By: Creighton S.B. No. 2520
 
 
 
   
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to measures for ensuring safety and security in public
  schools.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subchapter D, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Sections 37.1083 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. 
         SECTION 2.  Subchapter D, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Sections 37.117 to read as follows:
         Sec.37.117. SAFE SCHOOLS UNIVERSAL PLATFORM. (a) In this
  section: 
               (1) "Office" means the office of school safety and
  Security established under Section 37.1083. 
               (2) "Universal platform" means the safe schools
  Universal platform established under this section. 
         (b)  The office shall contract with an outside vendor to
  create and maintain a safe schools universal platform to serve as a
  centralized integrated repository and analytics resource for data
  relating to school safety and community welfare. 
         (c)  The universal platform must be: 
               (1) designed to integrate and present data, as
  necessary, from: 
                     (A)  social media and other Internet sources; 
                     (B)  relevant state agencies; 
                     (C)  any tool developed or available for reporting
  suspicious activity; and 
                     (D)  reports and notifications provided by a
  school district or open-enrollment charter school, including:
                           (i)  incident reports generated after an
  incident affecting school safety; and
                           (ii)  notifications provided by the district
  or school indicating an upcoming event or incident may cause a
  disruption to the normal operations of the district or school or the
  functions of the surrounding community; 
               (2)  to the extent possible, capable of integrating
  with existing platforms or technologies used by school districts
  and open-enrollment charter schools for school safety; and
               (3)  able to relay information clearly and in real time
  to each person or entity necessary to provide a unified response to
  a safety incident, or to take appropriate action in response to an
  anticipated disruption to the normal functions of the surrounding
  community, including: 
                     (A)  the governor; 
                     (B)  affected school districts and
  open-enrollment charter schools; 
                     (C)  relevant state agencies; 
                     (D)  relevant law enforcement agencies; and
                     (E)  other first responders. 
               (d)  A document, information, or data collected for,
  identified on, or published to the universal platform is
  confidential and not subject to disclosure under Chapter 552,
  Government Code. 
               (e)  The commissioner shall adopt rules as necessary to
  implement this section. 
         SECTION 3.  (a)  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.