84R6585 MK-D

By: West S.B. No. 1247

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the establishment of a workgroup to examine the implementation of dating violence awareness and education programs in public schools.

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

SECTION 1. Section 37.0831, Education Code, is amended by adding Subsections (c), (d), (e), and (f) to read as follows:

(c) The commissioner shall establish a workgroup to make recommendations related to ensuring and improving implementation of the dating violence policy required under Subsection (a) in public schools. The workgroup must be composed of:

(1) one member from the agency;

(2) one member from the Texas State Teachers Association;

(3) one member from the Texas American Federation of Teachers;

(4) one member from the Association of Texas Professional Educators;

(5) one member from the Texas Association of School Boards;

(6) one member from the Texas Association of School Administrators;

(7) one member from the Texas School Counselor Association;

(8) one member from the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals;

(9) one member from the Texas School Nurses Organization;

(10) one member from the Texas School Safety Center;

(11) one member from the Texas High School Coaches Association;

(12) three campus safety officers;

(13) four members from family violence centers, as defined by Section 51.002, Human Resources Code, from different geographic regions in this state, including both rural and urban areas;

(14) one member from a statewide family violence advocacy organization;

(15) one member from a statewide sexual assault advocacy organization;

(16) one member from a statewide advocacy organization that serves teenage victims of dating violence;

(17) one member from the intake division or the investigation division of the Department of Family and Protective Services;

(18) one member from the Parenting and Paternity Awareness program in the office of the attorney general;

(19) one member from the family violence program in the Health and Human Services Commission;

(20) two members from the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, including one member who has experience with juvenile probation; and

(21) one member who is affiliated with a university in the state and has expertise in research on dating violence.

(d) The workgroup shall:

(1) recommend specific methods of implementing training for educators and school administrators under the policy required by Subsection (a);

(2) recommend specific methods of implementing awareness education for parents and students under the policy required by Subsection (a);

(3) recommend improvements to the policy required by Subsection (a);

(4) propose amendments to Section 11.252 that would incorporate into district-level planning and decision making the policy required by Subsection (a);

(5) examine the intersection between juvenile justice and youth dating violence;

(6) develop strategies for enhancing the safety and security of school campuses in the context of dating violence; and

(7) develop specific approaches for the implementation of dating violence training and awareness education in middle schools.

(e) The workgroup established under Subsection (c) shall report its recommendations to the legislature not later than September 1, 2016.

(f) This subsection and Subsections (c), (d), and (e) expire September 1, 2016.

SECTION 2. 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, 2015.