88R14341 MLH-D
 
  By: Reynolds H.B. No. 4449
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the establishment of a task force to study disciplinary
  practices and policies in public schools.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  DEFINITIONS. In this Act:
               (1)  "Agency" means the Texas Education Agency.
               (2)  "Task force" means the task force established by
  this Act to study disciplinary practices and policies in public
  schools in this state.
         SECTION 2.  TASK FORCE TO STUDY SCHOOL DISCIPLINE. (a)  A
  task force is established under this Act to study, evaluate, and
  make recommendations for policies and practices relating to student
  discipline in public schools in this state.
         (b)  The task force shall consist of:
               (1)  the commissioner of education or the
  commissioner's designee;
               (2)  the following members appointed by the
  commissioner of education:
                     (A)  two parents of students enrolled in a public
  school;
                     (B)  two administrators of a public school;
                     (C)  two educators certified under Subchapter B,
  Chapter 21, Education Code, and employed by a public school;
                     (D)  a person who is either:
                           (i)  a licensed clinical social worker, as
  defined by Section 505.002, Occupations Code; or
                           (ii)  a school counselor certified under
  Subchapter B, Chapter 21, Education Code;
                     (E)  a licensed specialist in school psychology,
  as defined by Section 501.002, Occupations Code;
                     (F)  two people with expertise in school safety
  and school discipline in this state;
                     (G)  a representative from the Texas School Safety
  Center; and
                     (H)  a behavior analyst licensed under Chapter
  506, Occupations Code; and
               (3)  one additional member appointed by the task force
  to represent each additional organization, group, or agency that
  the task force determines would make necessary or helpful
  contributions.
         (c)  The commissioner of education or the commissioner's
  designee shall serve as the presiding officer of the task force.
         (d)  The task force shall meet at the times and places that
  the presiding officer determines appropriate. The task force may
  meet at an education research center, as defined by Section 1.005,
  Education Code.
         SECTION 3.  DUTIES OF THE TASK FORCE. (a)  The task force
  shall conduct a study to examine school discipline practices and
  policies in public schools throughout this state. The study shall
  include:
               (1)  an identification of the exclusionary and punitive
  disciplinary practices and procedures used in public schools,
  including:
                     (A)  in-school suspension;
                     (B)  out-of-school suspension;
                     (C)  corporal punishment, as defined by Section
  37.0011, Education Code;
                     (D)  restraint, as defined by Section 37.0021,
  Education Code;
                     (E)  disciplinary alternative education programs
  under Subchapter A, Chapter 37, Education Code;
                     (F)  juvenile justice alternative education
  programs under Section 37.011, Education Code;
                     (G)  informal disciplinary actions that result in
  a student being removed from a classroom or instruction; and
                     (H)  expulsion;
               (2)  an identification of the alternative disciplinary
  practices and procedures that are age-appropriate and
  research-based and focus on conflict resolution strategies to keep
  students engaged in the classroom that are used in public schools,
  including positive behavior programs under Section 37.0013,
  Education Code;
               (3)  an analysis of the practices and procedures
  identified under Subdivision (1) disaggregated based on student
  demographics including:
                     (A)  race;
                     (B)  gender;
                     (C)  national origin;
                     (D)  disability status;
                     (E)  economic status;
                     (F)  emergent bilingual status;
                     (G)  whether the student is homeless; and
                     (H)  whether the student is in the conservatorship
  of the state;
               (4)  an examination of the practices and policies
  identified under Subdivisions (1) and (2) to determine:
                     (A)  how the use of disciplinary practices varies
  among independent school districts and open-enrollment charter
  schools, particularly among schools of similar size and student
  characteristics;
                     (B)  the due process rights provided by schools to
  students and families in school disciplinary proceedings;
                     (C)  the challenges students and families face in
  understanding and navigating school disciplinary proceedings;
                     (D)  the impact removing a student from school or
  instruction has on the student and the broader school community;
                     (E)  the protections afforded to students with
  diagnosed or undetected disabilities in disciplinary practices;
                     (F)  the challenges students with diagnosed or
  undetected disabilities face when subjected to disciplinary
  practices under Subsection (a);
                     (G)  the impacts mental and behavioral health
  challenges have on student behavior;
                     (H)  the current law and relevant regulations
