“Reentry Is All Around Us — Because Everyone Deserves a Way Back.”
JUSTICE • OPPORTUNITY • RESTORATION
End The Paper Prison
Millions of Texans continue to face barriers to employment, housing, and education long after they have paid their debt to society. The Texas Restore Act is about restoring opportunity, strengthening families, and ensuring that a criminal record does not become a life sentence.
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Our Mission
The Texas Federation of the People Foundation exists to pass the Texas Restore Act and deliver criminal record restoration to nearly 8 million Texans whose past mistakes continue to block their future.
Our Goal
Our goal is to see the Texas Restore Act signed into law, giving families across the state a clear and automatic path to record relief instead of years of legal roadblocks.
Texas Comnmunities
Nearly 8 million Texans and their families live under the weight of a criminal record, and every one of those records touches a household, a paycheck, and a community that deserves better.
Texas Restore Act Petition
Add your name to the petition and stand with the millions of Texans and their families who are counting on the Texas Restore Act to open doors that have been closed for too long.
Our Program
Find out how Texas Federation of the People Foundation has made a difference in the community and the lives of those we serve. We are committed to creating lasting change.
Foot Note
Estimate derived from the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Survey of State Criminal History Information Systems, 2020 (NCJ 305602), and the National Employment Law Project's 2026 analysis of that data, applied to the Texas adult population as estimated by the Texas Demographic Center (Vintage 2024 Population Estimates). Figure reflects Texas adults age 18 and older who are estimated to have an arrest or conviction record that may appear on a standard background check.
The Texas Restore Act
Nearly 8 Million Texans Are One Record Away From a Better Life.
The Texas Restore Act is a legislative proposal that would expand and automate criminal record relief for eligible Texans through two distinct legal remedies: expunction and orders of nondisclosure. Expunction, governed by Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 55, results in the destruction of the record entirely, as though the arrest or charge never occurred. An order of nondisclosure, governed by Texas Government Code Chapter 411, seals a qualifying conviction or deferred adjudication from public view while the record remains accessible to certain government and law enforcement entities. The Act would build automatic eligibility screening and relief into the system for both remedies, removing the burden currently placed on individuals to identify their own eligibility and navigate a costly, technical court process without assistance.
How It Helps
Right now, a Texan who qualifies for relief, whether that means full expunction of an old arrest or nondisclosure of a completed deferred adjudication, has to know the law well enough to petition for it, pay filing and attorney fees most cannot afford, and wait months for a hearing. Most eligible Texans never file at all, not because they don't qualify, but because the process itself is the barrier. The Texas Restore Act closes that gap. For records eligible for expunction, the record is destroyed outright. For records eligible for nondisclosure, the record is sealed from public and employer view. Either way, the outcome is the same: a landlord, employer, or licensing board no longer sees a record that the law says should not be held against the person any longer.