82R27443 E
By: Coleman, Farrar, Marquez, et al. H.B. No. 1386
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1386:
By: Naishtat C.S.H.B. No. 1386
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the public health threat presented by youth suicide and
to the prevention of associated discrimination, harassment, and
bullying.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. This Act is dedicated to every child who has
fallen victim to severe emotional trauma.
SECTION 2. The legislature finds that:
(1) the United States Surgeon General's Report on
Children's Mental Health estimates that one in five children and
adolescents will experience a significant mental health problem
during their school years;
(2) during elementary school years, children are in an
ongoing developmental process where it is crucial that healthy
mental and behavioral development be promoted and that a solid
foundation in social-emotional skills and capacities be built;
(3) adolescence is a period of significant change,
during which youth are faced with a myriad of pressures;
(4) the pressures facing youth during adolescence
include pressures relating to adapting to bodily changes,
succeeding academically, making college and career decisions,
being accepted by peers, including pressure to engage in drugs,
alcohol, and sex, measuring up to expectations of others, and
coping with family and peer conflicts;
(5) increased levels of victimization also lead to
increased levels of depression and anxiety and decreased levels of
self-esteem;
(6) emotional trauma and mental health issues, if left
unaddressed, can lead and have led to life-threatening violence and
suicide;
(7) suicide committed by youth continues to present a
public health threat that endangers the well-being of the youth of
the state;
(8) suicide is the third leading cause of death for
persons who are at least 15 years of age but younger than 25 years of
age and the sixth leading cause of death for persons who are at
least 5 years of age but younger than 15 years of age; and
(9) it is of the utmost importance to keep children and
adolescents mentally healthy and on a course to become mentally
healthy adults.
SECTION 3. Chapter 161, Health and Safety Code, is amended
by adding Subchapter O-1 to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER O-1. EARLY MENTAL HEALTH INTERVENTION AND PREVENTION OF
YOUTH SUICIDE
Sec. 161.325. EARLY MENTAL HEALTH INTERVENTION AND SUICIDE
PREVENTION. (a) The department, in coordination with the Texas
Education Agency, shall provide and annually update a list of
recommended best practice-based early mental health intervention
and suicide prevention programs for implementation in public
elementary, junior high, middle, and high schools within the
general education setting. Each school district may select from
the list a program or programs appropriate for implementation in
the district.
(b) The programs on the list must include components that
provide for training counselors, teachers, nurses, administrators,
and other staff, as well as law enforcement officers and social
workers who regularly interact with students, to:
(1) recognize students at risk of committing suicide,
including students who are or may be the victims of or who engage in
bullying prohibited in accordance with Section 37.0832, Education
Code;
(2) recognize students displaying early warning signs
and a necessity for early mental health intervention, which warning
signs may include declining academic performance, depression,
anxiety, isolation, unexplained changes in sleep or eating habits,
and destructive behavior toward self and others; and
(3) intervene effectively with students described by
Subdivision (1) or (2) by providing notice and referral to a parent
or guardian so appropriate action, such as seeking mental health
services, may be taken by a parent or guardian.
(c) In developing the list of programs, the department and
the Texas Education Agency shall consider:
(1) any existing suicide prevention method developed
by a school district under Section 11.252(a)(3)(B) or
33.006(b)(1)(A), Education Code; and
(2) any Internet or online course or program developed
in this state or another state that is based on best practices
recognized by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration or the Suicide Prevention Resource Center.
(d) The board of trustees of each school district may adopt
a policy, including any necessary procedures, concerning early
mental health intervention and suicide prevention that:
(1) establishes a procedure for providing notice of a
necessity for early mental health intervention regarding a student
to a parent or guardian of the student within a reasonable amount of
time after the identification;
(2) establishes a procedure for providing notice of a
student identified as at risk of committing suicide to a parent or
guardian of the student within a reasonable amount of time after the
identification;
(3) establishes the actions to take to obtain
assistance, intervention, and notice to a parent or guardian in
response to the necessity for intervention; and
(4) sets out the available optional counseling
alternatives for a parent or guardian to consider when their child
is identified as possibly being in need of early mental health
intervention or suicide prevention.
