86R9572 JES-F

By: Bonnen of Galveston H.B. No. 17

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to public school safety measures and procedures.

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

SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 7, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 7.061 to read as follows:

Sec. 7.061. FACILITIES STANDARDS. (a) In this section, "instructional facility" has the meaning assigned by Section 46.001.

(b) The commissioner shall adopt or amend rules as necessary to ensure that building standards for instructional facilities and other school district and open-enrollment charter school facilities provide a secure and safe environment. In adopting or amending rules under this section, the commissioner shall include the use of best practices for:

(1) the design and construction of new facilities; and

(2) the improvement, renovation, and retrofitting of existing facilities.

(c) Not later than September 1 of each even-numbered year, the commissioner shall review all rules adopted or amended under this section and amend the rules as necessary to ensure that building standards for school district and open-enrollment charter school facilities continue to provide a secure and safe environment.

SECTION 2. Section 12.104(b), Education Code, as amended by Chapters 324 (S.B. 1488), 522 (S.B. 179), and 735 (S.B. 1153), Acts of the 85th Legislature, Regular Session, 2017, is reenacted and amended to read as follows:

(b) An open-enrollment charter school is subject to:

(1) a provision of this title establishing a criminal offense; and

(2) a prohibition, restriction, or requirement, as applicable, imposed by this title or a rule adopted under this title, relating to:

(A) the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) to the extent necessary to monitor compliance with this subchapter as determined by the commissioner;

(B) criminal history records under Subchapter C, Chapter 22;

(C) reading instruments and accelerated reading instruction programs under Section 28.006;

(D) accelerated instruction under Section 28.0211;

(E) high school graduation requirements under Section 28.025;

(F) special education programs under Subchapter A, Chapter 29;

(G) bilingual education under Subchapter B, Chapter 29;

(H) prekindergarten programs under Subchapter E or E-1, Chapter 29;

(I) extracurricular activities under Section 33.081;

(J) discipline management practices or behavior management techniques under Section 37.0021;

(K) health and safety under Chapter 38;

(L) public school accountability under Subchapters B, C, D, F, G, and J, Chapter 39, and Chapter 39A;

(M) the requirement under Section 21.006 to report an educator's misconduct;

(N) intensive programs of instruction under Section 28.0213;

(O) the right of a school employee to report a crime, as provided by Section 37.148; [and]

(P) bullying prevention policies and procedures under Section 37.0832;

(Q) the right of a school under Section 37.0052 to place a student who has engaged in certain bullying behavior in a disciplinary alternative education program or to expel the student; [and]

(R) the right under Section 37.0151 to report to local law enforcement certain conduct constituting assault or harassment;

(S) [(P)] a parent's right to information regarding the provision of assistance for learning difficulties to the parent's child as provided by Sections 26.004(b)(11) and 26.0081(c) and (d); and

(T) school safety requirements under Sections 37.108, 37.1081, 37.1082, 37.109, 37.113, 37.114, 37.207, and 37.2071.

SECTION 3. Section 37.108, Education Code, is amended by amending Subsections (a), (b), and (c) and adding Subsection (f) 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 Texas School Safety Center in conjunction with the governor's office of homeland security and the commissioner of education or commissioner of higher education, as applicable [in conjunction with the governor's office of homeland security]. The plan must provide for:

(1) [district employee] training in responding to an emergency for district employees, including substitute teachers;

(2) measures to ensure district employees, including substitute teachers, have classroom access to a telephone or another electronic communication device allowing for immediate contact with district emergency services or emergency services agencies, law enforcement agencies, health departments, and fire departments;

(3) if the plan applies to a school district, mandatory school drills and exercises, including drills required under Section 37.114, to prepare district students and employees for responding to an emergency;

(4) [(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

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

(b) At least once every three years, each school district or public junior college district shall conduct a safety and security audit of the district's facilities. To the extent possible, a district shall follow safety and security audit procedures developed by the Texas School Safety Center or a person included in the registry established by the Texas School Safety Center under Section 37.2091 [comparable public or private entity].

(c) A school district or public junior college district shall report the results of the safety and security audit conducted under Subsection (b) to the district's board of trustees and, in the manner required by the Texas School Safety Center, to the Texas School Safety Center. The report provided to the Texas School Safety Center under this subsection must be signed by the district's board of trustees and superintendent. The Texas School Safety Center shall compile school district audit results and report them to the agency.

(f) A school district shall include in its multihazard emergency operations plan:

(1) a chain of command that designates the individual responsible for making final decisions during a disaster or emergency situation and identifies other individuals responsible for making those decisions if the designated person is unavailable;

(2) provisions for responding to a natural disaster, active shooter, and any other dangerous scenario identified for purposes of this section by the agency or the Texas School Safety Center;

(3) provisions for ensuring the safety of students in portable buildings;

(4) provisions for providing immediate notification to parents, guardians, and other persons standing in parental relation in circumstances involving a significant threat to the health or safety of students, including identification of the individual with responsibility for overseeing the notification;

(5) a policy for providing a substitute teacher access to school campus buildings and materials necessary for the substitute teacher to carry out the duties of a district employee during an emergency or a mandatory emergency drill; and

(6) the name of each individual on the district's school safety and security committee established under Section 37.109 and the date of each committee meeting during the preceding year.

