Texas: book-ratings law partly blocked, plus safety and chaplains
Library law (HB 900): The Fifth Circuit barred Texas from enforcing the bookseller ratings mandate as likely unconstitutional, though certain library-standards provisions remain. Districts should not require vendors to rate sexual content but should follow remaining standards until litigation fully resolves. The Texas Tribune Texas Library Association Texas State Teachers Association
Campus safety (HB 3): Districts must ensure at least one armed security officer on every campus during regular hours or adopt a “good-cause” alternative plan with annual review. Implementation remains challenging and uneven. txssc.txstate.edu Texas Education Agency Axios
School chaplains (SB 763): Districts may employ or accept volunteer chaplains (not SBEC-certified counselors) subject to statutory constraints and local board votes recorded by deadlines. LegiScan Texas Education Agencytxssc.txstate.edu
Oregon: fentanyl lessons and bus-camera enforcement
Beginning 2024–25, all districts must implement synthetic-opioid (fentanyl) prevention lessons at middle grades and at least once in high school—part of a statewide health-education push. Oregon+1
Separately, HB 4147 authorizes stop-arm cameras on school buses to cite drivers who ignore bus safety lights—an operational and privacy consideration as districts deploy the tech this year. OLISopb