(e) The policy and any necessary procedures adopted under
Subsection (d) must be included in:
(1) the annual student handbook; and
(2) the district improvement plan under Section
11.252, Education Code.
(f) The department may solicit and accept a gift, grant, or
donation from any source for purposes of this section.
(g) Not later than January 1, 2013, the department shall
submit a report to the legislature relating to the development of
the list of programs and the implementation in school districts of
selected programs. This subsection expires September 1, 2013.
(h) Nothing in this section is intended to interfere with
the rights of parents or guardians and the decision-making
regarding the best interest of the child. Policy and procedures
adopted in accordance with this section are intended to notify a
parent or guardian of a need for mental health intervention so that
a parent or guardian may take appropriate action. Nothing in this
Act shall be construed as giving school districts the authority to
prescribe medications; any and all medical decisions are to be made
by a parent or guardian of a student.
SECTION 4. Section 11.252(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Each school district shall have a district improvement
plan that is developed, evaluated, and revised annually, in
accordance with district policy, by the superintendent with the
assistance of the district-level committee established under
Section 11.251. The purpose of the district improvement plan is to
guide district and campus staff in the improvement of student
performance for all student groups in order to attain state
standards in respect to the student achievement indicators adopted
under Section 39.053. The district improvement plan must include
provisions for:
(1) a comprehensive needs assessment addressing
district student performance on the student achievement
indicators, and other appropriate measures of performance, that are
disaggregated by all student groups served by the district,
including categories of ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sex, and
populations served by special programs, including students in
special education programs under Subchapter A, Chapter 29;
(2) measurable district performance objectives for
all appropriate student achievement indicators for all student
populations, including students in special education programs
under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, and other measures of student
performance that may be identified through the comprehensive needs
assessment;
(3) strategies for improvement of student performance
that include:
(A) instructional methods for addressing the
needs of student groups not achieving their full potential;
(B) methods for addressing the needs of students
for special programs, including:
(i) [such as] suicide prevention programs,
in accordance with Subchapter O-1, Chapter 161, Health and Safety
Code, which includes a parental or guardian notification procedure;
(ii) [,] conflict resolution programs;
(iii) [,] violence prevention programs; and
(iv) [, or] dyslexia treatment programs;
(C) dropout reduction;
(D) integration of technology in instructional
and administrative programs;
(E) discipline management;
(F) staff development for professional staff of
the district;
(G) career education to assist students in
developing the knowledge, skills, and competencies necessary for a
broad range of career opportunities; and
(H) accelerated education;
(4) strategies for providing to middle school, junior
high school, and high school students, those students' teachers and
counselors, and those students' parents information about:
(A) higher education admissions and financial
aid opportunities;
(B) the TEXAS grant program and the Teach for
Texas grant program established under Chapter 56;
(C) the need for students to make informed
curriculum choices to be prepared for success beyond high school;
and
(D) sources of information on higher education
admissions and financial aid;
(5) resources needed to implement identified
strategies;
(6) staff responsible for ensuring the accomplishment
of each strategy;
(7) timelines for ongoing monitoring of the
implementation of each improvement strategy; and
(8) formative evaluation criteria for determining
periodically whether strategies are resulting in intended
improvement of student performance.
SECTION 5. Section 21.451(d), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(d) The staff development:
(1) may include training in:
(A) technology;
(B) conflict resolution; [and]
(C) discipline strategies, including classroom
management, district discipline policies, and the student code of
conduct adopted under Section 37.001 and Chapter 37; and
(D) preventing, identifying, responding to, and
reporting incidents of bullying; and
(2) subject to Subsection (e), must include training
based on scientifically based research, as defined by Section 9101,
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (20 U.S.C. Section 7801), that:
(A) relates to instruction of students with
disabilities; and
(B) is designed for educators who work primarily
outside the area of special education.
SECTION 6. Section 25.0342(a), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) In this section, "bullying" has the meaning assigned by
Section 37.0832 [means engaging in written or verbal expression or
physical conduct that a school district board of trustees or the
board's designee determines:
[(1) will have the effect of physically harming a
student, damaging a student's property, or placing a student in
reasonable fear of harm to the student's person or of damage to the
student's property; or
[(2) is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive
enough that the action or threat creates an intimidating,
threatening, or abusive educational environment for a student].
