BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Research Center C.S.S.B. 1792
Committee Report (Substituted)
AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT
Currently, school districts do not provide a comprehensive education component to educate students on what constitutes inappropriate conduct by an adult.
C.S.S.B. 1792 requires the essential knowledge and skills for health courses to provide for age-appropriate curricula on knowledge and skills related to personal safety and recognizing and reporting inappropriate conduct by an adult, including verbal comments, physical contact, photography, and online communications.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. Amends Section 28.002, Education Code, by adding Subsection (q), to require the essential knowledge and skills for health courses to include, at appropriate grade levels, knowledge and skills related to personal safety and to recognizing and reporting inappropriate conduct by an adult including, but not limited to, verbal comments, physical contact, photography, and online communications. Requires the State Board of Education (SBOE), in identifying essential knowledge and skills under this subsection, to consult the Texas School Safety Center (center) in addition to the participants described by Subsection (c) (educators, parents, business and industry representatives, and employers).
SECTION 2. Requires SBOE, in consultation with the center, to identify the knowledge and skills related to personal safety to include among the essential knowledge and skills for health care courses as provided by Section 28.002(q), Education Code, as added by this Act, not later that March 1, 2008. Requires a school district or open-enrollment charter school to provide such instruction beginning with the 2008-2009 school year.
SECTION 3. Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2007.