By: West, et al. S.B. No. 471
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to public school, child-placing agency, and day-care
  center policies addressing sexual abuse and other maltreatment of
  children.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subsection (a), Section 11.252, Education Code,
  is amended to read as follows:
         (a)  Each school district shall have a district improvement
  plan that is developed, evaluated, and revised annually, in
  accordance with district policy, by the superintendent with the
  assistance of the district-level committee established under
  Section 11.251.  The purpose of the district improvement plan is to
  guide district and campus staff in the improvement of student
  performance for all student groups in order to attain state
  standards in respect to the student achievement indicators adopted
  under Section 39.053.  The district improvement plan must include
  provisions for:
               (1)  a comprehensive needs assessment addressing
  district student performance on the student achievement
  indicators, and other appropriate measures of performance, that are
  disaggregated by all student groups served by the district,
  including categories of ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sex, and
  populations served by special programs, including students in
  special education programs under Subchapter A, Chapter 29;
               (2)  measurable district performance objectives for
  all appropriate student achievement indicators for all student
  populations, including students in special education programs
  under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, and other measures of student
  performance that may be identified through the comprehensive needs
  assessment;
               (3)  strategies for improvement of student performance
  that include:
                     (A)  instructional methods for addressing the
  needs of student groups not achieving their full potential;
                     (B)  methods for addressing the needs of students
  for special programs, such as suicide prevention, conflict
  resolution, violence prevention, or dyslexia treatment programs;
                     (C)  dropout reduction;
                     (D)  integration of technology in instructional
  and administrative programs;
                     (E)  discipline management;
                     (F)  staff development for professional staff of
  the district;
                     (G)  career education to assist students in
  developing the knowledge, skills, and competencies necessary for a
  broad range of career opportunities; and
                     (H)  accelerated education;
               (4)  strategies for providing to middle school, junior
  high school, and high school students, those students' teachers and
  counselors, and those students' parents information about:
                     (A)  higher education admissions and financial
  aid opportunities;
                     (B)  the TEXAS grant program and the Teach for
  Texas grant program established under Chapter 56;
                     (C)  the need for students to make informed
  curriculum choices to be prepared for success beyond high school;
  and
                     (D)  sources of information on higher education
  admissions and financial aid;
               (5)  resources needed to implement identified
  strategies;
               (6)  staff responsible for ensuring the accomplishment
  of each strategy;
               (7)  timelines for ongoing monitoring of the
  implementation of each improvement strategy; [and]
               (8)  formative evaluation criteria for determining
  periodically whether strategies are resulting in intended
  improvement of student performance; and
               (9)  the policy under Section 38.0041 addressing sexual
  abuse and other maltreatment of children.
         SECTION 2.  Section 38.0041, Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 38.0041.  POLICIES ADDRESSING SEXUAL ABUSE AND OTHER
  MALTREATMENT OF CHILDREN. (a)  Each school district and
  open-enrollment charter school shall adopt and implement a policy
  addressing sexual abuse and other maltreatment of children, to be
  included in the district improvement plan under Section 11.252 and
  any informational handbook provided to students and parents.
         (b)  A policy required by this section must address:
               (1)  methods for increasing staff [teacher], student,
  and parent awareness of issues regarding sexual abuse and other
  maltreatment of children, including prevention techniques and 
  knowledge of likely warning signs indicating that a child may be a
  victim of sexual abuse or other maltreatment, using resources
  developed by the agency under Section 38.004;
               (2)  actions that a child who is a victim of sexual
  abuse or other maltreatment should take to obtain assistance and
  intervention; and
               (3)  available counseling options for students
  affected by sexual abuse or other maltreatment.
