By: Seliger S.B. No. 1556
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the establishment of the School Safety Advisory Council
and School Safety Certification Program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Article 418, Government Code, is amended by
adding Section 418.0426 to read as follows:
Sec. 418.0426. SCHOOL SAFETY ADVISORY COUNCIL. (a) The
Chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, or a designee
of the Chief, the Director of the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid
Response Training Center, or a designee of the Director, the
Director of the Texas School Safety Center, or a designee of the
Director, and the Agency Director of the Texas A&M Engineering
Extension Service, or a designee of the Agency Director, shall
establish a School Safety Advisory Council.
(1) The Chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management,
or a designee of the Chief, shall serve as the chair of the School
Safety Advisory Council.
(2) The council shall study best practices for use in school
multi-hazard emergency operations planning in order to make
recommendations to the Texas School Safety Center and the Office of
Homeland Security.
(3) The council shall consider input from school safety
personnel, first responders, emergency managers, local officials,
school districts, educators, nonprofit organizations, and other
stakeholders in order to make its recommendations.
(4) The council shall report its findings, including
recommendations for any necessary statutory changes, to the
legislature before September 1, 2014, and every subsequent
even-numbered year.
SECTION 2. Article 37.2051, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 37.2051. SECURITY CRITERIA FOR INSTRUCTIONAL
FACILITIES. SCHOOL SAFETY CERTIFICATION PROGRAM. (a) The center,
shall develop security criteria that school districts may consider
in the design of instructional facilities. in consultation with the
School Safety Advisory Council, shall create a School Safety
Certification Program for school districts that meet the following
eligibility criteria:
(1) in the district's multihazard emergency operations
plan, the district includes physical security measures, a
plan to communicate with parents and the media in the event of
an emergency, and an outline of safety training for school
personnel;
(2) the district demonstrates to the center that the
district conducts a minimum of one emergency drill for
lockdown, evacuation, reverse evacuation, weather, and
shelter-in-place each year;
(3) the district has updated its school safety and
security audit and reported the results to the Texas School
Safety Center as required by Sec 37.108(c), Education Code;
and
(4) other eligibility criteria as recommended by the
School Safety Advisory Council under Sec. 418.0426,
Government Code.
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, 2013.