SECTION 7. Section 28.002, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (s) to read as follows:
(s) In addition to any other essential knowledge and skills
the State Board of Education adopts for the health curriculum under
Subsection (a)(2)(B), the board, in consultation with the Texas
School Safety Center, shall adopt essential knowledge and skills
for the health curriculum that include evidence-based practices
that will effectively address awareness, prevention, and
identification of bullying and harassment and intervention in and
resolution of bullying and harassment. In this subsection:
(1) "Bullying" has the meaning assigned by Section
37.0832.
(2) "Harassment" has the meaning assigned by Section
37.001.
SECTION 8. Section 37.001(b), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) In this section:
(1) "Bullying" has the meaning assigned by Section
37.0832.
(2) "Harassment" means threatening to cause harm or
bodily injury to another student, engaging in sexually intimidating
conduct, causing physical damage to the property of another
student, subjecting another student to physical confinement or
restraint, or maliciously taking any action that substantially
harms another student's physical or emotional health or safety.
(3) [(2)] "Hit list" means a list of people targeted
to be harmed, using:
(A) a firearm, as defined by Section 46.01(3),
Penal Code;
(B) a knife, as defined by Section 46.01(7),
Penal Code; or
(C) any other object to be used with intent to
cause bodily harm.
SECTION 9. Section 37.083(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Each school district shall adopt and implement a
discipline management program to be included in the district
improvement plan under Section 11.252. The program must provide
for prevention of and education concerning unwanted physical or
verbal aggression and[,] sexual harassment[, and other forms of
bullying] in school, on school grounds, and in school vehicles.
SECTION 10. Subchapter C, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 37.0832 to read as follows:
Sec. 37.0832. BULLYING PREVENTION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.
(a) In this section, "bullying" means engaging in written or verbal
expression, expression through electronic means, or physical
conduct that occurs on school property, at a school-sponsored or
school-related activity, or in a vehicle operated by the district
and that:
(1) has the effect or will have the effect of
physically harming a student, damaging a student's property, or
placing a student in reasonable fear of harm to the student's person
or of damage to the student's property;
(2) is sufficiently severe, persistent, and pervasive
enough that the action or threat creates an intimidating,
threatening, or abusive educational environment for a student;
(3) exploits an imbalance of power between the student
perpetrator and the student victim through written or verbal
expression, expression through electronic means, or physical
conduct; and
(4) interferes with a student's education or
substantially disrupts the operation of a school.
(b) The board of trustees of each school district shall
adopt a policy, including any necessary procedures, concerning
bullying that:
(1) prohibits the bullying of a student;
(2) prohibits retaliation against any person,
including a victim, a witness, or another person, who in good faith
provides information concerning an incident of bullying;
(3) establishes a procedure for providing notice of an
incident of bullying to a parent or guardian of the victim of the
incident and a parent or guardian of the person engaging in bullying
within a reasonable amount of time after the incident;
(4) establishes the actions a student should take to
obtain assistance and intervention in response to bullying;
(5) sets out the available counseling options for a
student who is a victim of or a witness to bullying or who engages in
bullying; and
(6) establishes procedures for reporting an incident
of bullying, investigating a reported incident of bullying, and
determining whether the reported incident of bullying occurred.
(c) The policy and any necessary procedures adopted under
Subsection (b) must be included in:
(1) any student or employee school district handbook;
and
(2) the district improvement plan under Section
11.252.
(d) The procedure for reporting bullying established under
Subsection (b) must be posted on the district's Internet website to
the extent practicable.
(e) This section and any other change in law made by H.B.
1386, Acts of the 82nd Legislature, Regular Session, 2011, may not
be construed as reducing existing state and federal rights of
students receiving special education services under Subchapter A,
Chapter 29. Any act of bullying committed by a student receiving
special education services must be addressed through the admission,
review, and dismissal committee process and the student's
individualized education program plan. The student's admission,
review, and dismissal committee must consider the relationship
between the behavior and the disability and whether the disability
contributed to the manifestation of the behavior. Any change in
placement of a student receiving special education services must be
considered in accordance with Section 37.004.
SECTION 11. This Act applies beginning with the 2012-2013
school year.
SECTION 12. 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, 2011.