| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to parental consent for certain activities engaged in by a |
|
|
school district employee or contractor with respect to the parent's |
|
|
child. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Section 26.009, Education Code, is amended to |
|
|
read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 26.009. CONSENT REQUIRED FOR CERTAIN ACTIVITIES. (a) |
|
|
An employee or contractor of a school district must obtain the |
|
|
written informed consent of a child's parent each time before the |
|
|
employee or contractor may: |
|
|
(1) conduct a psychological or psychiatric |
|
|
examination or [,] test [,] or psychological or psychiatric |
|
|
treatment, unless the examination, test, or treatment is required |
|
|
under Section 38.004 or state or federal law regarding requirements |
|
|
for special education; or |
|
|
(2) make or authorize the making of a videotape of a |
|
|
child or record or authorize the recording of a child's voice. |
|
|
(a-1) For purposes of Subsection (a): |
|
|
(1) "Psychological or psychiatric examination or |
|
|
test" means a method designed to elicit information regarding an |
|
|
attitude, habit, trait, opinion, belief, feeling, or mental |
|
|
disorder or a condition thought to lead to a mental disorder, |
|
|
regardless of the manner in which the method is presented or |
|
|
characterized, including a method that is presented or |
|
|
characterized as a survey, check-in, or screening or is embedded in |
|
|
an academic lesson. |
|
|
(2) "Psychological or psychiatric treatment" means |
|
|
the planned, systematic use of a method, technique, or psychoactive |
|
|
substance that is designed to affect behavioral, emotional, or |
|
|
attitudinal characteristics of an individual or group. |
|
|
(a-2) Subsection (a) may not be construed to limit the |
|
|
authority of a school district employee or contractor to: |
|
|
(1) verbally inquire about a child's general |
|
|
well-being; or |
|
|
(2) conduct an academic lesson, provided that the |
|
|
lesson does not directly inquire or probe into a child's mental or |
|
|
emotional state. |
|
|
(b) An employee or contractor of a school district is not |
|
|
required to obtain the consent of a child's parent before the |
|
|
employee or contractor may make a videotape of a child or authorize |
|
|
the recording of a child's voice if the videotape or voice recording |
|
|
is to be used only for: |
|
|
(1) purposes of safety, including the maintenance of |
|
|
order and discipline in common areas of the school or on school |
|
|
buses; |
|
|
(2) a purpose related to a cocurricular or |
|
|
extracurricular activity; |
|
|
(3) a purpose related to regular classroom |
|
|
instruction; |
|
|
(4) media coverage of the school; or |
|
|
(5) a purpose related to the promotion of student |
|
|
safety under Section 29.022. |
|
|
(c) A school district shall retain the written informed |
|
|
consent of a child's parent obtained under this section as part of |
|
|
the child's education records. |
|
|
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, 2023. |