BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 1441

By: Plesa

Public Education

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Current law requires public school district peace officers and school resource officers to receive training on topics including mental and behavioral health needs of children with disabilities or special needs and de-escalation techniques. However, existing training requirements do not specifically address the effects of mental health conditions, such as grief and trauma, on student behavior or the use of evidence-based strategies to support affected students. H.B. 1441 seeks to address this gap by requiring the incorporation of additional training objectives focused on these issues into the model training curriculum for these officers.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 1441 amends the Occupations Code to require the model training curriculum for public school district peace officers and school resource officers to incorporate a learning objective regarding the effects of mental health conditions, including grief and trauma, on student behavior and the ways in which using evidence-based, grief-informed, and trauma-informed strategies support a safe school environment and protect the mental health of students affected by grief and trauma. The bill requires the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement to amend the model training curriculum as necessary to implement this requirement as soon as practicable after the bill's effective date.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2025.