82R5018 CAS-F
By: West S.B. No. 471
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to public school and child-care facility policies
addressing sexual abuse and other maltreatment of children.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. 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, such as suicide prevention, conflict
resolution, violence prevention, 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; and
(9) the policy under Section 38.0041 addressing sexual
abuse and other maltreatment of children and, until the policy is
implemented, must include provisions for describing progress
toward adopting and implementing the policy.
SECTION 2. Section 38.0041, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 38.0041. POLICIES ADDRESSING SEXUAL ABUSE AND OTHER
MALTREATMENT OF CHILDREN. (a) Each school district and
open-enrollment charter school shall adopt and implement a policy
addressing sexual abuse and other maltreatment of children, to be
included in the district improvement plan under Section 11.252 and
any informational handbook provided to students and parents.
(b) A policy required by this section must address:
(1) methods for preventing, and for increasing staff
[teacher], student, and parent awareness of issues regarding,
sexual abuse and other maltreatment of children, including
knowledge of likely warning signs indicating that a child may be a
victim of sexual abuse or other maltreatment, using resources
developed by the agency under Section 38.004;
(2) actions that a child who is a victim of sexual
abuse or other maltreatment should take to obtain assistance and
intervention; and
(3) available counseling options for students
affected by sexual abuse or other maltreatment.
(c) The methods under Subsection (b)(1) for preventing, and
for increasing awareness of issues regarding, sexual abuse and
other maltreatment of children must include:
(1) research-based training and other educational
opportunities concerning the prevention and recognition of sexual
abuse and all other forms of child maltreatment for the following
persons:
(A) parents of school district and
open-enrollment charter school students; and
(B) educators, including counselors and coaches,
and other district and charter school professional staff members;
and
(2) strategies for coordination between the district
or charter school and appropriate community organizations.
(d) The training provided under Subsection (c) for persons
described by Subsection (c)(1)(B) must:
(1) be provided annually; and
(2) include training concerning:
(A) factors indicating a child is at-risk for
sexual abuse or other maltreatment;
(B) likely warning signs indicating a child may
be a victim of sexual abuse or other maltreatment;
(C) internal procedures for seeking assistance
for a child who is at-risk for sexual abuse or other maltreatment,
including referral to a school counselor, a social worker, or
another mental health professional;
(D) methods for reducing a child's risk of sexual
abuse or other maltreatment; and
(E) community organizations that have relevant
existing research-based programs that are able to provide training
or other education for school district or open-enrollment charter
school staff members, students, and parents.
(e) For each year of annual training required under
Subsection (d), each school district and open-enrollment charter
school shall maintain, until at least the third anniversary of the
training, records that include the name of each district or charter
school staff member who participated in the training during that
year.
(f) If a school district or open-enrollment charter school
determines that the district or charter school does not have
sufficient resources to provide the training required under
Subsection (c)(1), the district or charter school shall work in
conjunction with a community organization to provide the training
at no cost to the district or charter school.
(g) The training under Subsection (d) may be included in
staff development under Section 21.451.
SECTION 3. Section 42.0426, Human Resources Code, is
amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (c), (d),
and (e) to read as follows:
(a) A licensed facility shall provide training for staff
members in:
(1) the prevention and recognition of symptoms of
child abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse and other forms of child
maltreatment [molestation] and the responsibility and procedure of
reporting suspected occurrences of child abuse, neglect, and sexual
abuse and other forms of child maltreatment [molestation] to the
department or other appropriate entity;
(2) the application of first aid; and
(3) the prevention and spread of communicable
diseases.
(c) The training required under Subsection (a)(1) must be
based on scientific research, provided at least annually, and
include training concerning:
(1) factors indicating a child is at-risk for abuse,
neglect, sexual abuse, or other maltreatment;
(2) likely warning signs indicating a child may be a
victim of abuse, neglect, sexual abuse, or other maltreatment;
(3) internal procedures for seeking assistance for a
child who is at-risk for abuse, neglect, sexual abuse, or other
maltreatment, including referral to a counselor, a social worker,
or another mental health professional; and
(4) community organizations that have relevant
existing research-based training programs that are able to provide
training or other education for licensed facility staff members,
children, and parents.
(d) If a licensed facility determines that it does not have
sufficient resources to provide the training required under
Subsection (a)(1), the licensed facility shall work in conjunction
with a community organization to provide the training at no cost to
the licensed facility.
(e) For each year of annual training required under
Subsection (a)(1), the licensed facility shall maintain, until at
least the third anniversary of the training, records that include
the name of each staff member who participated in the training
during that year.
SECTION 4. Subchapter C, Chapter 42, Human Resources Code,
is amended by adding Section 42.0428 to read as follows:
Sec. 42.0428. POLICIES ADDRESSING SEXUAL ABUSE AND OTHER
MALTREATMENT OF CHILDREN. (a) Each child-care facility shall
adopt and implement a policy addressing sexual abuse and other
maltreatment of children.
(b) A policy required by this section must address:
(1) methods for preventing, and for increasing
child-care facility staff and parent awareness of issues regarding,
sexual abuse and other maltreatment of children, including
knowledge of likely warning signs indicating that a child may be a
victim of sexual abuse or other maltreatment;
(2) actions that a child who is a victim of sexual
abuse or other maltreatment should take to obtain assistance and
intervention;
(3) actions that the parent of a child younger than
five years of age who is a victim of sexual abuse or other
maltreatment should take to obtain assistance and intervention; and
(4) available counseling options for children
affected by sexual abuse or other maltreatment.
(c) The methods under Subsection (b)(1) for preventing, and
for increasing awareness of issues regarding, sexual abuse and
other maltreatment of children must include:
(1) the training required under Section
42.0426(a)(1); and
(2) strategies for coordination between the
child-care facility and appropriate community organizations.
SECTION 5. Section 11.252(a), Education Code, as amended by
this Act, applies beginning with the 2011-2012 school year.
SECTION 6. 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.