By Wise                                                H.B. No. 395
         77R598 CAS-D                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to the safety of school district playgrounds.
 1-3           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-4           SECTION 1. Chapter 38, Education Code, is amended by adding
 1-5     Section 38.014 to read as follows:
 1-6           Sec. 38.014.  PLAYGROUND SAFETY. (a)  In this section,
 1-7     "playground" includes playground equipment and the surfacing for
 1-8     the area under and around playground equipment.
 1-9           (b)  Each school district shall appoint a qualified current
1-10     district employee, such as an assistant principal or a physical
1-11     education or other teacher, to serve as the playground safety
1-12     coordinator.
1-13           (c)  In addition to the employee's other duties, the employee
1-14     appointed as the playground safety coordinator shall:
1-15                 (1)  ensure that new district playground equipment and
1-16     surfacing for the area under and around that playground equipment
1-17     substantially complies with and is installed in a manner that
1-18     substantially complies with the most recent standards for public
1-19     playground safety adopted by the United States Consumer Product
1-20     Safety Commission and published in the Handbook for Public
1-21     Playground Safety or a successor publication, regardless of whether
1-22     Section 756.061, Health and Safety Code, applies;
1-23                 (2)  ensure that each district playground:
1-24                       (A)  is inspected for safety on a reasonable
 2-1     schedule; and
 2-2                       (B)  substantially complies with the most recent
 2-3     standards for public playground safety adopted by the Consumer
 2-4     Product Safety Commission and published in the Handbook for Public
 2-5     Playground Safety or a successor publication or is otherwise safe
 2-6     and, to the greatest extent practicable, complies with those safety
 2-7     standards;
 2-8                 (3)  post information at each district playground
 2-9     stating the name, the phone number, and any e-mail address of the
2-10     coordinator;
2-11                 (4)  receive and, if appropriate, act on complaints or
2-12     suggestions concerning district playground safety from district
2-13     personnel, parents of district students, and other members of the
2-14     community;
2-15                 (5)  collaborate with personnel at each district school
2-16     in:
2-17                       (A)  maintaining or improving the safety of the
2-18     school's playground; and
2-19                       (B)  ensuring supervision of children on the
2-20     playground; and
2-21                 (6)  take other reasonable action necessary to ensure
2-22     the safety of district playgrounds.
2-23           (d)  The playground safety coordinator shall refer to the
2-24     United States Consumer Product Safety Commission Public Playground
2-25     Safety Checklist in carrying out duties under this section.
2-26           SECTION 2. This Act applies beginning with the 2001-2002
2-27     school year.
 3-1           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
 3-2     a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
 3-3     provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
 3-4     Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
 3-5     Act takes effect September 1, 2001.