By: West S.B. No. 1664
 
 
 
   
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the establishment of the school safety technical
  advisory committee and the school safety accountability program.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Chapter 37, Education Code, is amended by adding
  Subchapter H to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER H. SCHOOL SAFETY ACCOUNTABILITY PROGRAM
         Sec. 37.251.  DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
               (1)  "Advisory committee" means the school safety
  technical advisory committee established under Section 37.252.
               (2)  "Chief of school safety and security" means the
  individual appointed by the governor as chief of school safety and
  security for the agency.
               (3)  "Law enforcement leadership officer" means:
                     (A)  the chief of police of a school district
  police department;
                     (B)  the chief or deputy chief of police of a
  municipality;
                     (C)  a sheriff;
                     (D)  a constable; or
                     (E)  a highway patrol officer:
                           (i)  designated by the public safety
  director of the Department of Public Safety; and
                           (ii)  who holds a rank of lieutenant or
  higher.
               (4)  "Program" means the school safety accountability
  program established under this subchapter.
               (5)  "School exterior" means the outer walls, doors,
  and windows of a school district or open-enrollment charter school
  facility.
               (6)  "School guardian" means a person who, pursuant to
  the written regulations or written authorization of a school
  district or open-enrollment charter school under Section
  46.03(a)(1)(A), Penal Code, is authorized to carry or possess a
  specified weapon for the purpose of providing safety and security
  on the physical premises of a school, any grounds or building on
  which an activity sponsored by a school is being conducted, or a
  passenger transportation vehicle of a school.
               (7)  "School interior" means the area inside of a
  school district or open-enrollment charter school facility's outer
  walls, including the facility's interior doors.
               (8)  "School perimeter" means the boundaries of the
  real property or site on which a school district or open-enrollment
  charter school campus is located.
               (9)  "School safety rating" means a school safety
  accountability rating assigned under Section 37.258 to a school
  district or open-enrollment charter school campus based on the
  campus's school safety score.
               (10)  "School safety score" means the numeric school
  safety score assigned to a school district or open-enrollment
  charter school campus under Section 37.254.
         Sec. 37.252.  SCHOOL SAFETY TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
  (a) The agency shall establish the school safety technical
  advisory committee to advise the agency regarding the school safety
  accountability program established under this subchapter. The
  committee is composed of:
               (1)  the following nine members, with the governor, the
  lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of
  representatives each appointing one member from each of the
  following three categories:
                     (A)  public school superintendents;
                     (B)  law enforcement leadership officers; and
                     (C)  persons serving in a school safety leadership
  capacity other than as a law enforcement leadership officer; and
               (2)  two additional members appointed by the
  commissioner, one of whom must be a teacher at a school district or
  open-enrollment charter school.
         (b)  An individual may not be appointed under Subsection (a)
  to serve on the committee as a law enforcement leadership officer
  unless the individual has completed the initial training program
  required by police chiefs under Section 96.641 and any continuing
  education required for police chiefs under that section.
         (c)  A committee member serves a two-year term and may be
  reappointed.
         Sec. 37.253.  ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM. (a) The agency
  shall establish a school safety accountability program to ensure
  school district and open-enrollment charter school campuses
  provide safe and secure environments.
         (b)  The chief of school safety and security shall oversee
  and administer the program.
         (c)  The chief of school safety and security may lower a
  school safety score assigned under Section 37.254 or school safety
  rating based on a final audit report prepared by the agency under
  Section 37.255. A decision by the chief of school safety and
  security under this subsection is final and not subject to appeal.
         Sec. 37.254.  SCHOOL SAFETY SCORE. (a) Not later than
  January 30 of each year, the agency shall assign each school
  district and open-enrollment charter school campus a school safety
  score. The school safety score must be:
               (1)  a number between zero and 100, with 100
  representing a perfect score; and
               (2)  determined by an audit of campus school safety
  based on the metrics of assessment developed under Section 37.256
  conducted by:
                     (A)  the district or school under Subsection (b);
  or
                     (B)  the agency under Section 37.255.
         (b)  Each school district and open-enrollment charter school
  shall annually conduct an audit of the safety of each campus of the
  district or school applying the metrics of assessment developed
  under Section 37.256 to assign a school safety score to each campus.
  The district or school shall submit the campus school safety score
  assigned for each campus under this subsection to the agency in the
  manner and form required by the commissioner.
