BILL ANALYSIS

Senate Research Center	S.B. 2273
88R13802 DIO-F	By: Kolkhorst
	Education
	4/24/2023
	As Filed

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

Currently, Section 37.109 of the Texas Education Code requires each school district to establish a school safety and security committee which must include one or more representatives from the district's police department or local police department or sheriff's office.  The committee is charged with developing emergency plans for the district and is to consult with local law enforcement agencies on methods to increase law enforcement presence near district campuses.  In rural areas of the state, there are a variety of first responders that may be involved in a response to a school campus safety incident.

Currently, there is no requirement that first responders in rural areas of the state review coordinated law enforcement responses to school violence incidents, review chain of command planning or review emergency radio interoperability, etc.

To improve the coordination and response to school incidents in rural areas, S.B. 2273 requires the county sheriff of a county with a total population of less than 300,000 to conduct semiannual meetings with local first responders to discuss school safety issues. The bill requires the school safety meetings to review the coordinated law enforcement response to school violence incidents, chain of command planning, emergency radio interoperability, and other related topics. The items discussed in the school safety meetings are to be submitted in a report to the Texas School Safety Center and the report must be publicly available on the center's website.

As proposed, S.B. 2273 amends current law relating to requiring semiannual school safety meetings in certain counties.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter C, Chapter 37, Education Code, by adding Section 37.0833, as follows:

Sec. 37.0833. SCHOOL SAFETY MEETINGS. (a) Requires the sheriff of a county with a total population of less than 300,000 in which a school is located to call and conduct semiannual meetings to discuss:

(1)� school safety;

(2)� coordinated law enforcement response to school violence incidents;

(3)� law enforcement agency capabilities;

(4)� available resources;

(5)� emergency radio interoperability;

(6)� chain of command planning; and

(7)� other related subjects proposed by a person in attendance at the meeting.

(b) Requires the following persons to attend a meeting called under Subsection (a):

(1)� the sheriff or the sheriff's designee;

(2)� the police chief of a municipal police department in the county or the police chief's designee;

(3)� each elected constable in the county or the constable's designees;

(4)� each police chief of a school district's police department or school district security coordinator from each school district located in the county;

(5)� a representative of the Department of Public Safety of the State of Texas assigned to the county;

(6)� a person appointed to a command staff position at an emergency medical service in the county;

(7)� a person appointed to a command staff position at a municipal emergency medical service in the county;

(8)� a person appointed to a command staff position at a fire department in the county; and

(9)� any other person the sheriff considers appropriate.

(c)� Requires the sheriff to submit a report to the Texas School Safety Center identifying the attendees of the meeting and the subjects discussed as soon as practicable after a meeting under Subsection (a). Requires the Texas School Safety Center to maintain the report and make it publicly available on the center's Internet website.

SECTION 2. Requires the sheriff of a county described by Section 37.0833(a), Education Code, as added by this Act, to call a meeting as provided by that section as soon as practicable after the effective date of this Act.

SECTION 3. Effective date: September 1, 2023.