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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to measures for ensuring safety and security in public |
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schools, including measures related to certain student records and |
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truant conduct. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 7.028(a), Education Code, is amended to |
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read as follows: |
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(a) Except as provided by Section 21.006(k), 22.093(l), |
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22.096, 28.006, 29.001(5), 29.010(a), 33.006(h), 37.1083, 38.003, |
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or 39.003, the agency may monitor compliance with requirements |
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applicable to a process or program provided by a school district, |
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campus, program, or school granted charters under Chapter 12, |
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including the process described by Subchapter F, Chapter 11, or a |
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program described by Subchapter B, C, D, E, F, H, or I, Chapter 29, |
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or Subchapter A, Chapter 37, only as necessary to ensure: |
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(1) compliance with federal law and regulations; |
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(2) financial accountability, including compliance |
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with grant requirements; |
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(3) data integrity for purposes of: |
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(A) the Public Education Information Management |
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System (PEIMS); and |
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(B) accountability under Chapters 39 and 39A; and |
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(4) qualification for funding under Chapter 48. |
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SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 8, Education Code, is |
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amended by adding Section 8.064 to read as follows: |
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Sec. 8.064. SCHOOL SAFETY SUPPORT. (a) A regional |
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education service center shall act as a school safety resource for |
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school districts and open-enrollment charter schools in the region |
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served by the center. The center may assist a school district or |
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open-enrollment charter school: |
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(1) in developing and implementing a multihazard |
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emergency operations plan under Section 37.108; |
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(2) in establishing a school safety and security |
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committee under Section 37.109; |
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(3) in conducting emergency school drills and |
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exercises; |
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(4) in addressing deficiencies in campus security |
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identified by a school safety review team under Section 37.1084; |
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and |
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(5) by providing guidance on any other matter relating |
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to school safety and security. |
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(b) A regional education service center shall provide |
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assistance as necessary to the region's school safety review team |
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established under Section 37.1084. |
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SECTION 3. Section 12.104(b), Education Code, as amended by |
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Chapters 542 (S.B. 168), 887 (S.B. 1697), 915 (H.B. 3607), 974 (S.B. |
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2081), and 1046 (S.B. 1365), Acts of the 87th Legislature, Regular |
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Session, 2021, is reenacted and amended to read as follows: |
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(b) An open-enrollment charter school is subject to: |
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(1) a provision of this title establishing a criminal |
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offense; |
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(2) the provisions in Chapter 554, Government Code; |
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and |
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(3) a prohibition, restriction, or requirement, as |
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applicable, imposed by this title or a rule adopted under this |
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title, relating to: |
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(A) the Public Education Information Management |
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System (PEIMS) to the extent necessary to monitor compliance with |
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this subchapter as determined by the commissioner; |
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(B) criminal history records under Subchapter C, |
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Chapter 22; |
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(C) reading instruments and accelerated reading |
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instruction programs under Section 28.006; |
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(D) accelerated instruction under Section |