SECTION 4. Subchapter D, Chapter 37, Education Code, is amended by adding Sections 37.1081 and 37.1082 to read as follows:

Sec. 37.1081. PUBLIC HEARING ON MULTIHAZARD EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLAN NONCOMPLIANCE. (a) If the board of trustees of a school district receives notice of noncompliance under Section 37.207(e) or 37.2071(g), the board shall hold a public hearing to notify the public of:

(1) the district's failure to:

(A) submit or correct deficiencies in a multihazard emergency operations plan; or

(B) report the results of a safety and security audit to the Texas School Safety Center as required by law;

(2) the dates during which the district has not been in compliance; and

(3) the names of each member of the board of trustees and the superintendent serving in that capacity during the dates the district was not in compliance.

(b) The school district shall provide the information required under Subsection (a)(3) in writing to each person in attendance at the hearing.

(c) The board shall give members of the public a reasonable opportunity to appear before the board and to speak on the issue of the district's failure to submit or correct deficiencies in a multihazard emergency operations plan or report the results of a safety and security audit during a hearing held under this section.

(d) A school district required to hold a public hearing under Subsection (a) shall provide written confirmation to the Texas School Safety Center that the district held the hearing.

Sec. 37.1082. MULTIHAZARD EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLAN NONCOMPLIANCE; APPOINTMENT OF CONSERVATOR OR BOARD OF MANAGERS. (a) If the agency receives notice from the Texas School Safety Center of a school district's failure to submit a multihazard emergency operations plan, the commissioner may appoint a conservator for the district under Chapter 39A. The conservator may order the district to adopt, implement, and submit a multihazard emergency operations plan.

(b) If a district fails to comply with a conservator's order to adopt, implement, and submit a multihazard emergency operations plan within the time frame imposed by the commissioner, the commissioner may appoint a board of managers under Chapter 39A to oversee the operations of the district.

(c) The commissioner may adopt rules as necessary to administer this section.

SECTION 5. Section 37.109, Education Code, is amended by adding Subsections (a-1), (c), and (d) and amending Subsection (b) to read as follows:

(a-1) The committee must include:

(1) one or more representatives of an office of emergency management of a county or city in which the district is located;

(2) one or more representatives of the local police department or sheriff's office;

(3) one or more representatives of the district's police department, if applicable;

(4) one or more representatives of a municipality with territory included within the boundaries of the district;

(5) the president of the district's board of trustees;

(6) a member of the district's board of trustees other than the president;

(7) the district's superintendent;

(8) one or more designees of the district's superintendent, one of whom must be a classroom teacher in the district;

(9) if the district partners with an open-enrollment charter school to provide instruction to students, a member of the open-enrollment charter school's governing body or a designee of the governing body; and

(10) two parents or guardians of students enrolled in the district.

(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) periodically provide recommendations to the district's board of trustees and district administrators regarding updating the district multihazard emergency operations plan required by Section 37.108(a) in accordance with best practices identified by the agency, the Texas School Safety Center, or a person included in the registry established by the Texas School Safety Center under Section 37.2091;

(3) 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]

(4) [(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; and

(5) consult with local law enforcement agencies on methods to increase law enforcement presence near district campuses.

(c) Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, the committee shall meet at least once during each academic semester and at least once during the summer. A committee established by a school district that operates schools on a year-round system or in accordance with another alternative schedule shall meet at least three times during each calendar year, with an interval of at least two months between each meeting.

(d) The committee is subject to Chapter 551, Government Code, and may meet in executive session as provided by that chapter. Notice of a committee meeting must be posted in the same manner as notice of a meeting of the district's board of trustees.

SECTION 6. Subchapter D, Chapter 37, Education Code, is amended by adding Sections 37.113 and 37.114 to read as follows:

Sec. 37.113. NOTIFICATION REGARDING BOMB THREAT OR TERRORISTIC THREAT. A school district that receives a bomb threat or terroristic threat relating to a campus or other district facility at which students are present shall provide notification of the threat as soon as possible to the parent or guardian of or other person standing in parental relation to each student who is assigned to the campus or who regularly uses the facility, as applicable.

Sec. 37.114. EMERGENCY EVACUATIONS; MANDATORY SCHOOL DRILLS. The commissioner, in consultation with the Texas School Safety Center and the state fire marshal, shall adopt rules:

(1) providing procedures for evacuating and securing school property during an emergency; and

(2) designating the number of mandatory school drills to be conducted each semester of the school year, not to exceed 10 drills, including designating the number of:

(A) evacuation fire exit drills; and

(B) lockdown, lockout, shelter-in-place, and evacuation drills.