         Sec. 37.255.  AGENCY AUDIT OF SCHOOL SAFETY. (a) The agency
  shall annually conduct an audit of the school safety of 25 percent
  of school district and open-enrollment charter school campuses in
  this state. The audit must:
               (1)  apply the metrics of assessment developed under
  Section 37.256; and
               (2)  assess the accuracy of school safety scores
  submitted for the audited campus by a school district or
  open-enrollment charter school under Section 37.254 for the
  preceding three years.
         (b)  After completing an audit of a school district or
  open-enrollment charter school campus under this section, the
  agency shall provide a preliminary school safety audit report to
  the district or school. The audited district or school may respond
  in writing to the preliminary audit report.
         (c)  After issuing a preliminary audit report and
  considering any response submitted by the school district or
  open-enrollment charter school, the agency shall issue to the
  district or school a final audit report of each audited campus that
  includes a school safety score. A final audit report issued under
  this section is not subject to appeal.
         Sec. 37.256.  METRICS OF ASSESSMENT. (a) The agency, in
  consultation with the advisory committee, the Texas School Safety
  Center, the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training Center
  at Texas State University--San Marcos, and other appropriate
  stakeholders designated by the commissioner, shall develop
  criteria for metrics of assessment to be applied in calculating
  school safety scores under Sections 37.254 and 37.255 for each
  school district and open-enrollment charter school campus.
         (b)  The metrics of assessment must, with respect to each
  school district and open-enrollment charter school campus:
               (1)  evaluate separately each school perimeter,
  exterior, and interior at the district or school; and
               (2)  include metrics for evaluating:
                     (A)  whether all classroom and exterior doors
  lock;
                     (B)  the type of glass used in interior and
  exterior windows, which may be divided into further categories
  requiring the application of additional metrics;
                     (C)  the type and location of exterior cameras
  installed at the campus;
                     (D)  the type and location of interior cameras
  installed at the campus;
                     (E)  the features of any school safety Internet
  application used by the school, including if:
                           (i)  a school lockdown or threat
  automatically triggers the application to call or make a digital
  directive announcement to the local 9-1-1 emergency call center;
                           (ii)  the application integrates with
  information reported through the Public Education Information
  Management System (PEIMS); or
                           (iii)  the application integrates with the
  health information of school staff and students as necessary for
  providing effective emergency medical treatment following a
  disaster or emergency situation, including a staff member's or
  student's blood type, medication allergies, and significant
  diseases or health conditions;
                     (F)  the frequency and type of active shooter and
  other disaster drills;
                     (G)  the security of exterior gates and fencing;
                     (H)  the ease of access to the campus for an
  intruder;
                     (I)  safety procedures for student pick-up and
  drop-off at the campus;
                     (J)  the safety of campus parking lots used by
  visitors and faculty;
                     (K)  severe weather and disaster alerts and
  preparedness;
                     (L)  the availability of devices allowing for
  two-way communication between campus administrators or campus
  police, if applicable, and each classroom;
                     (M)  the safety and storage of firearms at each
  campus;
                     (N)  the provision of security services at each
  campus for which a school marshal is appointed or at which a school
  guardian is authorized;
                     (O)  for a campus at which a school resource
  officer is assigned, coverage of school resource officers;
                     (P)  for a campus at which peace officers
  commissioned and employed by the district or school provide
  services, data related to commissioned district or school peace
  officers, including demographic information and information
  concerning training and experience;
                     (Q)  wireless Internet access, speed, and
  availability on campus;
                     (R)  information regarding the campus reported to
  the agency under Section 38.0141; and
                     (S)  any other safety criteria required by the
  agency.
         (c)  In developing criteria for the metrics of assessment
  under Subsection (a), the agency shall account for differences
  among school district and open-enrollment charter school campuses
  located in rural, urban, and suburban areas, including by
  differentiating how metrics evaluated under Subsection (b)(2) are
  applied in determining those differences.
         Sec. 37.257.  SCHOOL SAFETY MOBILE INTERNET APPLICATION
  REQUIREMENTS. If a school district or open-enrollment charter
  school provides a school safety mobile Internet application, the
  application:
               (1)  must comply with the Health Insurance Portability
  and Accountability Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. Section 1320d et seq.) and
  the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C.