  permitting or requiring a school to account for a student's mental
  or behavioral health when making disciplinary decisions;
                     (I)  how frequently independent school districts
  and open-enrollment charter schools implement alternative
  disciplinary practices and policies identified under Subdivision
  (2);
                     (J)  the challenges independent school districts
  and open-enrollment charter schools face in implementing
  alternative disciplinary practices and policies identified under
  Subdivision (2);
                     (K)  the systems in place to monitor and support
  school districts and open-enrollment charter schools in
  implementing alternative disciplinary practices and policies
  identified under Subdivision (2);
                     (L)  the number of school districts that have
  implemented:
                           (i)  a positive behavior program under
  Section 37.0013, Education Code; or
                           (ii)  a program for graduated sanctions for
  certain school offenses under Section 37.144, Education Code;
                     (M)  for each program listed under Paragraph (L)
  implemented by a school district:
                           (i)  the method with which the program is
  implemented;
                           (ii)  the challenges that made
  implementation difficult;
                           (iii)  the systems in place to monitor and
  support the program;
                           (iv)  whether and to what extent the
  implementation of the program has reduced the district's reliance
  on disciplinary practices and policies identified under
  Subdivision (1); and
                           (v)  whether the programs have reduced the
  incidence of behavioral complaints by students and teachers in the
  district;
                     (N)  the duties typically performed by a campus
  behavior coordinator;
                     (O)  the strategies campus behavior coordinators
  use to reduce a reliance on disciplinary practices and policies
  identified under Subdivision (1);
                     (P)  the resources and training to which educators
  have access regarding the disciplinary practices and policies
  identified under Subdivision (2);
                     (Q)  the resources and training educators lack
  relating to disciplinary practices and policies identified under
  Subdivision (2);
                     (R)  how the COVID-19 pandemic and remote learning
  impacted student behavior and school disciplinary resources;
                     (S)  whether there are gaps in current data
  collection methods relating to the disciplinary practices and
  policies identified under Subdivisions (1) and (2), that if
  corrected, would aid assessment of disciplinary practices;
                     (T)  the manner and frequency of use of informal
  disciplinary practices and policies in public schools, including
  unreported out-of-school suspensions, early parent pick-ups,
  silent lunches, exclusion from recess, time-out, as defined by
  Section 37.0021, Education Code, and removal by a teacher under
  Section 37.002, Education Code; and
                     (U)  the frequency with which restraint, as
  defined by Section 37.0021, Education Code, is used on students as a
  disciplinary measure; and
               (5)  an examination of the manner in which current laws
  and practices interact with and affect student discipline in this
  state, including:
                     (A)  whether Chapter 37, Education Code, provides
  sufficiently clear guidance on disciplinary practices identified
  under Subdivisions (1) and (2), specifically identifying
  redundancies or conflicts in the law that impact implementation;
                     (B)  the current state of disciplinary
  alternative education programs under Subchapter A, Chapter 37,
  Education Code, and how those programs affect student outcomes;
                     (C)  the current state of, and challenges to,
  oversight and accountability for disciplinary alternative
  education programs under Subchapter A, Chapter 37, Education Code;
                     (D)  how to reduce the frequency and lengths of
  student placements in disciplinary alternative education programs
  under Subchapter A, Chapter 37, Education Code, in this state; and
                     (E)  changes to law or policy that will better
  facilitate a student's transition back to the student's regular
  classroom from a disciplinary alternative education program under
  Subchapter A, Chapter 37, Education Code.
         (b)  Based on the results of the study conducted under this
  Act, the task force shall recommend changes to current law and
  regulations to improve student disciplinary practices and policies
  in public schools in this state.
         (c)  In completing the study and recommendations under this
  Act, the task force shall seek feedback from students, families,
  and educators and shall include that feedback in its report.
         (d)  The task force may use money appropriated or otherwise
  available for the purposes of completing the duties assigned to the
  task force under this Act.
         SECTION 4.  REPORT TO LEGISLATURE. Not later than December
  1, 2024, the task force shall prepare and submit to the legislature
  a written report that includes the findings from the study and the
  recommendations developed by the task force under this Act.
         SECTION 5.  EXPIRATION. The task force is abolished and this
  Act expires September 1, 2025.
         SECTION 6.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  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.