         (c)  The methods under Subsection (b)(1) for increasing
  awareness of issues regarding sexual abuse and other maltreatment
  of children must include training, as provided by this subsection,
  concerning prevention techniques for and recognition of sexual
  abuse and all other maltreatment of children.  The training:
               (1)  must be provided, as part of a new employee
  orientation, to new school district and open-enrollment charter
  school educators, including counselors and coaches, and other
  district and charter school professional staff members;
               (2)  may be provided annually to any district or
  charter school staff member; and
               (3)  must include training concerning:
                     (A)  factors indicating a child is at risk for
  sexual abuse or other maltreatment;
                     (B)  likely warning signs indicating a child may
  be a victim of sexual abuse or other maltreatment;
                     (C)  internal procedures for seeking assistance
  for a child who is at risk for sexual abuse or other maltreatment,
  including referral to a school counselor, a social worker, or
  another mental health professional;
                     (D)  techniques for reducing a child's risk of
  sexual abuse or other maltreatment; and
                     (E)  community organizations that have relevant
  existing research-based programs that are able to provide training
  or other education for school district or open-enrollment charter
  school staff members, students, and parents.
         (d)  For any training under Subsection (c), each school
  district and open-enrollment charter school shall maintain records
  that include the name of each district or charter school staff
  member who participated in the training.
         (e)  If a school district or open-enrollment charter school
  determines that the district or charter school does not have
  sufficient resources to provide the training required under
  Subsection (c), the district or charter school shall work in
  conjunction with a community organization to provide the training
  at no cost to the district or charter school.
         (f)  The training under Subsection (c) may be included in
  staff development under Section 21.451.
         (g)  A school district or open-enrollment charter school
  employee may not be subject to any disciplinary proceeding, as
  defined by Section 22.0512(b), resulting from an action taken in
  compliance with this section.  The requirements of this section are
  considered to involve an employee's judgment and discretion and are
  not considered ministerial acts for purposes of immunity from
  liability under Section 22.0511.  Nothing in this section may be
  considered to limit the immunity from liability provided under
  Section 22.0511.
         (h)  For purposes of this section, "other maltreatment" has
  the meaning assigned by Section 42.002, Human Resources Code.
         SECTION 3.  Section 42.002, Human Resources Code, is amended
  by adding Subdivision (23) to read as follows:
               (23)  "Other maltreatment" means:
                     (A)  abuse, as defined by Section 261.001 or
  261.401, Family Code; or
                     (B)  neglect, as defined by Section 261.001 or
  261.401, Family Code.
         SECTION 4.  Subchapter C, Chapter 42, Human Resources Code,
  is amended by adding Section 42.04261 to read as follows:
         Sec. 42.04261.  OTHER TRAINING OF PERSONNEL:  CHILD-PLACING
  AGENCIES AND DAY-CARE CENTERS.  (a)  Notwithstanding Section
  42.0426(a)(1), a child-placing agency or day-care center shall
  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
  suspected occurrences of sexual abuse and other maltreatment of
  children to the department or other appropriate entity.
         (b)  The type of training required under Subsection (a) shall
  be determined by department rule.  The training must be provided for
  at least an hour annually and must include training concerning:
               (1)  factors indicating a child is at risk for sexual
  abuse or other maltreatment;
               (2)  likely warning signs indicating a child may be a
  victim of sexual abuse or other maltreatment;
               (3)  internal procedures for reporting sexual abuse or
  other maltreatment; and
               (4)  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.
         (c)  If a child-placing agency or day-care center determines
  that it does not have sufficient resources to provide the training
  required under this section, the agency or center may contact a
  department licensing employee to obtain information concerning
  community organizations that will provide such training at no cost
  to the agency or center.
         SECTION 5.  Subchapter C, Chapter 42, Human Resources Code,
  is amended by adding Section 42.0428 to read as follows:
         Sec. 42.0428.  POLICIES ADDRESSING SEXUAL ABUSE AND OTHER
  MALTREATMENT OF CHILDREN. (a)  Each child-placing agency or
  day-care center shall adopt and implement a policy addressing
  sexual abuse and other maltreatment of children.
         (b)  A policy required by this section must address:
               (1)  methods for increasing child-placing agency and
  day-care 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 of sexual abuse or other maltreatment;
  and
               (2)  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.
         (c)  The methods under Subsection (b)(1) for increasing
  awareness of issues regarding and prevention techniques for sexual
  abuse and other maltreatment of children must include:
               (1)  the training required under Section 42.04261; and
               (2)  strategies for coordination between the
  child-placing agency or day-care center and appropriate community
  organizations.
         SECTION 6.  Subsection (a), Section 11.252, Education Code,
  as amended by this Act, applies beginning with the 2011-2012 school
  year.
         SECTION 7.  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.