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28.0211; |
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(E) high school graduation requirements under |
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Section 28.025; |
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(F) special education programs under Subchapter |
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A, Chapter 29; |
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(G) bilingual education under Subchapter B, |
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Chapter 29; |
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(H) prekindergarten programs under Subchapter E |
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or E-1, Chapter 29, except class size limits for prekindergarten |
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classes imposed under Section 25.112, which do not apply; |
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(I) extracurricular activities under Section |
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33.081; |
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(J) discipline management practices or behavior |
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management techniques under Section 37.0021; |
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(K) health and safety under Chapter 38; |
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(L) the provisions of Subchapter A, Chapter 39; |
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(M) public school accountability and special |
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investigations under Subchapters A, B, C, D, F, G, and J, Chapter |
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39, and Chapter 39A; |
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(N) the requirement under Section 21.006 to |
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report an educator's misconduct; |
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(O) intensive programs of instruction under |
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Section 28.0213; |
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(P) the right of a school employee to report a |
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crime, as provided by Section 37.148; |
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(Q) bullying prevention policies and procedures |
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under Section 37.0832; |
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(R) the right of a school under Section 37.0052 |
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to place a student who has engaged in certain bullying behavior in a |
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disciplinary alternative education program or to expel the student; |
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(S) the right under Section 37.0151 to report to |
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local law enforcement certain conduct constituting assault or |
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harassment; |
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(T) a parent's right to information regarding the |
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provision of assistance for learning difficulties to the parent's |
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child as provided by Sections 26.004(b)(11) and 26.0081(c) and (d); |
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(U) establishment of residency under Section |
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25.001; |
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(V) school safety requirements under Sections |
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37.108, 37.1081, 37.1082, 37.1083, 37.1084, 37.109, 37.113, |
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37.114, 37.1141, 37.115, 37.207, and 37.2071; |
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(W) the early childhood literacy and mathematics |
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proficiency plans under Section 11.185; |
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(X) the college, career, and military readiness |
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plans under Section 11.186; and |
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(Y) [(X)] parental options to retain a student |
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under Section 28.02124. |
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SECTION 4. Section 25.002(a), Education Code, is amended to |
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read as follows: |
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(a) If a parent or other person with legal control of a child |
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under a court order enrolls the child in a public school, the parent |
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or other person or the school district in which the child most |
|
recently attended school shall furnish to the school district: |
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(1) the child's birth certificate or another document |
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suitable as proof of the child's identity; |
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(2) a copy of the child's records from the school the |
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child most recently attended if the child has been previously |
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enrolled in a school in this state or another state, including for a |
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child who most recently attended a public school in this state, a |
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copy of the child's disciplinary record and any threat assessment |
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involving the child's behavior conducted under Section 37.115; and |
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(3) a record showing that the child has the |
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immunizations as required under Section 38.001, in the case of a |
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child required under that section to be immunized, proof as |
