By Culberson                                          H.B. No. 3396
         Line and page numbers may not match official copy.
         Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E.
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to the protection of students and parental rights in
 1-3     public schools.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1.  Sections 11.251(b) and (e), Education Code, are
 1-6     amended to read as follows:
 1-7           (b)  The board shall adopt a policy to establish a district-
 1-8     and campus-level planning and decision-making process that will
 1-9     involve the professional staff of the district, parents, and
1-10     community members in establishing and reviewing the district's and
1-11     campuses' educational plans, goals, performance objectives, and
1-12     major classroom instructional programs.  The board shall establish
1-13     a procedure under which meetings are held regularly by district-
1-14     and campus-level planning and decision-making committees that
1-15     include representative professional staff, parents of students
1-16     enrolled in the district, and community members.  Parents shall
1-17     comprise not less than twenty-five percent (25%) of the membership
1-18     of the district and campus level committees. The committees shall
1-19     include business representatives, without regard to whether a
1-20     business representative resides in the district or whether the
1-21     business the person represents is located in the district.  The
 2-1     board, or the board's designee, shall periodically meet with the
 2-2     district-level committee to review the district-level committee's
 2-3     deliberations.
 2-4           (e)  The board shall adopt a procedure, consistent with
 2-5     Section 21.407(a), for the professional staff in the district to
 2-6     nominate and elect the professional staff representatives who shall
 2-7     meet with the board or the board designee as required under this
 2-8     section.  At least two-thirds of the elected professional staff
 2-9     representatives must be classroom teachers.  The remaining staff
2-10     representatives shall include both campus- and district-level
2-11     professional staff members.  Board policy must provide procedures
2-12     for:
2-13                 (1)  the selection of parents to the district-level and
2-14     campus-level committees.  The district administration shall
2-15     publicize the opportunity to serve as a parent member on the
2-16     district- or campus-level committees by sending parents a notice
2-17     explaining the function of each committee and how the parent
2-18     members are selected.  The term of a parent member shall be one
2-19     calendar year.  The district shall request that parents return the
2-20     notice affirmatively marked either "yes" the parent would be
2-21     interested in serving, or "no" they would not.  A date to return
2-22     the notice to the school shall be a part of the notice along with
2-23     the term of service.  The parent participation form shall either be
2-24     sent home in the beginning of the year package of parent advisory
2-25     forms, at the end of a school year with the final report card, or
 3-1     by U.S. Mail annually at the time of the district's choosing.
 3-2     Selection of parents to the district- and campus-level committees
 3-3     must be by lottery or other random selection process; and
 3-4                 (2)  the selection of community members and business
 3-5     representatives to serve on the district-level committee in a
 3-6     manner that provides for appropriate representation of the
 3-7     community's diversity.
 3-8           SECTION 2.  Section 25.083, Education Code, is amended by
 3-9     adding Subsection (a) to read as follows:
3-10           (a)  Courses in the foundation curriculum as enumerated in
3-11     Section 28.002(1)(A)-(D) shall not be interrupted for career
3-12     awareness counseling and other nonacademic class activities other
3-13     than emergency announcements and periodic general announcements.
3-14           SECTION 3.  Section 25.087, Education Code, is amended by
3-15     adding Subsections (c) and (d) to read as follows:
3-16           (c)  A school district shall not allow or permit a student to
3-17     leave a school campus for any purpose other than school sponsored
3-18     activities except to receive emergency treatment for an acute or
3-19     life-threatening injury or illness without the written or verified
3-20     verbal consent of the parent for each occurrence.
3-21           (d)  A student's absence is excused if the parent submits a
3-22     written notice of the absence, to include the date and/or times of
3-23     the absence.
3-24           SECTION 4.  Section 26.004, Education Code, is amended to
3-25     read as follows:
 4-1           Sec. 26.004.  ACCESS TO STUDENT RECORDS.  A school district
 4-2     is required to fully disclose in writing on an annual basis, and to
 4-3     make available to parents upon the parent's request at a cost not
 4-4     to exceed 10 cents per page, all information which is being
 4-5     retained by, or is in the possession of, the school in regard to
 4-6     the parent's child, including how the information is to be used and
 4-7     maintained, who has access to it, and how security is assured.
 4-8     Records on a parent's child shall be absolutely confidential and
 4-9     except for authorized and disclosed school employees or in
4-10     cooperation with an investigation authorized under Section 38.004,
4-11     Education Code, are not to be released or made available on a
4-12     student-identified basis to any other party without the parent's
4-13     informed, explicit written or verified verbal permission.  Failure
4-14     to make this information available upon request at a cost not to
4-15     exceed ten cents per page shall result in the loss or suspension of
4-16     the certification of the teacher or administrator.  A parent is
4-17     entitled to access to all written records of a school district
4-18     concerning the parent's child, including, but not limited to:
4-19                 (1)  attendance records;
4-20                 (2)  test scores;
4-21                 (3)  grades;
4-22                 (4)  disciplinary records;
4-23                 (5)  counseling records;
4-24                 (6)  psychological records;
4-25                 (7)  applications for admissions;
 5-1                 (8)  health and immunization information;
 5-2                 (9)  teacher and counselor evaluations; and
 5-3                 (10)  reports of behavioral patterns.
