84R11807 PAM-F
By: Lucio S.B. No. 1584
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to positive behavioral interventions and supports for
students enrolled in public school who receive special education
services.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 29.021 to read as follows:
Sec. 29.021. POSITIVE BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTIONS AND
SUPPORTS. (a) In this section:
(1) "Behavior specialist professional" includes a
behavior analyst certified by the Behavior Analyst Certification
Board, a clinical psychologist, or a licensed specialist in school
psychology.
(2) "Licensed specialist in school psychology" has the
meaning assigned by Section 501.002, Occupations Code.
(3) "Restraint" and "time-out" have the meanings
assigned by Section 37.0021.
(b) It is the policy of this state that each school district
to the maximum extent possible should provide functional behavioral
assessments to a student whose behavior interferes with the ability
of that student or of another student to learn. The result of
student assessments shall be used to develop and provide positive
behavioral interventions and supports and other strategies to
enhance academic and social behavioral outcomes for students by:
(1) emphasizing the use of data to inform decisions
regarding selecting, implementing, and monitoring the progress of
evidence-based behavioral practices; and
(2) organizing resources and systems to improve the
faithful implementation and sustainability of positive behavioral
interventions and supports strategies.
(c) A school district shall provide positive behavioral
interventions and supports and related strategies under this
section in a manner that:
(1) ensures a student's physical freedom and social
interaction;
(2) respects human dignity and personal privacy and
does not cause pain or trauma to a student; and
(3) ensures a student's right to placement in the least
restrictive educational environment.
(d) In the case of a student enrolled in a special education
program under this subchapter, a school district may use restraint
or time-out as an emergency intervention only if:
(1) preventive or verbal techniques or techniques to
de-escalate the situation have been ineffective; and
(2) use of restraint or time-out is immediately
necessary to prevent:
(A) imminent probable death or substantial
bodily harm to the student because the student is attempting to
commit suicide or inflict serious bodily harm; or
(B) imminent physical harm to another person.
(e) A school district may not use restraint or time-out as a
substitute for or as part of a behavioral intervention plan
developed under Section 29.005(g).
(f) A school district may not use restraint or time-out
after the student stops engaging in the behavior described by
Subsection (d).
(g) Not later than the end of the school day on which a
school district has used restraint or time-out for a student, the
district shall notify the student's parent or person standing in
parental relation to the student of the use of restraint or time-out
and provide the information described by Subsections (h)(1)-(8).
(h) The school district shall complete a behavioral
emergency report concerning the use of restraint or time-out and
shall maintain the report in the student's eligibility folder and
cumulative record. The report must include:
(1) the name, age, and grade level of the student;
(2) the beginning and ending time of the restraint or
time-out;
(3) the location and setting of the restraint or
time-out;
(4) the name of district personnel or any other person
involved in the incident;
(5) a description of the incident, including the
precipitating factors;
(6) the specific type of restraint or time-out used;
(7) a statement as to whether the student currently
has a behavioral intervention plan;
(8) details of any injury sustained by the student or
another person as a result of the incident, including the restraint
or time-out, and any medical care provided; and
(9) the time the district notified the parent or
person standing in parental relation to the student regarding the
use, including details of the use, of the restraint or time-out.
(i) Not later than the third school day after the date of the
incident, the principal of the school shall submit a copy of the
behavioral emergency report for review to a school district
administrator designated by the district superintendent as the
responsible official for that purpose.
(j) Subject to the notice requirements for an admission,
review, and dismissal committee, the designated responsible
official shall schedule a meeting of the student's admission,
review, and dismissal committee to occur not later than the 10th
school day after the date of the incident. The committee shall
determine the need for:
(1) a functional behavioral assessment, regardless of
whether a functional behavioral assessment was previously
conducted; and
(2) an interim or modified behavioral intervention
plan.
(k) If the student's admission, review, and dismissal
committee determines that the student needs a functional behavioral
assessment, the school district attended by the student shall
ensure that the functional behavioral assessment is conducted by a
behavior specialist professional. The student's admission, review,
and dismissal committee shall review the functional behavioral
assessment conducted under this subsection and determine whether
individualized positive behavioral interventions and supports need
to be included in the student's individualized education program
under Section 29.005.
(l) If the student's admission, review, and dismissal
committee determines that a behavioral intervention plan or a
modified behavioral intervention plan is necessary, the committee
shall develop the plan and determine the need for school district
personnel who will implement the plan to participate in training
with a behavior specialist professional. The committee shall
monitor the implementation and results of the plan and determine
the need for any modification to the plan or any additional training
for school personnel.
SECTION 2. 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;
(C) discipline strategies, including positive
behavioral intervention and supports strategies, classroom
management, district discipline policies, and the student code of
conduct adopted under Section 37.001 and Chapter 37; and
(D) protecting students from bullying, including
preventing, identifying, responding to, and reporting incidents of
bullying; [and]
(2) subject to Subsection (e) and to Section 21.3541
and rules adopted under that section, 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; and
(3) must include training to ensure that adequately
trained school district personnel are available to work effectively
with the positive behavioral intervention and support needs of
students eligible for the district special education program.
SECTION 3. This Act applies beginning with the 2015-2016
school year.
SECTION 4. 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, 2015.