|
required by that section showing that the child is not required to |
|
be immunized, or proof that the child is entitled to provisional |
|
admission under that section and under rules adopted under that |
|
section. |
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SECTION 5. Section 25.036, Education Code, is amended by |
|
adding Subsection (c) to read as follows: |
|
(c) In the case of a transfer under this section, a child's |
|
school district of residence shall provide the receiving district |
|
with the child's disciplinary record and any threat assessment |
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involving the child's behavior conducted under Section 37.115. |
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SECTION 6. Section 25.095(a), Education Code, is amended to |
|
read as follows: |
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(a) A school district or open-enrollment charter school |
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shall notify a student's parent in writing at the beginning of the |
|
school year that if the student is absent from school, without |
|
excuse under Section 25.087, on six [10] or more days or parts of |
|
days within an eight-week [a six-month] period in the same school |
|
year: |
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(1) the student's parent is subject to prosecution |
|
under Section 25.093; and |
|
(2) the student is subject to referral to a truancy |
|
court for truant conduct under Section 65.003(a), Family Code. |
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SECTION 7. Section 25.0951(a), Education Code, is amended |
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to read as follows: |
|
(a) If a student fails to attend school without excuse on |
|
six [10] or more days or parts of days within an eight-week [a |
|
six-month] period in the same school year, a school district shall |
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within 10 school days of the student's sixth [10th] absence refer |
|
the student to a truancy court for truant conduct under Section |
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65.003(a), Family Code. |
|
SECTION 8. Section 37.108, Education Code, is amended by |
|
amending Subsections (a), (b), and (c) and adding Subsections (a-1) |
|
and (h) to read as follows: |
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(a) Each school district or public junior college district |
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shall adopt and implement a multihazard emergency operations plan |
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for use in the district's facilities. The plan must address |
|
prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery in |
|
accordance with the definitions established for those terms under |
|
Subsection (a-1) [as defined by the Texas School Safety Center in |
|
conjunction with the governor's office of homeland security and the |
|
commissioner of education or commissioner of higher education, as |
|
applicable]. The plan must provide for: |
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(1) training in responding to an emergency for |
|
district employees, including substitute teachers; |
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(2) measures to ensure district employees, including |
|
substitute teachers, have classroom access to a telephone, |
|
including a cellular telephone, or another electronic |
|
communication device allowing for immediate contact with district |
|
emergency services or emergency services agencies, law enforcement |
|
agencies, health departments, and fire departments; |
|
(3) measures to ensure district communications |
|
technology and infrastructure are adequate to allow for |
|
communication during an emergency; |
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(4) if the plan applies to a school district: |
|
(A) [,] mandatory school drills and exercises, |
|
including drills required under Section 37.114, to prepare district |
|
students and employees for responding to an emergency; and |
|
(B) measures that incorporate and address the |
|
results of a safety and security audit conducted under Subsection |
|
(b) and an on-site vulnerability assessment conducted by a school |
|
safety review team under Section 37.1084; |
|
(5) measures to ensure coordination with the |
|
Department of State Health Services and local emergency management |
|
agencies, law enforcement, health departments, and fire |
|
departments in the event of an emergency; and |
|
(6) the implementation of a safety and security audit |
|
as required by Subsection (b). |
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(a-1) The Texas School Safety Center shall establish |
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definitions of prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, and |
|
recovery for purposes of a multihazard emergency operations plan |
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under Subsection (a): |
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(1) for a plan applicable to a public junior college |
|
district, in conjunction with the governor's office of homeland |
|
security and the commissioner of higher education; or |
|
(2) for a plan applicable to a school district, in |
|
conjunction with the governor's office of homeland security and |
|
with the approval of the commissioner of education. |
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(b) At least once every three years, each school district or |
|
public junior college district shall conduct a safety and security |
|
audit of the district's facilities in the following manner: |
|
(1) a school [. To the extent possible, a] district |
|
shall: |
|
(A) follow safety and security audit procedures |
|
adopted by the commissioner in consultation with [developed by] the |
|
Texas School Safety Center; and |
|
(B) unless a district employee conducts the |
|
audit, engage [or] a person approved by the commissioner and |
|
included in the registry established by the Texas School Safety |
|
Center under Section 37.2091 to conduct the audit; and |
|
(2) a public junior college district shall, to the |
|
extent possible, follow safety and security audit procedures |
|
developed by the Texas School Safety Center or a person included in |
