BILL ANALYSIS

S.B. 471

By: West

Public Education

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Recent legislation requires each school district to adopt and implement a policy addressing the sexual abuse of children, and other state law requires the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to develop and periodically update a policy governing certain child abuse reports and a training program on the prevention of child abuse. Interested parties note, however, that the policies do not have to address other forms of abuse or the prevention of child maltreatment, nor does the TEA policy require a school district to use the training program. The parties further note that child-care facilities are not required to adopt or implement an internal child abuse prevention policy. It has been suggested that, given the role schools and child-care facilities can and do play with regard to child abuse, it is critical that employees of these institutions be trained in the prevention of sexual abuse and other maltreatment of children.

Among other provisions, S.B. 471 seeks to provide for such training as it relates to public school, child-placing agency, and day-care center policies addressing sexual abuse and other maltreatment of children.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission in SECTION 4 of this bill.

ANALYSIS

Section 531.0055, Government Code, as amended by Chapter 198 (H.B. 2292), Acts of the 78th Legislature, Regular Session, 2003, expressly grants to the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission all rulemaking authority for the operation of and provision of services by the health and human services agencies. Similarly, Sections 1.16-1.29, Chapter 198 (H.B. 2292), Acts of the 78th Legislature, Regular Session, 2003, provide for the transfer of a power, duty, function, program, or activity from a health and human services agency abolished by that act to the corresponding legacy agency. To the extent practical, this bill analysis is written to reflect any transfer of rulemaking authority and to update references as necessary to an agency's authority with respect to a particular health and human services program.

S.B. 471 amends the Education Code to require the policy addressing sexual abuse of children adopted and implemented by each school district and included in a district improvement plan and in any related informational handbook provided to district students and parents to also address maltreatment of children, in addition to sexual abuse, and to require each open-enrollment charter school to adopt and implement such a policy. The bill specifies that the methods required to be addressed by the policy include methods for increasing staff awareness, rather than teacher awareness, of issues regarding such abuse and maltreatment and prevention techniques, in addition to knowledge of likely warning signs indicating that a child may be a victim. The bill requires that the methods include training, as provided by the bill, concerning prevention techniques for and recognition of sexual abuse and all other maltreatment of children.

S.B. 471 requires the training to be provided, as part of a new employee orientation, to new school district and charter school educators, including counselors and coaches, and other district and charter school professional staff members and to include training concerning factors indicating a child is at-risk for sexual abuse or other maltreatment; likely warning signs indicating a child may be a victim of sexual abuse or maltreatment; internal procedures for seeking assistance for a child who is at-risk for sexual abuse or maltreatment; techniques for reducing that risk; and community organizations that have relevant existing research-based programs that are able to provide training or other education for school district or charter school staff members, students, and parents. The bill authorizes such training to be provided annually to any district or charter school staff member. The bill requires each school district and charter school, for any such training, to maintain records that include the name of each staff member who participated. The bill requires a district or charter school, if the district or school  determines that it does not have sufficient resources to provide the training, to work in conjunction with a community organization to provide the training at no cost to the district or school. The bill authorizes the training to be included in district staff development.

S.B. 471 prohibits a district or charter school employee from being subject to any disciplinary proceeding resulting from an action taken in compliance with the policy addressing sexual abuse and other child maltreatment and establishes that the bill's requirements for that policy are considered to involve an employee's judgment and discretion and are not considered ministerial acts for purposes of immunity from liability. The bill prohibits provisions setting out the policy from being considered to limit the immunity from liability and provides for the meaning of "other maltreatment" as it relates to the policy by reference to the Human Resources Code.

S.B. 471 includes among the elements required for each school district's district improvement plan provisions for the policy addressing sexual abuse and other maltreatment of children. The bill makes this provision applicable beginning with the 2011-2012 school year.

S.B. 471 amends the Human Resources Code to require a child-placing agency or day-care center to provide training for staff members in prevention techniques for and the recognition of symptoms of sexual abuse and other maltreatment of children and the responsibility and procedure of reporting of suspected occurrences of sexual abuse and other maltreatment of children to the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) or another appropriate entity. The bill requires the type of such training to be determined by rule and requires the training to be provided for at least an hour annually and to include training concerning factors indicating a child is at risk for sexual abuse or other maltreatment; likely warning signs indicating a child may be a victim of sexual abuse or other maltreatment; internal procedures for reporting sexual abuse or other maltreatment; and community organizations that have existing training programs that are able to provide training or other education for child-placing agency or day-care center staff members, children, and parents. The bill authorizes a child-placing agency or day-care center, if the agency or center determines that it does not have sufficient resources to provide the training, to contact a DFPS licensing employee to obtain information concerning community organizations that will provide such training at no cost to the agency or center.

S.B. 471 requires each child-placing agency or day-care center to adopt and implement a policy addressing the sexual abuse and other maltreatment of children. The bill requires the policy to address methods for increasing agency and center staff and parent awareness of issues regarding and prevention techniques for sexual abuse and other maltreatment of children, including knowledge of likely warning signs indicating that a child may be a victim, and actions that, after contacting an agency or center, the parent of a child who is a victim of sexual abuse or other maltreatment should take to obtain assistance and intervention. The bill requires the methods for increasing awareness of issues regarding and prevention techniques for child sexual abuse and other maltreatment to include strategies for coordination between the child-placing agency or day-care center and appropriate community organizations and the training regarding prevention techniques, symptom recognition, and reporting procedures provided to child-placing agency and day-care center staff members. The bill defines "other maltreatment," as it relates to the regulation of certain facilities, homes, and agencies that provide child-care services, as abuse or neglect as those terms are defined by specified provisions of the Family Code. The bill makes conforming changes.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2011.