 5-4           SECTION 5.  Section 26.009, Education Code, is amended by
 5-5     adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
 5-6           (c)  Prior to administration, a school district is required
 5-7     to notify parents in writing and to provide complete information
 5-8     about any survey or questionnaire to be administered to the
 5-9     parent's child.  Notification may be sent via the U.S. Mail, or by
5-10     sending an information sheet home with the student to be signed by
5-11     the parent.  If the latter method is used, the school must receive
5-12     signed forms from at least fifty percent (50%) of the notified
5-13     parents in order to meet this notice requirement.  Parents must
5-14     receive the notification at least one week prior to the
5-15     administration of a survey or questionnaire.  The information
5-16     disclosed to parents must include what organization created and
5-17     funded the survey or questionnaire, how the information is to be
5-18     used, who will maintain and have access to the data, and whether or
5-19     not the data is to be identified to the student.  The parent has
5-20     the right to obtain a copy of the survey or other instrument upon
5-21     request at a cost not to exceed 10 cents per page.  Parents also
5-22     have the right to see the results of the survey or questionnaire
5-23     and to exempt the parents' child from participating in the survey
5-24     or questionnaire for any reason.
5-25           SECTION 6.  Chapter 26, Education Code, is amended by adding
 6-1     Section 26.013 to read as follows:
 6-2           Sec. 26.013.  RIGHT TO PETITION.  Parents have the right to
 6-3     petition their school district board of trustees to place an action
 6-4     item on the agenda of the next public meeting of the board of
 6-5     trustees and to request a record vote on the action item submitted
 6-6     to the board.  A valid petition must contain a sufficient number of
 6-7     signatures of registered voters to equal five percent (5%) of the
 6-8     number voters who voted in the last school board election.
 6-9     Petitions must contain the signature, printed name, address and
6-10     voter registration number for the petition signature to be valid.
6-11           SECTION 7.  Section 26, Education Code, is amended by adding
6-12     Section 26.014 to read as follows:
6-13           Sec. 26.014.  VIOLATIONS OF PARENTAL RIGHTS.   (a)  Any
6-14     parent may sue in any court in the county where they reside to
6-15     enforce any provision of this Act, or if the violation is statewide
6-16     in the District Court in Travis County, to seek issuance of a
6-17     temporary or permanent restraining order or such other injunctive
6-18     or equitable relief as the court deems necessary to enforce the
6-19     parental rights guaranteed by the education code, state or federal
6-20     law, or the Texas or U.S. Constitution.  The parent may recover all
6-21     civil damages, out of pocket expenses including lost wages, and
6-22     attorney's fees from any government authority and/or contract
6-23     service provider.
6-24           (b)  After all appeals have been exhausted, a teacher or
6-25     administrator who has been found guilty of violating a parent's
 7-1     parental rights shall have his or her certification suspended for
 7-2     one year.
 7-3           SECTION 8.  Section 33.003, Subchapter A, Chapter 33,
 7-4     Education Code, is amended to read as follows:
 7-5           Sec. 33.003.  The board of trustees of each school district
 7-6     shall adopt guidelines to protect parental rights by ensuring that
 7-7     written consent is obtained from the parent, legal guardian, or
 7-8     person entitled to enroll the student under Section 25.001(j) for
 7-9     the student to participate (in those activities for which the
7-10     district requires parental consent.) in developmental guidance,
7-11     career awareness and counseling programs, and such other activities
7-12     as the board of trustees may deem appropriate.
7-13           SECTION 9.  Section 38.011, Education Code, is amended by
7-14     adding Subsections (a) and (b) to read as follows:
7-15           (a)  A school district board of trustees that wishes to
7-16     expand or change the health services available in a public school
7-17     from those which were available on January 1, 1999, must hold a
7-18     public hearing at which the district will fully disclose all
7-19     information on the proposed clinic including the services to be
7-20     provided, if federal law allows or requires any services to be kept
7-21     confidential from the parents, if medical records will be
7-22     accessible to parents, information about grant funds to be used for
7-23     the clinic or any services, who will have access to the medical
7-24     records of a student, and what security measures are in force to
7-25     protect the students' medical privacy. The hearing must include a
 8-1     time for public comment on the proposal.  If the health services
 8-2     available to students is expanded or changed after January 1, 1999,
 8-3     the district must fully disclose to parents on an annual basis the
 8-4     information named hereinabove along with a summary of clinic
 8-5     complaints lodged with the district in the past year.
 8-6           (b)  A school district must obtain the prior informed written
 8-7     or verified verbal consent of the child's parent each time a
 8-8     service other than routine screening or minor routine care is
 8-9     provided. A blanket consent form will not satisfy this informed
8-10     consent requirement.
8-11           SECTION 10.  This Act applies beginning with the 1999-2000
8-12     school year.
8-13           SECTION 11.  The importance of this legislation and the
8-14     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
8-15     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
8-16     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
8-17     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
8-18     and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
8-19     passage, and it is so enacted.