  Section 1232g); and
               (2)  may only contain health information voluntarily
  provided for integration in the application:
                     (A)  for a student, by the student's parent or
  guardian; or
                     (B)  by an educator or other campus staff.
         Sec. 37.258.  SCHOOL SAFETY RATING. (a) The agency, with
  input from the advisory committee, shall adopt a method for
  converting a school safety score assigned under Section 37.254 to a
  school safety rating for purposes of this section.
         (b)  Not later than January 30 of each year, the agency shall
  assign each school district and open-enrollment charter school
  campus, based on that campus's school safety score, a preliminary
  school safety rating of:
               (1)  exceeds standards;
               (2)  meets standards; or
               (3)  does not meet standards.
         (c)  Not later than March 1, the agency shall assign a final
  school safety rating of "exceeds standards," "meets standards," or
  "does not meet standards" to each school district and
  open-enrollment charter school campus, except a campus
  implementing a remediation plan under a deadline established by
  Section 37.259(e).
         Sec. 37.259.  CAMPUS REMEDIATION PLAN. (a) The principal of
  a school district or open-enrollment charter school campus assigned
  a preliminary school safety rating under Section 37.258 of "does
  not meet standards" shall prepare a campus remediation plan.
         (b)  A campus remediation plan must:
               (1)  specifically address improvements to school
  safety to be made at the campus prior to the beginning of the
  following school year;
               (2)  for a school district campus, be prepared in
  coordination with the board of trustees of the district;
               (3)  be approved by the board of trustees of the school
  district or the governing body of the open-enrollment charter
  school in which the campus is located, as applicable; and
               (4)  be submitted to the agency not later than the 45th
  day after the date on which the preliminary school safety rating was
  assigned.
         (c)  The chief of school safety and security shall evaluate
  each campus remediation plan submitted under Subsection (b). If
  the chief of school safety and security determines that a plan is
  sufficient, the chief of school safety and security shall revise
  the school safety rating assigned to the campus to the rating of
  "meets standards."
         (d)  The agency shall notify the principal of the campus
  whether the remediation plan is sufficient for the campus to be
  assigned a revised school safety rating of "meets standards."
         (e)  After a remediation plan is determined to be sufficient
  under this section, the advisory committee shall establish a
  deadline by which the principal of a school district or
  open-enrollment charter school must submit to the board of trustees
  of the district or governing board of the school, as applicable,
  documentation showing that the campus has implemented the
  remediation plan.
         (f)  The chief of school safety and security has the sole
  authority to revise a school safety rating under this section.
         Sec. 37.260.  CONFIDENTIALITY. The following information
  produced under this subchapter is confidential and not subject to
  disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code:
               (1)  a school safety score, including data collected or
  an audit report prepared by or in connection with determining or
  assigning the school safety score;
               (2)  a preliminary school safety rating assigned under
  Section 37.258; and
               (3)  a campus remediation plan prepared by a school
  district or open-enrollment charter school under Section 37.259.
         Sec. 37.261.  RULES; DEADLINES. (a) The commissioner shall
  adopt rules necessary to implement this subchapter, including rules
  regarding requirements for further remediation by a school district
  or open-enrollment charter school campus that submits a remediation
  plan that is determined to be insufficient for purposes of Section
  37.259.
         (b)  The commissioner may extend or modify a timeline or
  deadline established by this subchapter.
         Sec. 37.262.  TEXAS SCHOOL SAFETY REPORT CARD. (a) Not
  later than August 15 of each year, the agency shall publish on the
  agency's Internet website the school safety report card, which
  consists of a list of the most recently assigned final school safety
  ratings under Section 37.258 for each school district and
  open-enrollment charter school campus in the state.
         (b)  Each school district and open-enrollment charter school
  shall annually provide either a copy of the school safety report
  card or a link to the report card on the agency's Internet website
  to each parent, guardian, or person standing in parental relation
  to a student in the district or school.
         SECTION 2.  (a) Not later than October 1, 2023, the
  commissioner of education shall establish the school safety
  technical advisory committee required under Section 37.252,
  Education Code, as added by this Act.
         (b)  Not later than January 30, 2026, the Texas Education
  Agency shall assign each school district and open-enrollment
  charter school campus:
               (1)  a school safety score under Section 37.254,
  Education Code, as added by this Act; and
               (2)  a school safety rating under Section 37.258,
  Education Code, as added by this Act.
         SECTION 3.  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.