| 1 | 1 | | By: Ellis S.B. No. 418 |
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| 2 | 2 | | (Coleman) |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to a notification requirement if a public school campus or |
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| 8 | 8 | | open-enrollment charter school does not have a nurse assigned to |
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| 9 | 9 | | the campus during all instructional hours. |
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| 10 | 10 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 11 | 11 | | SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 38, Education Code, is |
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| 12 | 12 | | amended by adding Section 38.021 to read as follows: |
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| 13 | 13 | | Sec. 38.021. PARENTAL NOTIFICATION CONCERNING NURSES. |
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| 14 | 14 | | (a) In this section, "nurse" means a nurse licensed under Chapter |
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| 15 | 15 | | 301, Occupations Code. |
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| 16 | 16 | | (b) A public school, including an open-enrollment charter |
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| 17 | 17 | | school, that does not have a full-time nurse or the equivalent of a |
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| 18 | 18 | | full-time nurse assigned to be present on the campus for more than |
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| 19 | 19 | | 30 consecutive instructional days during the same school year shall |
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| 20 | 20 | | provide written notice of the absence of a nurse to the parent of or |
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| 21 | 21 | | other person standing in parental relation to each student enrolled |
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| 22 | 22 | | in the school. |
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| 23 | 23 | | (c) A school has the equivalent of a full-time nurse under |
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| 24 | 24 | | Subsection (b) if the school has two or more nurses assigned to the |
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| 25 | 25 | | school and those nurses' combined presence covers all regular |
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| 26 | 26 | | student instructional hours at a campus during the regular school |
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| 27 | 27 | | day. |
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| 28 | 28 | | (d) The principal of the school shall provide the notice |
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| 29 | 29 | | required by Subsection (b) not later than the 30th instructional |
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| 30 | 30 | | day after the first day the school does not have a full-time nurse |
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| 31 | 31 | | assigned to be present on the campus. |
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| 32 | 32 | | (e) The school shall: |
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| 33 | 33 | | (1) make a good faith effort to ensure that the notice |
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| 34 | 34 | | required by this section is provided in a bilingual form to any |
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| 35 | 35 | | parent or other person standing in parental relation whose primary |
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| 36 | 36 | | language is not English; and |
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| 37 | 37 | | (2) retain a copy of any notice provided under this |
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| 38 | 38 | | section. |
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| 39 | 39 | | (f) A school may satisfy the notice requirement under |
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| 40 | 40 | | Subsection (d) by posting the notice on the school's Internet |
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| 41 | 41 | | website. Notice posted under this subsection must be accessible |
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| 42 | 42 | | from the home page of the Internet website by use of not more than |
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| 43 | 43 | | three links. |
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| 44 | 44 | | (g) A school district that is located in a county with a |
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| 45 | 45 | | population of less than 100,000 is not required to provide the |
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| 46 | 46 | | notice required by this section. |
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| 47 | 47 | | SECTION 2. This Act applies beginning with the 2013-2014 |
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| 48 | 48 | | school year. |
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| 49 | 49 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 50 | 50 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 51 | 51 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 52 | 52 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 53 | 53 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2013. |
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