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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to measures for school safety in public schools. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 37.108(f), Education Code, is amended to |
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read as follows: |
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(f) A school district shall include in its multihazard |
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emergency operations plan: |
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(1) a chain of command that designates the individual |
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responsible for making final decisions during a disaster or |
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emergency situation and identifies other individuals responsible |
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for making those decisions if the designated person is unavailable; |
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(2) provisions that address physical and |
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psychological safety for responding to a natural disaster, active |
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shooter, and any other dangerous scenario identified for purposes |
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of this section by the agency or the Texas School Safety Center; |
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(3) provisions for ensuring the safety of students in |
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portable buildings; |
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(4) provisions for ensuring that students and district |
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personnel with disabilities are provided equal access to safety |
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during a disaster or emergency situation; |
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(5) provisions for providing immediate notification |
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to parents, guardians, and other persons standing in parental |
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relation in circumstances involving a significant threat to the |
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health or safety of students, including identification of the |
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individual with responsibility for overseeing the notification; |
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(6) provisions for supporting the psychological |
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safety of students, district personnel, and the community during |
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the response and recovery phase following a disaster or emergency |
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situation that: |
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(A) are aligned with best practice-based |
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programs and research-based practices recommended under Section |
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38.351; |
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(B) include strategies for ensuring any required |
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professional development training for suicide prevention and |
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grief-informed and trauma-informed care is provided to appropriate |
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school personnel; |
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(C) include training on integrating |
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psychological safety and suicide prevention strategies into the |
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district's plan, such as psychological first aid for schools |
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training, from an approved list of recommended training established |
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by the commissioner and Texas School Safety Center for: |
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(i) members of the district's school safety |
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and security committee under Section 37.109; |
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(ii) district school counselors and mental |
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health professionals; and |
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(iii) educators and other district |
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personnel as determined by the district; |
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(D) include strategies and procedures for |
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integrating and supporting physical and psychological safety that |
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align with the provisions described by Subdivision (2); and |
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(E) implement trauma-informed policies; |
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(7) a policy for providing a substitute teacher access |
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to school campus buildings and materials necessary for the |
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substitute teacher to carry out the duties of a district employee |
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during an emergency or a mandatory emergency drill; [and] |
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(8) the name of each individual on the district's |
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school safety and security committee established under Section |
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37.109 and the date of each committee meeting during the preceding |
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year; and |
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(9) provisions for reuniting students with their |
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parents, guardians, or other persons standing in parental relation |
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following a disaster or emergency situation. |
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SECTION 2. Subchapter D, Chapter 37, Education Code, is |
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amended by adding Section 37.117 to read as follows: |
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Sec. 37.117. MOBILE PANIC ALERT SYSTEM. (a) Each school |
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district and open-enrollment charter school, in consultation with |
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local law enforcement agencies, shall implement a mobile panic |
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alert system to send emergency alerts to district or school |
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emergency services and emergency services agencies, law |
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enforcement agencies, health departments, and fire departments. |
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(b) The mobile panic alert system must: |
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(1) allow for immediate contact with district or |
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school emergency services, emergency services agencies, law |
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enforcement agencies, health departments, and fire departments; |
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(2) ensure real-time coordination between first |
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responder agencies; |
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(3) integrate directly with local public safety |
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answering point infrastructure to transmit 9-1-1 telephone calls; |
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and |
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(4) be capable of activation by mobile telephone. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |