87R5242 JES-D

By: Lucio S.B. No. 1074

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to positive behavior plans of school districts, development of positive behavior best practices by the Texas Education Agency, and reporting of disproportionate discretionary disciplinary action by school districts.

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

SECTION 1. Subchapter F, Chapter 11, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 11.2521 to read as follows:

Sec. 11.2521. DISTRICT POSITIVE BEHAVIOR PLAN. (a) A school district may adopt a district positive behavior plan to promote learning, improve school safety, and identify strategies to support students in developing and exhibiting positive behavior. A positive behavior plan must:

(1) include measurable district performance objectives to determine if the district is successfully meeting goals established under the plan;

(2) use an age-appropriate and research-based approach to identify and support the behavioral needs of students;

(3) be developed with input from stakeholders, including school district employees, parents, students, and community members;

(4) complement the individualized education plans of any district students receiving special education services under Subchapter A, Chapter 29;

(5) provide evidence-based models for positive behavior;

(6) prioritize alternative disciplinary courses of action that do not rely on the use of in-school suspension, out-of-school suspension, or placement in a disciplinary alternative education program or juvenile justice alternative education program to manage student behavior;

(7) incorporate the use of the comprehensive school counseling program developed under Section 33.005;

(8) provide positive behavior management strategies, including:

(A) positive behavior interventions and support;

(B) trauma-informed practices;

(C) social and emotional learning;

(D) referral for services, if necessary;

(E) restorative practices;

(F) meditation; and

(G) guided individual counseling and case management;

(9) include a list of training and resources necessary to implement the plan; and

(10) at least once every two years, be reviewed and, if necessary, revised using data collected on the performance objectives included in the plan under Subdivision (1).

(b) In determining the training necessary to implement the positive behavior plan, a school district must, to the extent possible, include training that fulfills educators' continuing education requirements under Section 21.054.

(c) A school district's positive behavior plan may:

(1) detail the use of exclusionary disciplinary actions, including in-school suspension, out-of-school suspension, or placement in a disciplinary alternative education program or juvenile justice alternative education program, which may be used only:

(A) when required by law; or

(B) under the circumstances specified in the district's student code of conduct adopted under Section 37.001; and

(2) in accordance with Section 37.081, provide for:

(A) employing security personnel;

(B) entering into a memorandum of understanding with a local law enforcement agency for the provision of school resource officers; or

(C) commissioning peace officers.

(d) On the request of a school district, the agency shall provide a resource included on the positive behavior best practices list under Section 37.0016 to the district if the district's positive behavior plan complies with Subsection (a) and the resource is included in the district's plan. A district must include a copy of the district's plan with the request. The agency may not charge a district for any resource provided under this subsection.

(e) A plan adopted under this section satisfies a school district's requirement to develop strategies to improve positive behavior interventions and support in the district improvement plan under Section 11.252.

SECTION 2. Section 21.054(d), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(d) Continuing education requirements for a classroom teacher must provide that at least 25 percent of the training required every five years include instruction regarding:

(1) collecting and analyzing information that will improve effectiveness in the classroom;

(2) recognizing early warning indicators that a student may be at risk of dropping out of school;

(3) digital learning, digital teaching, and integrating technology into classroom instruction;

(4) educating diverse student populations, including:

(A) students who are eligible to participate in special education programs under Subchapter A, Chapter 29;

(B) students who are eligible to receive educational services required under Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794);

(C) students with mental health conditions or who engage in substance abuse;

(D) students with intellectual or developmental disabilities;

(E) students who are educationally disadvantaged;

(F) students of limited English proficiency; and

(G) students at risk of dropping out of school;

(5) understanding appropriate relationships, boundaries, and communications between educators and students; [and]

(6) how mental health conditions, including grief and trauma, affect student learning and behavior and how evidence-based, grief-informed, and trauma-informed strategies support the academic success of students affected by grief and trauma; and

(7) using positive behavior management strategies described by Section 11.2521(a)(8).

SECTION 3. Section 21.451(d), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(d) The staff development:

(1) may include training in:

(A) technology;

(B) positive behavior intervention and support strategies, including classroom management, district discipline policies, the district's positive behavior plan adopted under Section 11.2521, and the student code of conduct adopted under Chapter 37; and

(C) digital learning;

(2) subject to Subsection (e) and to Section 21.3541 and rules adopted under that section, must include training that is evidence-based, as defined by Section 8101, Every Student Succeeds Act (20 U.S.C. Section 7801), and that:

(A) relates to instruction of students with disabilities, including students with disabilities who also have other intellectual or mental health conditions; and

(B) is designed for educators who work primarily outside the area of special education; and

(3) must include training on:

(A) suicide prevention;

(B) recognizing signs of mental health conditions and substance abuse;

(C) strategies for establishing and maintaining positive relationships among students, including conflict resolution;

(D) how grief and trauma affect student learning and behavior and how evidence-based, grief-informed, and trauma-informed strategies support the academic success of students affected by grief and trauma; and

(E) preventing, identifying, responding to, and reporting incidents of bullying.

