By: Bucy H.B. No. 55
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to requirements regarding certain behavior management for
  a student enrolled in a special education program of a public
  school.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 37.0021, Education Code, is amended by
  amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsection (d-1) to read as
  follows:
         (d)  The commissioner by rule shall adopt procedures for the
  use of restraint and time-out by a school district employee or
  volunteer or an independent contractor of a district in the case of
  a student with a disability receiving special education services
  under Subchapter A, Chapter 29. A procedure adopted under this
  subsection must:
               (1)  be consistent with:
                     (A)  professionally accepted practices and
  standards of student discipline and techniques for behavior
  management; and
                     (B)  relevant health and safety standards;
               (2)  identify any discipline management practice or
  behavior management technique that requires a district employee or
  volunteer or an independent contractor of a district to be trained
  before using that practice or technique; and
               (3)  require a school district to:
                     (A)  provide written notification to the
  student's parent or person standing in parental relation to the
  student for each use of restraint that includes:
                           (i)  the name of the student;
                           (ii)  the name of the district employee or
  volunteer or independent contractor of the district who
  administered the restraint;
                           (iii)  the date of the restraint;
                           (iv)  the time that the restraint started
  and ended;
                           (v)  the location of the restraint;
                           (vi)  the nature of the restraint;
                           (vii)  a description of the activity in
  which the student was engaged immediately preceding the use of the
  restraint;
                           (viii)  the behavior of the student that
  prompted the restraint;
                           (ix)  any efforts made to de-escalate the
  situation and any alternatives to restraint that were attempted;
                           (x)  if the student has a behavior
  improvement plan or a behavioral intervention plan, whether the
  plan may need to be revised as a result of the behavior that led to
  the restraint; [and]
                           (xi)  if the student does not have a behavior
  improvement plan or a behavioral intervention plan, information on
  the procedure for the student's parent or person standing in
  parental relation to the student to request an admission, review,
  and dismissal committee meeting to discuss the possibility of
  conducting a functional behavioral assessment of the student and
  developing a plan for the student; and
                           (xii)  whether a mental and physical health
  screening was conducted within a reasonable amount of time after
  the incident by appropriate school officials, including a nurse or
  school counselor, and the results of the screening;
                     (B)  include in a student's special education
  eligibility school records:
                           (i)  a copy of the written notification
  provided to the student's parent or person standing in parental
  relation to the student under Paragraph (A);
                           (ii)  information on the method by which the
  written notification was sent to the parent or person; [and]
                           (iii)  the contact information for the
  parent or person to whom the district sent the notification; and
                           (iv)  a copy of the mental and physical
  health screening and the results of the screening; and
                     (C)  if the student has a behavior improvement
  plan or behavioral intervention plan, document each use of time-out
  prompted by a behavior of the student specified in the student's
  plan, including a description of the behavior that prompted the
  time-out.
         (d-1)  A procedure adopted by the commissioner under
  Subsection (d) must require a school district after an incident of
  the use of restraint to conduct an overall health assessment for the
  purpose of assessing the student's holistic well-being that:
               (1)  includes evidence-based assessments, as
  determined by the commissioner, for a:
                     (A)  mental health screening performed by a school
  counselor, school psychologist, or similarly qualified district
  professional; and
                     (B)  physical health screening performed by a
  school nurse or similarly qualified district professional; and
               (2)  is performed within a reasonable amount of time
  after the incident, as determined by the commissioner.
         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 on the 91st day after the last day of the
  legislative session.