By: Lucio, et al. S.B. No. 639
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the rights of persons with intellectual or
developmental disabilities residing in state schools.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 592, Health and Safety Code, is amended
by adding Subchapter E to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER E. RIGHTS OF PERSONS RESIDING IN STATE SCHOOLS
Sec. 592.071. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "State school" has the meaning assigned by Section
531.002.
(2) "State school resident bill of rights" means the
rights prescribed by this subchapter to which each resident of a
state school is entitled.
Sec. 592.072. RIGHTS GUARANTEED. (a) The rights
specifically listed in this subchapter are in addition to all other
rights that persons with intellectual or developmental
disabilities have and are not exclusive or intended to limit the
rights guaranteed by the constitution and laws of the United States
and this state.
(b) This subchapter may not be construed to authorize a
state school to take any action that would impair the health or
safety of any resident of that facility.
Sec. 592.073. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS. The legislature
recognizes that all persons with intellectual or developmental
disabilities living in this state are entitled to the same rights
and privileges as any other person living in this state. It is the
policy of the state that all persons, regardless of disability, be
treated with dignity and respect. The legislature recognizes that
persons residing in state schools have the right to determine and
pursue their personal goals, dreams, and aspirations to be
contributing members of their communities.
Sec. 592.074. PURPOSE. The purpose of the state school
resident bill of rights is:
(1) to ensure the freedoms and rights of persons with
intellectual or developmental disabilities living in state
schools;
(2) to promote choice and self-determination;
(3) to protect the civil and constitutional rights of
residents in state schools consistent with federal and state laws;
and
(4) to ensure that residents receive adequate medical,
dental, and psychiatric interventions, care, and treatment in
accordance with acceptable standards of professional practice.
Sec. 592.075. STATE SCHOOL RESIDENT BILL OF RIGHTS. It is
the policy of the state that each person residing in a state school
has the following rights:
(1) to make decisions that impact the person's rights
and freedoms, or, if appropriate, to have a legally authorized
representative make those decisions;
(2) to be free from:
(A) physical or mechanical restraints, unless
necessary to prevent imminent physical injury to the person or
others and the use of the restraint is not prohibited by other law;
(B) restraint by a papoose board or a
straightjacket;
(C) medical restraint unless the medical
restraint is administered only when necessary and:
(i) as a therapeutic treatment prescribed
by a physician for the protection of the person's health;
(ii) during the performance of a specific
medical, surgical, or dental procedure; or
(iii) for client protection during a
medication-related emergency, as defined by Section 574.101;
(D) the administration of unnecessary or
excessive psychoactive medication, as defined by Section 574.101;
and
(E) temporary separation from others, unless
necessary to protect the health and safety of the person or others
and the use of the temporary separation is not prohibited by other
law;
(3) to be free from abuse, neglect, or exploitation,
including:
(A) corporal or physical punishment;
(B) sexual abuse; or
(C) emotional abuse;
(4) to refer all cases of confirmed abuse, neglect, or
exploitation to the appropriate prosecuting attorney for
prosecution of the perpetrator;
(5) to report incidents of abuse, neglect, or
exploitation in confidence using a private telephone or computer;
(6) to have a representative of the director of a state
school notify the person's legally authorized representative of an
allegation of abuse, neglect, or exploitation not more than 24
hours after the allegation is made;
(7) to have the results of any investigation regarding
an allegation of abuse, neglect, or exploitation be explained on
completion of the investigation to the person in a language and
format understandable to the person and, if applicable, to the
person's legally authorized representative by a representative of
the director of the state school;
(8) to report complaints about the state school, other
than complaints about abuse, neglect, or exploitation, and have
timely and appropriate resolution to those complaints;
(9) to live in the most integrated setting allowed by
law and based on the person's preferences, including:
(A) having the opportunity to make an informed
choice to move into a community with the necessary services and
supports;
(B) having access to community services while
waiting for a determination of eligibility for those services;
(C) choosing to participate in, and
participating in, community activities;
(D) having regular reviews of placement, if the
person was involuntarily committed to a state school;
(E) having access to well-developed, specialized
community programs for alleged offenders with disabilities
necessary to successfully reintegrate into the community, if
available and determined to be appropriate; and
(F) requesting planning meetings to review
community placement determinations or specific community options;
(10) to continue receiving services in a state school
if:
(A) the person's legally authorized
representative indicates a preference for the person continuing to
receive services in the state school; and
(B) the state school is not required to transfer,
furlough to an alternative placement, or discharge the person under
Section 594.011;
(11) to form healthy social relationships with other
persons;
(12) to receive quality assistive technology
assessments, equipment, and training, and for staff to have the
relevant training, necessary to ensure the person's successful
inclusion in major life activities, to the greatest extent
possible, including:
(A) communication;
(B) mobility;
(C) employment; and
(D) education;
(13) to a quality and productive life, including:
(A) the opportunity to pursue the employment or
education of the person's choice;
(B) a humane and safe living environment that
provides reasonable protection from harm;
(C) opportunities to participate in an
organization that advocates with and on behalf of people with
disabilities;
(D) opportunities to interact with individuals
with shared interests who do not reside at the state school,
including mentors, friends, and family, and individuals
participating in clubs, classes, and social groups;
(E) access to services or meetings of a religious
organization of the person's choosing, including weekly services or
meetings and services or meetings on the religious holy days of that
religion; and
(F) personal living space with privacy to the
greatest extent possible based on the person's individual needs;
(14) to have access to appropriate health and dental
care, including:
(A) a well-balanced diet;
(B) regular access to physical activity, with
supports as needed, in the least restrictive environment, with the
opportunity to go outdoors when preferred if possible; and
(C) preventative and emergency medical care;
(15) to have the person's legally authorized
representative notified of any significant medical, behavioral, or
social event that occurs in the person's life; and
(16) to be provided with a written copy of this state
school resident bill of rights in English and Spanish, to have the
opportunity to review this document with an advocate or individual
of the person's choosing, and to have the bill of rights explained
to the person in simple, nontechnical language in the person's
primary language, if possible.
Sec. 592.076. PROVISION OF BILL OF RIGHTS TO RESIDENTS.
(a) The department shall provide a written copy of the state
school resident bill of rights in English and Spanish and the
person's primary language, if possible, to each person living in a
state school and, if applicable, to the person's legally authorized
representative.
(b) The state school shall ensure that, not later than the
24th hour after the hour the person is admitted to the state school,
the rights specified in the state school resident bill of rights are
explained to the person and, if applicable, the person's legally
authorized representative. The facility's representative shall
explain the state school resident bill of rights to the person:
(1) orally, in simple, nontechnical terms, in the
person's primary language, if possible; or
(2) in another manner reasonably calculated to
communicate with the person.
(c) A state school shall prominently and conspicuously
display a copy of the state school resident bill of rights in
English and Spanish in a public area of the facility that is readily
accessible by the residents.
(d) The executive commissioner of the Health and Human
Services Commission shall adopt rules relating to the form of the
state school resident bill of rights.
SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 531, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 531.02446 to read as follows:
Sec. 531.02446. DIVERSION PROTOCOLS TO PREVENT COMMITMENT
OF CHILDREN TO STATE SCHOOLS. (a) The executive commissioner by
rule shall develop protocols to divert individuals under 22 years
of age with intellectual or developmental disabilities from
commitment to a state school.
(b) The executive commissioner shall ensure that the
diversion protocols:
(1) are designed to eliminate the commitment to state
schools of individuals younger than 22 years of age; and
(2) state that individuals under 22 years of age
admitted to a state school must be placed there on a temporary
basis.
(c) As part of the diversion protocols, the executive
commissioner shall:
(1) establish policies ensuring that individuals
younger than 22 years of age are adequately informed of and offered
community-based alternatives before admission to a state school;
and
(2) subject to the availability of funds appropriated
for that purpose, contract for the provision of temporary,
emergency living arrangements for individuals younger than 22 years
of age at immediate risk of commitment to a state school.
(d) An entity awarded a contract under this section must
provide temporary, emergency living arrangements at homes, with no
more than six individuals placed in the home.
SECTION 3. (a) The executive commissioner of the Health
and Human Services Commission shall adopt the rules required by
Section 592.076, Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act, and
Section 531.02446, Government Code, as added by this Act, not later
than January 1, 2010.
(b) A state school is not required to provide or display the
state school resident bill of rights under Subchapter E, Chapter
592, Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act, before February
1, 2010.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.