By: Seliger S.B. No. 1556

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the establishment of the School Safety Advisory Council and School Safety Certification Program.

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

SECTION 1. Article 418, Government Code, is amended by adding Section 418.0426 to read as follows:

Sec. 418.0426. SCHOOL SAFETY ADVISORY COUNCIL. (a) The Chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, or a designee of the Chief, the Director of the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training Center, or a designee of the Director, the Director of the Texas School Safety Center, or a designee of the Director, and the Agency Director of the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service, or a designee of the Agency Director, shall establish a School Safety Advisory Council.

(1) The Chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, or a designee of the Chief, shall serve as the chair of the School Safety Advisory Council.

(2) The council shall study best practices for use in school multi-hazard emergency operations planning in order to make recommendations to the Texas School Safety Center and the Office of Homeland Security.

(3) The council shall consider input from school safety personnel, first responders, emergency managers, local officials, school districts, educators, nonprofit organizations, and other stakeholders in order to make its recommendations.

(4) The council shall report its findings, including recommendations for any necessary statutory changes, to the legislature before September 1, 2014, and every subsequent even-numbered year.

SECTION 2. Article 37.2051, Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 37.2051. SECURITY CRITERIA FOR INSTRUCTIONAL FACILITIES. SCHOOL SAFETY CERTIFICATION PROGRAM. (a) The center, shall develop security criteria that school districts may consider in the design of instructional facilities. in consultation with the School Safety Advisory Council, shall create a School Safety Certification Program for school districts that meet the following eligibility criteria:

(1) in the district's multihazard emergency operations plan, the district includes physical security measures, a plan to communicate with parents and the media in the event of an emergency, and an outline of safety training for school personnel;

(2) the district demonstrates to the center that the district conducts a minimum of one emergency drill for lockdown, evacuation, reverse evacuation, weather, and shelter-in-place each year;

(3) the district has updated its school safety and security audit and reported the results to the Texas School Safety Center as required by Sec 37.108(c), Education Code; and

(4) other eligibility criteria as recommended by the School Safety Advisory Council under Sec. 418.0426, Government Code.

SECTION 3. 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, 2013.