|
the registry established by the Texas School Safety Center under |
|
Section 37.2091. |
|
(c) A school district or public junior college district |
|
shall report the results of the safety and security audit conducted |
|
under Subsection (b) to the district's board of trustees and, in the |
|
manner required by the Texas School Safety Center, to the Texas |
|
School Safety Center. Additionally, a school district shall report |
|
the results of the audit to the agency. The report provided to the |
|
Texas School Safety Center and, if applicable, to the agency under |
|
this subsection must be signed by: |
|
(1) for a school district, the district's board of |
|
trustees and superintendent; or |
|
(2) for a public junior college district, the |
|
president of the junior college district. |
|
(h) The commissioner, in consultation with the Texas School |
|
Safety Center, shall adopt rules regarding requirements for school |
|
district: |
|
(1) multihazard emergency operations plans; and |
|
(2) safety and security audits. |
|
SECTION 9. Subchapter D, Chapter 37, Education Code, is |
|
amended by adding Sections 37.1083 and 37.1084 to read as follows: |
|
Sec. 37.1083. AGENCY MONITORING OF SCHOOL DISTRICT SAFETY |
|
AND SECURITY REQUIREMENTS. (a) The agency shall monitor the |
|
implementation and operation of requirements related to school |
|
district safety and security, including school district: |
|
(1) multihazard emergency operations plans; and |
|
(2) safety and security audits. |
|
(b) The agency shall establish an office of school safety |
|
and security within the agency to coordinate the agency's |
|
monitoring of school district safety and security requirements |
|
under this section. The director of the office is appointed by the |
|
governor and must report directly to the commissioner. |
|
(c) The agency shall provide technical assistance to school |
|
districts to support the implementation and operation of safety and |
|
security requirements, including the preparation of multihazard |
|
emergency operations plans and performance of safety and security |
|
audits. |
|
(d) The agency may engage or require a school district to |
|
engage a third party as necessary to enable the agency to monitor |
|
the implementation and operation of school district safety and |
|
security requirements under this section. |
|
(e) The commissioner may take appropriate action under |
|
Chapter 39A, including the assignment of a conservator or the |
|
appointment of a board of managers, if a school district fails to: |
|
(1) submit to the required monitoring under this |
|
section; |
|
(2) comply with applicable safety and security |
|
requirements; or |
|
(3) address in a reasonable time period, as determined |
|
by commissioner rule, issues raised by the monitoring of the |
|
district under this section. |
|
(f) The agency, or if approved by the agency, the Texas |
|
School Safety Center, may identify, develop, and make available to |
|
school districts information to assist districts in the |
|
implementation and operation of safety and security requirements, |
|
including relevant: |
|
(1) guidelines; |
|
(2) techniques; |
|
(3) blueprints; |
|
(4) best practices; and |
|
(5) procedures. |
|
(g) The agency, the Texas School Safety Center, and school |
|
districts may share information described by Subsection (f) with |
|
one another. |
|
(h) The agency may require a school district to submit |
|
information necessary for the agency to monitor the implementation |
|
and operation of school district safety and security requirements |
|
under this section, including: |
|
(1) notice of an event requiring a district's |
|
emergency response; and |
|
(2) information regarding the district's response and |
|
use of emergency operations procedures during an event described by |
|
Subdivision (1). |
|
(i) The agency may review school district records as |
|
necessary to ensure compliance with this subchapter and Subchapter |
|
G. |
|
(j) Any document or information collected, identified, |
|
developed, or produced relating to the monitoring of school |
|
district safety and security requirements under this section is |
|
confidential under Sections 418.177 and 418.181, Government Code, |
|
and not subject to disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code. |
|
(k) The commissioner may adopt rules as necessary to |
|
administer this section. |
|
Sec. 37.1084. REGIONAL SCHOOL SAFETY REVIEW TEAMS. (a) In |
|
this section: |
|
(1) "Office" means the office of school safety and |
|
security established under Section 37.1083. |
|
(2) "Team" means a school safety review team |
|
established under this section. |
|
(b) The office shall establish a school safety review team |
|
in each region served by a regional education service center. A |
|
team shall twice annually conduct on-site vulnerability |
|
assessments of each school district campus in the team's region. In |
|
conducting a vulnerability assessment, a team must: |
|
(1) use a rubric developed by the office in |
|
consultation with the Texas School Safety Center; |
|
(2) not later than the seventh day before the date of a |
|
scheduled assessment, notify the superintendent of the school |
|
district in which the campus being assessed is located; and |
|
(3) on completion of the assessment, provide to the |
|
superintendent and school safety and security committee |
|
established under Section 37.109 for the school district in which |
|
the campus is located a report on the results of the assessment that |
|
includes recommendations to address any deficiencies in campus |
|
security identified by the team. |
|
(c) A regional education service center shall provide |
|
support as necessary to assist the region's team in conducting |
|
on-site vulnerability assessments under this section. |
|
(d) A report produced by a team under this section is |
|
confidential and not subject to disclosure under Chapter 552, |
|
Government Code. |
|
SECTION 10. Section 37.2071, Education Code, is amended by |
|
amending Subsections (a), (c), and (e) and adding Subsections (b-1) |
|
and (e-1) to read as follows: |
|
(a) The center shall establish a random or need-based cycle |
|
for the center's review and verification of school district and |
|
public junior college district multihazard emergency operations |