SECTION 7. Section 37.207, Education Code, is amended by adding Subsections (c), (d), and (e) to read as follows:

(c) In addition to a review of a district's multihazard emergency operations plan under Section 37.2071, the center may require a district to submit its plan for immediate review if the district's audit results indicate that the district is not complying with applicable standards.

(d) If a district fails to report the results of its audit as required under Subsection (b), the center shall provide the district with written notice that the district has failed to report its audit results and must immediately report the results to the center.

(e) If six months after the date of the initial notification required by Subsection (d) the district has still not reported the results of its audit to the center, the center shall notify the agency and the district of the district's requirement to conduct a public hearing under Section 37.1081. This subsection applies only to a school district.

SECTION 8. Subchapter G, Chapter 37, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 37.2071 to read as follows:

Sec. 37.2071. DISTRICT MULTIHAZARD EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLAN REVIEW AND APPROVAL. (a) The center shall establish a random or need-based cycle for the center's review and approval of school district and public junior college district multihazard emergency operations plans adopted under Section 37.108. The cycle must provide for each district's plan to be reviewed at least once every three years.

(b) A school district or public junior college district shall submit its multihazard emergency operations plan to the center on request of the center and in accordance with the center's review cycle developed under Subsection (a).

(c) The center shall review each district's multihazard emergency operations plan submitted under Subsection (b) and:

(1) approve the plan; or

(2) provide the district with written notice:

(A) describing the plan's deficiencies; and

(B) stating that the district must correct the deficiencies in its plan and resubmit the revised plan to the center.

(d) If a district fails to submit its multihazard emergency operations plan to the center for review, the center shall provide the district with written notice stating that the district:

(1) has failed to submit a plan; and

(2) must submit a plan to the center for approval.

(e) The center may approve a district multihazard emergency operations plan that has deficiencies if the district submits a revised plan that the center determines will correct the deficiencies.

(f) If three months after the date of initial notification of a plan's deficiencies under Subsection (c)(2) or failure to submit a plan under Subsection (d) a district has not corrected the plan deficiencies or has failed to submit a plan, the center shall provide written notice to the district and agency that the district has not complied with the requirements of this section and must comply immediately.

(g) If a school district still has not corrected the plan deficiencies or has failed to submit a plan six months after the date of initial notification under Subsection (c)(2) or (d), the center shall provide written notice to the school district stating that the district must hold a public hearing under Section 37.1081.

(h) If a school district has failed to submit a plan, the notice required by Subsection (g) must state that the commissioner is authorized to appoint a conservator under Section 37.1082.

(i) Any document or information collected, developed, or produced during the review and approval of multihazard emergency operations plans under this section is not subject to disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code.

SECTION 9. Section 37.2091(d), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(d) The center shall verify the information provided by a person under Subsection (c) to confirm [registry is intended to serve only as an informational resource for school districts and institutions of higher education. The inclusion of a person in the registry is not an indication of] the person's qualifications and [or] ability to provide school safety or security consulting services before adding the person to the registry [or that the center endorses the person's school safety or security consulting services].

SECTION 10. Section 45.001(a), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) The governing board of an independent school district, including the city council or commission that has jurisdiction over a municipally controlled independent school district, the governing board of a rural high school district, and the commissioners court of a county, on behalf of each common school district under its jurisdiction, may:

(1) issue bonds for:

(A) the construction, acquisition, and equipment of school buildings in the district;

(B) the acquisition of property or the refinancing of property financed under a contract entered under Subchapter A, Chapter 271, Local Government Code, regardless of whether payment obligations under the contract are due in the current year or a future year;

(C) the purchase of the necessary sites for school buildings; [and]

(D) the purchase of new school buses;

(E) the retrofitting of school buses with emergency, safety, or security equipment; and

(F) the purchase or retrofitting of vehicles to be used for emergency, safety, or security purposes; and

(2) [may] levy, pledge, assess, and collect annual ad valorem taxes sufficient to pay the principal of and interest on the bonds as or before the principal and interest become due, subject to Section 45.003.

SECTION 11. Not later than January 1, 2020:

(1) the Texas School Safety Center shall:

(A) develop a list of best practices for ensuring the safety of public school students receiving instruction in portable buildings; and

(B) provide information regarding the list of best practices to school districts using portable buildings for student instruction;

(2) the commissioner of education shall adopt or amend rules as required by Section 7.061, Education Code, as added by this Act; and

(3) the commissioner of education, in consultation with the Texas School Safety Center and the state fire marshal, shall adopt rules as required by Section 37.114, Education Code, as added by this Act.

SECTION 12. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails over another Act of the 86th Legislature, Regular Session, 2019, relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted codes.

SECTION 13. 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, 2019.