By: Nichols, et al.  S.B. No. 11
         (In the Senate - Filed March 3, 2023; March 7, 2023, read
  first time and referred to Committee on Education; April 17, 2023,
  reported adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the
  following vote:  Yeas 11, Nays 0; April 17, 2023, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
 
  COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 11 By:  Paxton
 
 
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 and active shooter training for certain peace
  officers.
         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, 37.1084,
  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 directly or in collaboration with
  the Texas School Safety Center, as applicable:
               (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, 37.1085, 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) and (b) and adding Subsection (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 as
  defined by the Texas School Safety Center in conjunction with the
  governor's office of homeland security, [and] the commissioner of
  education, and the [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,
  mandatory school drills and exercises, including drills required
  under Section 37.114, to prepare district students and employees
  for responding to an emergency;
               (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); and
               (7)  any other requirements established by the Texas
  School Safety Center in consultation with the agency.
         (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.  A [To the extent possible, a]
  district shall follow safety and security audit procedures
  developed by the Texas School Safety Center in coordination with
  the commissioner of education or commissioner of higher education,
  as applicable, or a person included in the registry established by
  the Texas School Safety Center under Section 37.2091.
         (h)  The Texas School Safety Center and the agency shall
  provide school safety-related data collected by the center or
  agency to each other on request.
         SECTION 9.  Section 37.1081(a), Education Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (a)  If the board of trustees of a school district receives
  notice of noncompliance under Section 37.207(e) or 37.2071(d) or
  (g) [37.2071(g)], the board shall hold a public hearing to notify
  the public of:
               (1)  the district's failure to:
                     (A)  submit or correct deficiencies in a
  multihazard emergency operations plan; or
                     (B)  report the results of a safety and security
  audit to the Texas School Safety Center as required by law;
               (2)  the dates during which the district has not been in
  compliance; and
               (3)  the names of each member of the board of trustees
  and the superintendent serving in that capacity during the dates
  the district was not in compliance.
         SECTION 10.  Subchapter D, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Sections 37.1083, 37.1084, and 37.1085 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 that consists of individuals with
  substantial expertise and experience in school or law enforcement
  safety and security operations and oversight at the local, state,
  or federal level 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 confirmed by
  the senate and must report directly to the commissioner.
         (c)  The agency shall, in coordination with the Texas School
  Safety Center, provide technical assistance to school districts to
  support the implementation and operation of safety and security
  requirements.
         (d)  As part of the technical assistance provided under
  Subsection (c), the agency shall conduct a detailed vulnerability
  assessment of each school district on a random basis determined by
  the agency once every four years.  The assessment must:
               (1)  assess facility access controls, emergency
  operations procedures, and other school safety requirements; and
               (2)  to the greatest extent practicable, coincide with
  the safety and security audit required under Section 37.108.
         (e)  The agency shall use a rubric developed by the office of
  school safety and security in collaboration with the Texas School
  Safety Center to conduct a vulnerability assessment of a school
  district under Subsection (d).
         (f)  On completion of a vulnerability assessment under
  Subsection (d), the agency shall provide to the superintendent and
  school safety and security committee established under Section
  37.109 for the applicable school district a report on the results of
  the assessment that includes recommendations and required
  corrective actions to address any deficiencies in campus security
  identified by the agency.
         (g)  The agency may 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.
         (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 including the discovery of a firearm on a
  campus; 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 annually conduct on-site general intruder detection
  audits of school district campuses in the team's region. In
  conducting an intruder detection audit, 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 audit, notify the superintendent of the school district
  in which the campus being audited is located; and
               (3)  on completion of the audit, 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 audit that
  includes recommendations and required corrective actions 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
  intruder detection audits 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.
         Sec. 37.1085.  ASSIGNMENT OF CONSERVATOR FOR NONCOMPLIANCE
  WITH SCHOOL SAFETY AND SECURITY REQUIREMENTS. (a)  The
  commissioner may assign a conservator under Chapter 39A if a school
  district fails to:
               (1)  submit to any required monitoring, assessment, or
  audit under Section 37.1083 or 37.1084;
               (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 agency's monitoring,
  assessment, or audit of the district under Section 37.1083 or
  37.1084.
         (b)  A conservator assigned to a district under this section
  may exercise the powers and duties of a conservator under Section
  39A.003 only to correct a failure identified under Subsection (a).
         SECTION 11.  Subchapter D, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Section 37.1131 to read as follows:
         Sec. 37.1131.  NOTIFICATION REGARDING VIOLENT ACTIVITY. (a)
  The agency shall develop model standards for providing notice
  regarding violent activity that has occurred or is being
  investigated at a school district campus or other district facility
  or at a district-sponsored activity to parents, guardians, and
  other persons standing in parental relation to students who are
  assigned to the campus, regularly use the facility, or are
  attending the activity, as applicable.  The standards must:
