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Your protections

What the law says protects you when you remove a student, each part quoted word for word, and what it doesn't cover.

Your job

A professional employee of a school district may not be subject to disciplinary proceedings for: ... (2) an action taken in good faith to remove a student from class under Section 37.002.

Texas Education Code §22.05121(b), added by House Bill 6 (2025)
What it means: your district can't fire you, suspend you, or end or refuse to renew your contract for a good-faith removal, and the State Board for Educator Certification can't act against your certificate for it. That's what the law means by "disciplinary proceedings." The protection took effect June 20, 2025, and it covers removals made before that date too, unless a case against the teacher was already closed (House Bill 6, Section 24).

Reporting a violation

The same section protects you for "the reporting of a violation of Chapter 37 to another professional employee of a school district, the agency, or a law enforcement agency" (§22.05121(b)(1)). Chapter 37 is where the removal rules live. If the student is sent back to your class before the conference, or no conference is held, you can report it to your district or to the Texas Education Agency, and that report is protected the same way.

Your evaluation

... a teacher may not be assigned an area of deficiency in an appraisal solely on the basis of disciplinary referrals made by the teacher or documentation regarding student conduct submitted by the teacher under Section 37.002.

Texas Education Code §21.351(a-1), added in 2019
What it means: your appraisal can't mark you down just because you removed a student or wrote up what happened. It can still note classroom management problems that someone actually observed or confirmed.

Your documentation

A school district may not discipline a teacher on the basis of documentation submitted under this subsection.

Texas Education Code §37.002(b-1)

The student comes back to your class only with your written consent, or after the committee decision, the conference, and a written return plan (§37.002(c)). For the most serious offenses against you, "The teacher may not be coerced to consent" (§37.002(d)).

Your administrators' own rules

The Texas Educators' Code of Ethics binds certified administrators too. An educator "shall not use coercive means ... to influence professional decisions or colleagues," and "shall not interfere with a colleague's exercise of ... professional ... rights" (19 TAC §247.2, Standards 2.6 and 2.4).

What the law doesn't cover

We'd rather you hear this from us. Section 37.002 has no general rule against retaliation. The 2025 job protection names firing, suspension, contract nonrenewal, and action against your certificate. It doesn't name a written reprimand, a schedule change, a cold shoulder, or a lower rating on something other than your removals.

If something like that happens because you used the law, you still have options:

For every step in order, and what to know before you resign, see If your school ignores the law.

General information about Texas law, not legal advice.

Be clear-eyed about the cost

Some people won't be happy. Your principal may be frustrated, because a removal creates work on a deadline. The teacher who gets the student may be upset. The parent may be angry. No law can change how someone feels about you.

What the law does is limit what anyone can do to your job because you used it. Keep everything professional and in writing, use the words of the law, and describe what the student did, not who the student is.

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