By: West S.B. No. 471
(In the Senate - Filed February 1, 2011; February 14, 2011,
read first time and referred to Committee on Health and Human
Services; May 6, 2011, reported adversely, with favorable
Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 0;
May 6, 2011, sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 471 By: West
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to public school, child-placing agency, and day-care
center policies addressing sexual abuse and other maltreatment of
children.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subsection (a), Section 11.252, 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.
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 increasing staff [teacher], student,
and parent awareness of issues regarding sexual abuse and other
maltreatment of children, including prevention techniques and
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 increasing
awareness of issues regarding sexual abuse and other maltreatment
of children must include training, as provided by this subsection,
concerning prevention techniques for and recognition of sexual
abuse and all other maltreatment of children. The training:
(1) must be provided, as part of a new employee
orientation, to new school district and open-enrollment charter
school educators, including counselors and coaches, and other
district and charter school professional staff members;
(2) may be provided annually to any district or
charter school staff member; and
(3) must 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) techniques 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.
(d) For any training under Subsection (c), each school
district and open-enrollment charter school shall maintain records
that include the name of each district or charter school staff
member who participated in the training.
(e) 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), 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.
(f) The training under Subsection (c) may be included in
staff development under Section 21.451.
(g) A school district or open-enrollment charter school
employee may not be subject to any disciplinary proceeding, as
defined by Section 22.0512(b), resulting from an action taken in
compliance with this section. The requirements of this section
are considered to involve an employee's judgment and discretion and
are not considered ministerial acts for purposes of immunity from
liability under Section 22.0511. Nothing in this section may be
considered to limit the immunity from liability provided under
Section 22.0511.
(h) For purposes of this section, "other maltreatment" has
the meaning assigned by Section 42.002, Human Resources Code.
SECTION 3. Section 42.002, Human Resources Code, is amended
by adding Subdivision (23) to read as follows:
(23) "Other maltreatment" means:
(A) abuse, as defined by Section 261.001 or
261.401, Family Code; or
(B) neglect, as defined by Section 261.001 or
261.401, Family Code.
SECTION 4. Subchapter C, Chapter 42, Human Resources Code,
is amended by adding Section 42.04261 to read as follows:
Sec. 42.04261. OTHER TRAINING OF PERSONNEL: CHILD-PLACING
AGENCIES AND DAY-CARE CENTERS. (a) Notwithstanding Section
42.0426(a)(1), a child-placing agency or day-care center shall
provide training for staff members in prevention techniques for and
the recognition of symptoms of sexual abuse and other maltreatment
of children and the responsibility and procedure of reporting
suspected occurrences of sexual abuse and other maltreatment of
children to the department or other appropriate entity.
(b) The type of training required under Subsection (a) shall
be determined by department rule. The training must be provided for
at least an hour annually and must include training concerning:
(1) factors indicating a child is at risk for sexual
abuse or other maltreatment;
(2) likely warning signs indicating a child may be a
victim of sexual abuse or other maltreatment;
(3) internal procedures for reporting sexual abuse or
other maltreatment; and
(4) community organizations that have existing
training programs that are able to provide training or other
education for child-placing agency or day-care center staff
members, children, and parents.
(c) If a child-placing agency or day-care center determines
that it does not have sufficient resources to provide the training
required under this section, the agency or center may contact a
department licensing employee to obtain information concerning
community organizations that will provide such training at no cost
to the agency or center.
SECTION 5. 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-placing agency or
day-care center 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 increasing child-placing agency and
day-care center staff and parent awareness of issues regarding and
prevention techniques for 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;
and
(2) actions that, after contacting an agency or
center, the parent of a child who is a victim of sexual abuse or
other maltreatment should take to obtain assistance and
intervention.
(c) The methods under Subsection (b)(1) for increasing
awareness of issues regarding and prevention techniques for sexual
abuse and other maltreatment of children must include:
(1) the training required under Section 42.04261; and
(2) strategies for coordination between the
child-placing agency or day-care center and appropriate community
organizations.
SECTION 6. Subsection (a), Section 11.252, Education Code,
as amended by this Act, applies beginning with the 2011-2012 school
year.
SECTION 7. 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.
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