               (1)  include electronic notification through text
  messaging and e-mail;
               (2)  provide an option for real-time notification; and
               (3)  protect student privacy.
         (b)  Each school district shall adopt a policy for providing
  notice described by Subsection (a) in a manner that meets the
  standards adopted under that subsection.
         SECTION 12.  Sections 37.2071(b), (c), (d), (f), (g), and
  (h), Education Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (b)  A school district or public junior college district
  shall submit its multihazard emergency operations plan to the
  center:
               (1)  not later than the 30th day after the date [on
  request of] the center requests the submission; and
               (2)  in accordance with the center's review cycle
  developed under Subsection (a).
         (c)  The center 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; [and]
                     (B)  including specific recommendations to
  correct the deficiencies; and
                     (C)  stating that the district must correct the
  deficiencies in its plan and resubmit the revised plan to the
  center.
         (d)  If a district fails to submit its multihazard emergency
  operations plan to the center for review following a notification
  by the center that the district has failed to submit the district's
  plan, the center shall provide the district with written notice
  stating that the district must hold a public hearing under Section
  37.1081[:
               [(1)  has failed to submit a plan; and
               [(2)  must submit a plan to the center for review and
  verification].
         (f)  If one month [three months] after the date of initial
  notification of a plan's deficiencies under Subsection (c)(2) [or
  failure to submit a plan under Subsection (d)] a district has not
  corrected the plan deficiencies [or has failed to submit a plan],
  the center shall provide written notice to the district and agency
  that the district has not complied with the requirements of this
  section and must comply immediately.
         (g)  If a school district still has not corrected the plan
  deficiencies three [or has failed to submit a plan six] months after
  the date of initial notification under Subsection (c)(2) [or (d)],
  the center shall provide written notice to the school district
  stating that the district must hold a public hearing under Section
  37.1081.
         (h)  If a school district has failed to submit a plan, the
  notice required by Subsection (d) [(g)] must state that the
  commissioner is authorized to appoint a conservator under Section
  37.1082.
         SECTION 13.  Section 37.2091, Education Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:
         (b-1)  A school district must confirm that a person is
  included in the registry established under Subsection (b) before
  the district may engage the person to provide school safety or
  security consulting services to the district.
         SECTION 14.  Section 48.115, Education Code, is amended by
  amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsections (a-1) and
  (b-1) to read as follows:
         (a)  Except as provided by Subsection (a-1), [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)  $16,800 for each campus with 1,100 or more
  enrolled students;
               (2)  $16,000 for each campus with 600 to 1,099 enrolled
  students;
               (3)  $15,500 for each campus with 350 to 599 enrolled
  students; and
               (4)  $15,000 for each campus with 349 or fewer enrolled
  students [for each student in average daily attendance].
         (a-1)  A school district campus that provides only virtual
  instruction or utilizes only facilities not subject to the
  district's control is not included for purposes of determining a
  school district's allotment under Subsection (a).
         (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 15.  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 16.  Section 1701.253, Occupations Code, is amended
  by adding Subsection (q) to read as follows:
         (q)  As part of the minimum curriculum requirements, the
  commission shall require an officer to complete a training program
  on responding to an active shooter as provided by the Advanced Law
  Enforcement Rapid Response Training Center at Texas State
  University--San Marcos, or a similar organization approved by the
  commission. An officer shall complete the program not later than
  the second anniversary of the date the officer is licensed under
  this chapter unless the officer completes the program as part of the
  officer's basic training course. Completion of a training program
  under this subsection satisfies any other requirement for the
  officer to complete a training program on responding to active
  shooters, including under Section 37.0812(a), Education Code.
         SECTION 17.  Subchapter F, Chapter 1701, Occupations Code,
  is amended by adding Section 1701.2635 to read as follows:
         Sec. 1701.2635.  ACTIVE SHOOTER TRAINING FOR OFFICERS AT
  PUBLIC SCHOOLS. (a) This section applies to a:
               (1)  school district peace officer as defined by
  Section 1701.262; and
               (2)  school resource officer as defined by Section
  1701.601.
         (b)  An officer to whom this section applies shall complete a
  one-time training program on responding to an active shooter as
  provided by the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training
  Center at Texas State University--San Marcos, or a similar
  organization approved by the commission, before or within two years
  of beginning to provide law enforcement services at a public
  primary or secondary school.
         (c)  Completion of a training program under this section
  satisfies any other requirement that the officer complete a
  training program on responding to active shooters, including under
  Section 37.0812(a), Education Code.
         SECTION 18.  (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 19.  (a)  As soon as practicable after the effective
  date of this Act, the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement shall
  adopt rules to implement Sections 1701.253(q) and 1701.2635,
  Occupations Code, as added by this Act.
         (b)  The minimum curriculum requirements under Section
  1701.253(q), Occupations Code, as added by this Act, apply only to
  an officer who first begins to satisfy those requirements on or
  after January 1, 2024.
         (c)  Notwithstanding Section 1701.2635, Occupations Code, as
  added by this Act, an officer who holds a license under Chapter
  1701, Occupations Code, on September 1, 2023, and to whom that
  section applies shall complete the training program required by
  that section not later than September 1, 2025.
         SECTION 20.  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 21.  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 22.  (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.
 
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