82R10250 EAH-D

By: Bonnen H.B. No. 2797

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to elimination of the requirement that school districts and public junior college districts conduct periodic safety and security audits of district facilities.

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

SECTION 1. Sections 37.108(a) and (c-2), Education Code, are amended to read as follows:

(a) Each school district or public junior college district shall adopt and implement a multihazard emergency operations plan for use in the district's facilities. The plan must address mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery as defined by the commissioner of education or commissioner of higher education in conjunction with the governor's office of homeland security. The plan must provide for:

(1) district employee training in responding to an emergency;

(2) if the plan applies to a school district, mandatory school drills and exercises to prepare district students and employees for responding to an emergency; and

(3) measures to ensure coordination with the Department of State Health Services and local emergency management agencies, law enforcement, health departments, and fire departments in the event of an emergency[; and

[(4) the implementation of a safety and security audit as required by Subsection (b)].

(c-2) A document relating to a school district's or public junior college district's multihazard emergency operations plan is subject to disclosure if the document enables a person to:

(1) verify that the district has established a plan and determine the agencies involved in the development of the plan and the agencies coordinating with the district to respond to an emergency, including the Department of State Health Services, local emergency services agencies, law enforcement agencies, health departments, and fire departments;

(2) verify that the district's plan was reviewed within the last 12 months and determine the specific review dates;

(3) verify that the plan addresses the four phases of emergency management under Subsection (a);

(4) verify that district employees have been trained to respond to an emergency and determine the types of training, the number of employees trained, and the person conducting the training;

(5) verify that each campus in the district has conducted mandatory emergency drills and exercises in accordance with the plan and determine the frequency of the drills;

(6) if the district is a school district, verify that the district has established a plan for responding to a train derailment if required under Subsection (d);

(7) [verify that the district has completed a safety and security audit under Subsection (b) and determine the date the audit was conducted, the person conducting the audit, and the date the district presented the results of the audit to the district's board of trustees;

[(8)] verify that the district has addressed any recommendations by the district's board of trustees for improvement of the plan and determine the district's progress within the last 12 months; and

(8) [(9)] if the district is a school district, verify that the district has established a visitor policy and identify the provisions governing access to a district building or other district property.

SECTION 2. Section 37.109(b), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(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;

(2) 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; and

(3) 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.

SECTION 3. Section 37.2161(a), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) The center shall periodically provide a school safety and security progress report to the governor, the legislature, the State Board of Education, and the agency that contains current information regarding school safety and security in the school districts and public junior college districts of this state based on:

(1) elements of each district's multihazard emergency operations plan required by Section 37.108(a); and

(2) [elements of each district's safety and security audit required by Section 37.108(b); and

[(3)] any [other] report required to be submitted to the center.

SECTION 4. Sections 37.108(b), (c), and (c-1), Education Code, are repealed.

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, 2011.