SECTION 4. Subchapter A, Chapter 37, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 37.0016 to read as follows:

Sec. 37.0016. POSITIVE BEHAVIOR BEST PRACTICES LIST. (a) The agency, in coordination with the Health and Human Services Commission, shall provide and annually update a list of recommended best practices relating to school discipline and models of positive behavior, including methods to:

(1) ensure schools do not take discretionary disciplinary action against a disproportionate number of students:

(A) of a particular race;

(B) who are enrolled in a special education program under Subchapter A, Chapter 29; or

(C) who receive accommodations or services under Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794);

(2) identify underlying causes of disruptive behaviors;

(3) promote person-centered approaches to behavior management;

(4) minimize the use of exclusionary disciplinary actions;

(5) promote a positive school climate;

(6) develop, implement, and revise evidence-based behavior intervention plans; and

(7) improve the general health and safety of students.

(b) The list developed under Subsection (a):

(1) must include training materials and other resources on:

(A) positive behavior interventions and support;

(B) trauma-informed practices;

(C) social and emotional learning;

(D) promoting a positive school climate; and

(E) restorative practices; and

(2) may include training materials and other resources on any other topic listed under Subsection (a).

(c) In developing the list, the agency may collaborate with:

(1) educators;

(2) community member organizations;

(3) institutions of higher education;

(4) the Texas School Safety Center;

(5) regional education service centers;

(6) the Center for Elimination of Disproportionality and Disparities;

(7) organizations with expertise in providing evidence-based training in positive behavior models to school districts; and

(8) any other entity the agency considers appropriate.

(d) The list developed under Subsection (a) must be posted on the agency's Internet website and on the Internet website of each regional education service center.

(e) In updating the list developed under Subsection (a), the agency shall incorporate data collected from school districts that have adopted positive behavior plans under Section 11.2521, including data collected by school districts on the performance objectives included in districts' plans under Section 11.2521(a)(1).

(f) Training materials included in the list under Subsection (b) must, to the extent possible, fulfill educators' continuing education requirements under Section 21.054.

SECTION 5. Subchapter A, Chapter 37, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 37.0201 to read as follows:

Sec. 37.0201. POSITIVE BEHAVIOR PLAN: DISPROPORTIONATE DISCRETIONARY DISCIPLINARY ACTION. (a) In this section, "discretionary disciplinary action" means any disciplinary action taken by a school district that is allowed but not required under this chapter or the district's student code of conduct.

(b) The agency shall evaluate information reported through the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) to determine whether a school district appears to be taking discretionary disciplinary action, including suspension, expulsion, placement in a disciplinary alternative education program or juvenile justice alternative education program, or any other disciplinary action reported through PEIMS, against a disproportionate number of students:

(1) of a particular race or ethnicity;

(2) who are enrolled in a special education program under Subchapter A, Chapter 29;

(3) who receive accommodations or services under Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794);

(4) who are homeless; or

(5) who are in a bilingual education or special language program under Subchapter B, Chapter 29.

(c) On determining that a school district is taking discretionary disciplinary action disproportionately, the agency shall:

(1) notify the district of the determination; and

(2) include in the notification information on the resources available to school districts through the positive behavior best practices list provided by Section 37.0016.

(d) A school district determined by the agency to be taking discretionary disciplinary action disproportionately for three consecutive years shall develop, adopt, and implement a positive behavior plan under Section 11.2521. The district's plan must include strategies to reduce disproportionality in the application of discretionary disciplinary action.

SECTION 6. Section 37.081, Education Code, is amended by amending Subsections (a) and (d) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:

(a) Subject to Subsection (a-1), the [The] board of trustees of any school district may employ security personnel, enter into a memorandum of understanding with a local law enforcement agency for the provision of school resource officers, and commission peace officers to carry out this subchapter. If a board of trustees authorizes a person employed as security personnel to carry a weapon, the person must be a commissioned peace officer. The jurisdiction of a peace officer, a school resource officer, or security personnel under this section shall be determined by the board of trustees and may include all territory in the boundaries of the school district and all property outside the boundaries of the district that is owned, leased, or rented by or otherwise under the control of the school district and the board of trustees that employ the peace officer or security personnel or that enter into a memorandum of understanding for the provision of a school resource officer.

(a-1) If a school district employs security personnel, enters into a memorandum of understanding with a local law enforcement agency for the provision of school resource officers, or commissions peace officers under Subsection (a), the district must adopt a positive behavior plan under Section 11.2521 and the plan must state the duties of the peace officers, school resource officers, or security personnel.

(d) The board of trustees of the school district shall determine the law enforcement duties of peace officers, school resource officers, and security personnel. The duties must be included in:

(1) the district improvement plan under Section 11.252;

(2) the student code of conduct adopted under Section 37.001;

(3) any memorandum of understanding providing for a school resource officer; [and]

(4) any other campus or district document describing the role of peace officers, school resource officers, or security personnel in the district; and

(5) the district's positive behavior plan adopted under Section 11.2521.

SECTION 7. This Act applies beginning with the 2021-2022 school year.

SECTION 8. 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, 2021.