S.B. No. 57

AN ACT

relating to provisions and plans by public schools to ensure the safety of individuals with disabilities or impairments during a mandatory school drill or a disaster or emergency situation.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 37.108(f), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(f) A school district shall include in its multihazard emergency operations plan:

(1) a chain of command that designates the individual responsible for making final decisions during a disaster or emergency situation and identifies other individuals responsible for making those decisions if the designated person is unavailable;

(2) provisions that address physical and psychological safety for responding to a natural disaster, active shooter, and any other dangerous scenario identified for purposes of this section by the agency or the Texas School Safety Center;

(3) provisions for ensuring the safety of students in portable buildings;

(4) provisions for ensuring that students and district personnel with disabilities are provided equal access to safety during a disaster or emergency situation based on the recommendations and guidelines established by the commissioner under Section 37.1086;

(5) provisions for providing immediate notification to parents, guardians, and other persons standing in parental relation in circumstances involving a significant threat to the health or safety of students, including identification of the individual with responsibility for overseeing the notification;

(6) provisions for supporting the psychological safety of students, district personnel, and the community during the response and recovery phase following a disaster or emergency situation that:

(A) are aligned with best practice-based programs and research-based practices recommended under Section 38.351;

(B) include strategies for ensuring any required professional development training for suicide prevention and grief-informed and trauma-informed care is provided to appropriate school personnel;

(C) include training on integrating psychological safety and suicide prevention strategies into the district's plan, such as psychological first aid for schools training, from an approved list of recommended training established by the commissioner and Texas School Safety Center for:

(i) members of the district's school safety and security committee under Section 37.109;

(ii) district school counselors and mental health professionals; and

(iii) educators and other district personnel as determined by the district;

(D) include strategies and procedures for integrating and supporting physical and psychological safety that align with the provisions described by Subdivision (2); and

(E) implement trauma-informed policies;

(7) a policy for providing a substitute teacher access to school campus buildings and materials necessary for the substitute teacher to carry out the duties of a district employee during an emergency or a mandatory emergency drill;

(8) the name of each individual on the district's school safety and security committee established under Section 37.109 and the date of each committee meeting during the preceding year; and

(9) certification that the district is in compliance with Section 37.117.

SECTION 2. Section 37.1086, Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 37.1086. RECOMMENDATIONS AND GUIDELINES FOR SCHOOL DRILL ACCOMMODATIONS AND MULTIHAZARD EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLAN PROVISIONS FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES OR IMPAIRMENTS. (a) The commissioner by rule [agency] shall establish:

(1) recommendations regarding accommodations for a student with an individualized education program or a plan created under Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794) during a mandatory school drill required under Section 37.114; and

(2) guidelines for:

(A) the documentation of accommodations for a student described by Subdivision (1) in the provisions in a school district's multihazard emergency operations plan under Section 37.108(f)(4) to ensure the safety of students and district personnel with disabilities or impairments during a mandatory school drill required under Section 37.114 or a disaster or emergency situation;

(B) required communications between campus administrators and staff regarding the accommodations described by Paragraph (A); and

(C) required communications between campus administrators and the school district's school safety and security committee established under Section 37.109 regarding students or district personnel with disabilities or impairments for purposes of providing recommendations for updating the district's multihazard emergency operations plan required by Section 37.108(a).

(b) In establishing recommendations and guidelines under Subsection (a), the commissioner shall consult[, in consultation] with:

(1) the Texas School Safety Center;

(2) regional education service centers;

(3) public school educators and administrators who work with students with disabilities or impairments; and

(4) advocacy groups representing individuals with disabilities or impairments.

(c) [(b)] A school district must follow the guidelines established by the commissioner [agency] under Subsection (a)(2) [(a)] in adopting and implementing the district's multihazard emergency operations plan under Section 37.108.

SECTION 3. Sections 37.109(a-1), (b), (c), and (d), Education Code, are amended to read as follows:

(a-1) The committee, to the greatest extent practicable, must include:

(1) one or more representatives of an office of emergency management of a county or city in which the district is located;

(2) one or more representatives of the local police department or sheriff's office;

(3) one or more representatives of the district's police department, if applicable;

(4) the president of the district's board of trustees;

(5) a member of the district's board of trustees other than the president;

(6) the district's superintendent;

(7) two [one] or more designees of the district's superintendent, one of whom must be a classroom teacher in the district and one of whom must be an administrator of special education in the district;

(8) if the district partners with an open-enrollment charter school to provide instruction to students, a member of the open-enrollment charter school's governing body or a designee of the governing body; and

(9) two parents or guardians of students enrolled in the district.

(b) The committee shall:

(1) participate on behalf of the district in developing and implementing emergency plans consistent with the district multihazard emergency operations plan required by Section 37.108(a) to ensure that the plans reflect specific campus, facility, or support services needs, including recommended accommodations for a student with an individualized education program or a plan created under Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794);

(2) periodically provide recommendations to the district's board of trustees and district administrators regarding updating the district multihazard emergency operations plan required by Section 37.108(a) in accordance with best practices identified by the agency, the Texas School Safety Center, or a person included in the registry established by the Texas School Safety Center under Section 37.2091;

(3) provide the district with any campus, facility, or support services information required in connection with a safety and security audit required by Section 37.108(b), a safety and security audit report required by Section 37.108(c), or another report required to be submitted by the district to the Texas School Safety Center;

(4) review each report required to be submitted by the district to the Texas School Safety Center to ensure that the report contains accurate and complete information regarding each campus, facility, or support service in accordance with criteria established by the center; and

(5) consult with local law enforcement agencies on methods to increase law enforcement presence near district campuses.

(c) Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, the committee shall meet at least once during each academic semester and at least once during the summer and as necessary to provide recommendations, based on communications with campus administrators described by Section 37.1086(a)(2)(C), for updating the district multihazard emergency operations plan required by Section 37.108(a) to include recommended accommodations for a student with an individualized education program or a plan created under Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794). A committee established by a school district that operates schools on a year-round system or in accordance with another alternative schedule shall meet at least three times during each calendar year, with an interval of at least two months between each meeting.

(d) The committee is subject to Chapter 551, Government Code. The committee shall meet in executive session when discussing information regarding a student's individualized education program or a plan created under Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794) for a student[,] and may otherwise meet in executive session as provided by Chapter 551, Government Code [that chapter]. Notice of a committee meeting must be posted in the same manner as notice of a meeting of the district's board of trustees.

SECTION 4. As soon as practicable after the effective date of this Act but not later than June 1, 2026, the commissioner of education shall adopt rules establishing the recommendations and guidelines required by Section 37.1086, Education Code, as amended by this Act.

SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2025.

______________________________ ______________________________

President of the Senate Speaker of the House

I hereby certify that S.B. No. 57 passed the Senate on March 20, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 29, Nays 0; and that the Senate concurred in House amendment on May 30, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.

______________________________ Secretary of the Senate

I hereby certify that S.B. No. 57 passed the House, with amendment, on May 27, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 107, Nays 31, two present not voting.

______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House

Approved:

______________________________

Date

______________________________

Governor