|
plans adopted under Section 37.108. The cycle must: |
|
(1) provide for each district's plan to be reviewed at |
|
regular intervals as determined by the center; and |
|
(2) if applicable to a school district's plan, be |
|
approved by the agency. |
|
(b-1) The center shall share with the agency a copy of each |
|
school district multihazard emergency operations plan submitted |
|
under Subsection (b) and any other information requested by the |
|
agency regarding the review of a school district's multihazard |
|
emergency operations plan. |
|
(c) The center, or for a school district, the center and the |
|
agency, shall review each district's multihazard emergency |
|
operations plan submitted under Subsection (b) and: |
|
(1) verify the plan meets the requirements of Section |
|
37.108; or |
|
(2) provide the district with written notice: |
|
(A) describing the plan's deficiencies; |
|
(B) including specific recommendations to |
|
correct the deficiencies; and |
|
(C) [(B)] stating that the district must correct |
|
the deficiencies in its plan and resubmit the revised plan to the |
|
center. |
|
(e) The center, or for a school district, the center and the |
|
agency, may approve a district multihazard emergency operations |
|
plan that has deficiencies if the district submits a revised plan |
|
that the center or the center and the agency, if applicable, |
|
determines will correct the deficiencies. |
|
(e-1) A school district multihazard emergency operations |
|
plan may not be verified or approved under this section without the |
|
agency's approval. |
|
SECTION 11. Section 37.2091, Education Code, is amended by |
|
adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows: |
|
(b-1) The center must receive approval from the agency |
|
before adding to the registry a person providing school safety or |
|
security consulting services to school districts. |
|
SECTION 12. Section 48.115, Education Code, is amended by |
|
amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (b-1) to |
|
read as follows: |
|
(a) A [From funds appropriated for that purpose, the |
|
commissioner shall provide to a] school district is entitled to an |
|
annual allotment equal to the sum of the following amounts or a |
|
greater [in the] amount provided by appropriation: |
|
(1) $10 for each student in average daily attendance, |
|
plus $1 for each student in average daily attendance per every $50 |
|
by which the district's maximum basic allotment under Section |
|
48.051 exceeds $6,160, prorated as necessary; and |
|
(2) $15,000 per campus. |
|
(b) Funds allocated under this section must be used to |
|
improve school safety and security, including costs associated |
|
with: |
|
(1) securing school facilities, including: |
|
(A) improvements to school infrastructure; |
|
(B) the use or installation of physical barriers; |
|
and |
|
(C) the purchase and maintenance of: |
|
(i) security cameras or other security |
|
equipment; and |
|
(ii) technology, including communications |
|
systems or devices, that facilitates communication and information |
|
sharing between students, school personnel, and first responders in |
|
an emergency; |
|
(2) providing security for the district, including: |
|
(A) employing school district peace officers, |
|
private security officers, and school marshals; and |
|
(B) collaborating with local law enforcement |
|
agencies, such as entering into a memorandum of understanding for |
|
the assignment of school resource officers to schools in the |
|
district; |
|
(3) school safety and security measures [training and |
|
planning], including: |
|
(A) active shooter and emergency response |
|
training; |
|
(B) prevention and treatment programs relating |
|
to addressing adverse childhood experiences; and |
|
(C) the prevention, identification, and |
|
management of emergencies and threats, using evidence-based, |
|
effective prevention practices and including: |
|
(i) providing licensed counselors, social |
|
workers, and individuals trained in restorative discipline and |
|
restorative justice practices; |
|
(ii) providing mental health personnel and |
|
support; |
|
(iii) providing behavioral health |
|
services; |
|
(iv) establishing threat reporting |
|
systems; and |
|
(v) developing and implementing programs |
|
focused on restorative justice practices, culturally relevant |
|
instruction, and providing mental health support; and |
|
(4) providing programs related to suicide prevention, |
|
intervention, and postvention. |
|
(b-1) The agency may designate certain technologies that a |
|
school district, in using funds allocated under this section, may |
|
purchase only from a vendor approved by the agency. |
|
SECTION 13. Section 65.003(a), Family Code, is amended to |
|
read as follows: |
|
(a) A child engages in truant conduct if the child is |
|
required to attend school under Section 25.085, Education Code, and |
|
fails to attend school on six [10] or more days or parts of days |
|
within an eight-week [a six-month] period in the same school year. |
|
SECTION 14. (a) As soon as practicable after the effective |
|
date of this Act, the Texas Education Agency shall establish the |
|
office of school safety and security and the governor shall appoint |
|
the director of that office as required by Section 37.1083, |
|
Education Code, as added by this Act. |
|
(b) As soon as practicable after the office of school safety |
|
and security has been established, the office shall establish |
|
school safety review teams in each region served by a regional |
|
education service center as required by Section 37.1084, Education |
|
Code, as added by this Act. |
|
SECTION 15. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails |
|
over another Act of the 88th Legislature, Regular Session, 2023, |
|
relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted |
|
codes. |
|
SECTION 16. Sections 7.028, 25.095, and 25.0951, Education |
|
Code, as amended by this Act, Chapter 37, Education Code, as amended |
|
by this Act, and Section 65.003, Family Code, as amended by this |
|
Act, apply beginning with the 2023-2024 school year. |
|
SECTION 17. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of |
|
this section, 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. |
|
(b) Section 48.115, Education Code, as amended by this Act, |
|
takes effect September 1, 2023. |