 

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Advocacy is the deliberate process of influencing those who make decisions." - NASN

School nurses are healthcare professionals in an educational setting and frequently practice as the only healthcare professional in the setting. The role of the school nurse is not always understood by teachers, administrators, parents, elected officials, and the community at large. Stakeholders need to know why school nurses are important. School nurses have the insight - and the duty - to educate stakeholders so they know the role of the school nurse role and the difference school nurses make in the lives of children.