89R3721 CMO-F

By: Gervin-Hawkins H.B. No. 637

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the regulation of bleeding control stations in public schools.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 38.030, Education Code, is amended by amending Subsections (b) and (d) and adding Subsections (b-1), (b-2), (b-3), and (l) to read as follows:

(b) The protocol required under this section must:

(1) provide for a school district or open-enrollment charter school to maintain and make available to school employees and volunteers bleeding control stations, as described by Subsection (d), for use in the event of a traumatic injury involving blood loss;

(2) ensure that bleeding control stations are stored in easily accessible areas of the campus that are selected by the district's school safety and security committee or the charter school's governing body;

(3) require that agency-approved training on the use of a bleeding control station in the event of an injury to another person be provided to:

(A) each school district peace officer commissioned under Section 37.081 or school security personnel employed under that section who provides security services at the campus;

(B) each school resource officer who provides law enforcement at the campus; [and]

(C) each armed security officer required to be present at the campus under Section 37.0814 who is not otherwise described by Paragraph (A) or (B); and

(D) all other district or school personnel who may be reasonably expected to use a bleeding control station; and

(4) require the district or charter school to annually offer instruction on the use of a bleeding control station from a school resource officer or other appropriate district or school personnel who has received the training under Subdivision (3) to students enrolled at the campus in grade four [seven] or higher.

(b-1) A student shall be excused from instruction on the use of a bleeding control station provided under Subsection (b)(4) on the written request of a parent or legal guardian without being subjected to any disciplinary action, academic penalty, or other sanction.

(b-2) Instruction on the use of a bleeding control station provided under Subsection (b)(4) to students enrolled at the campus in grades four, five, and six:

(1) must be appropriate for the student's age and grade level;

(2) may not use instructional documents that contain or depict graphic images or graphic descriptions of incidents or injuries that require bleeding control; and

(3) must be provided with a behavioral health professional present during the instruction.

(b-3) Instruction on proper chest seal placement may not be provided to a student.

(d) A bleeding control station required under this section must contain all of the following required supplies in quantities determined appropriate by the superintendent of the district or the director of the school:

(1) tourniquets approved for use in battlefield trauma care by the armed forces of the United States;

(2) chest seals;

(3) compression bandages;

(4) bleeding control bandages;

(5) space emergency blankets;

(6) latex-free gloves;

(7) markers;

(8) scissors; [and]

(9) instructional documents developed by the American College of Surgeons or the United States Department of Homeland Security detailing methods to prevent blood loss following a traumatic event; and

(10) emergency alerting devices.

(l) In this section:

(1) "Behavioral health professional" means:

(A) a licensed specialist in school psychology licensed under Chapter 501, Occupations Code;

(B) a licensed professional counselor licensed under Chapter 503, Occupations Code;

(C) a licensed clinical social worker licensed under Chapter 505, Occupations Code; or

(D) a school counselor with an appropriate certificate or permit issued under Subchapter B, Chapter 21.

(2) "Emergency alerting device" means a device designed to send, once the case containing the device is opened, an emergency alert that provides continuous information about the location of the device to preprogrammed recipients, including 9-1-1 call centers, school resource officers, and emergency services personnel, using multiple forms of communication technology to ensure connectivity, including cellular telephone technology, Bluetooth technology, global positioning system technology, general packet radio service technology, and wireless computer networking technology.

(3) "Instructional document" means any book, record, file, or other instrument or material used to provide instruction on the use of a bleeding control station provided under Subsection (b)(4).

SECTION 2. This Act applies beginning with the 2025-2026 school year.

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, 2025.