88R6409 ANG-D
 
  By: Nichols S.B. No. 11
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to measures for ensuring safety and security in public
  schools, including measures related to certain student records and
  truant conduct.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 7.028(a), Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (a)  Except as provided by Section 21.006(k), 22.093(l),
  22.096, 28.006, 29.001(5), 29.010(a), 33.006(h), 37.1083, 38.003,
  or 39.003, the agency may monitor compliance with requirements
  applicable to a process or program provided by a school district,
  campus, program, or school granted charters under Chapter 12,
  including the process described by Subchapter F, Chapter 11, or a
  program described by Subchapter B, C, D, E, F, H, or I, Chapter 29,
  or Subchapter A, Chapter 37, only as necessary to ensure:
               (1)  compliance with federal law and regulations;
               (2)  financial accountability, including compliance
  with grant requirements;
               (3)  data integrity for purposes of:
                     (A)  the Public Education Information Management
  System (PEIMS); and
                     (B)  accountability under Chapters 39 and 39A; and
               (4)  qualification for funding under Chapter 48.
         SECTION 2.  Subchapter B, Chapter 8, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Section 8.064 to read as follows:
         Sec. 8.064.  SCHOOL SAFETY SUPPORT. (a) A regional
  education service center shall act as a school safety resource for
  school districts and open-enrollment charter schools in the region
  served by the center. The center may assist a school district or
  open-enrollment charter school:
               (1)  in developing and implementing a multihazard
  emergency operations plan under Section 37.108;
               (2)  in establishing a school safety and security
  committee under Section 37.109;
               (3)  in conducting emergency school drills and
  exercises;
               (4)  in addressing deficiencies in campus security
  identified by a school safety review team under Section 37.1084;
  and
               (5)  by providing guidance on any other matter relating
  to school safety and security.
         (b)  A regional education service center shall provide
  assistance as necessary to the region's school safety review team
  established under Section 37.1084.
         SECTION 3.  Section 12.104(b), Education Code, as amended by
  Chapters 542 (S.B. 168), 887 (S.B. 1697), 915 (H.B. 3607), 974 (S.B.
  2081), and 1046 (S.B. 1365), Acts of the 87th Legislature, Regular
  Session, 2021, is reenacted and amended to read as follows:
         (b)  An open-enrollment charter school is subject to:
               (1)  a provision of this title establishing a criminal
  offense;
               (2)  the provisions in Chapter 554, Government Code;
  and
               (3)  a prohibition, restriction, or requirement, as
  applicable, imposed by this title or a rule adopted under this
  title, relating to:
                     (A)  the Public Education Information Management
  System (PEIMS) to the extent necessary to monitor compliance with
  this subchapter as determined by the commissioner;
                     (B)  criminal history records under Subchapter C,
  Chapter 22;
                     (C)  reading instruments and accelerated reading
  instruction programs under Section 28.006;
                     (D)  accelerated instruction under Section
  28.0211;
                     (E)  high school graduation requirements under
  Section 28.025;
                     (F)  special education programs under Subchapter
  A, Chapter 29;
                     (G)  bilingual education under Subchapter B,
  Chapter 29;
                     (H)  prekindergarten programs under Subchapter E
  or E-1, Chapter 29, except class size limits for prekindergarten
  classes imposed under Section 25.112, which do not apply;
                     (I)  extracurricular activities under Section
  33.081;
                     (J)  discipline management practices or behavior
  management techniques under Section 37.0021;
                     (K)  health and safety under Chapter 38;
                     (L)  the provisions of Subchapter A, Chapter 39;
                     (M)  public school accountability and special
  investigations under Subchapters A, B, C, D, F, G, and J, Chapter
  39, and Chapter 39A;
                     (N)  the requirement under Section 21.006 to
  report an educator's misconduct;
                     (O)  intensive programs of instruction under
  Section 28.0213;
                     (P)  the right of a school employee to report a
  crime, as provided by Section 37.148;
                     (Q)  bullying prevention policies and procedures
  under Section 37.0832;
                     (R)  the right of a school under Section 37.0052
  to place a student who has engaged in certain bullying behavior in a
  disciplinary alternative education program or to expel the student;
                     (S)  the right under Section 37.0151 to report to
  local law enforcement certain conduct constituting assault or
  harassment;
                     (T)  a parent's right to information regarding the
  provision of assistance for learning difficulties to the parent's
  child as provided by Sections 26.004(b)(11) and 26.0081(c) and (d);
                     (U)  establishment of residency under Section
  25.001;
                     (V)  school safety requirements under Sections
  37.108, 37.1081, 37.1082, 37.1083, 37.1084, 37.109, 37.113,
  37.114, 37.1141, 37.115, 37.207, and 37.2071;
                     (W)  the early childhood literacy and mathematics
  proficiency plans under Section 11.185;
                     (X)  the college, career, and military readiness
  plans under Section 11.186; and
                     (Y) [(X)]  parental options to retain a student
  under Section 28.02124.
         SECTION 4.  Section 25.002(a), Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (a)  If a parent or other person with legal control of a child
  under a court order enrolls the child in a public school, the parent
  or other person or the school district in which the child most
  recently attended school shall furnish to the school district:
               (1)  the child's birth certificate or another document
  suitable as proof of the child's identity;
               (2)  a copy of the child's records from the school the
  child most recently attended if the child has been previously
  enrolled in a school in this state or another state, including for a
  child who most recently attended a public school in this state, a
  copy of the child's disciplinary record and any threat assessment
  involving the child's behavior conducted under Section 37.115; and
               (3)  a record showing that the child has the
  immunizations as required under Section 38.001, in the case of a
  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.
         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
  involving the child's behavior conducted under Section 37.115.
         SECTION 6.  Section 25.095(a), Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (a)  A school district or open-enrollment charter school
  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:
               (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.
         SECTION 7.  Section 25.0951(a), Education Code, is amended
  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
  within 10 school days of the student's sixth [10th] absence refer
  the student to a truancy court for truant conduct under Section
  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:
         (a)  Each school district or public junior college district
  shall adopt and implement a multihazard emergency operations plan
  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:
               (1)  training in responding to an emergency for
  district employees, including substitute teachers;
               (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;
               (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).
         (a-1)  The Texas School Safety Center shall establish
  definitions of prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, and
  recovery for purposes of a multihazard emergency operations plan
  under Subsection (a):
               (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.
         (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.