Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3155 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	85R8528 MEW-D
2	2	By: Thompson of Harris H.B. No. 3155
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the placement and use of video cameras in certain
8	8	self-contained classrooms or other settings providing special
9	9	education services.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Section 29.022, Education Code, is amended by
12	12	amending Subsections (a), (b), (c), (d), (i), and (j) and adding
13	13	Subsections (a-1), (a-2), (a-3), (c-1), (i-1), (l), and (m) to read
14	14	as follows:
15	15	(a) In order to promote student safety, on receipt of a
16	16	written request authorized under Subsection (a-1) [by a parent,
17	17	trustee, or staff member], a school district or open-enrollment
18	18	charter school shall provide equipment, including a video camera,
19	19	to the [each] school or schools in the district or the [each]
20	20	charter school campus or campuses specified in the request [in
21	21	which a student who receives special education services in a
22	22	self-contained classroom or other special education setting is
23	23	enrolled]. A [Each] school or campus that receives equipment as
24	24	provided by this subsection shall place, operate, and maintain one
25	25	or more video cameras in [each] self-contained classrooms and
26	26	[classroom or] other special education settings [setting] in which
27	27	a majority of the students in regular attendance are[:
28	28	[(1)] provided special education and related
29	29	services[;] and are
30	30	[(2)] assigned to one or more [a] self-contained
31	31	classrooms [classroom] or other special education settings
32	32	[setting] for at least 50 percent of the instructional day,
33	33	provided that:
34	34	(1) a school or campus that receives equipment as a
35	35	result of the request by a parent or staff member is required to
36	36	place equipment only in classrooms or settings in which the
37	37	parent's child is in regular attendance or to which the staff member
38	38	is assigned, as applicable; and
39	39	(2) a school or campus that receives equipment as a
40	40	result of the request by a board of trustees, governing body,
41	41	principal, or assistant principal is required to place equipment
42	42	only in classrooms or settings identified by the requestor, if the
43	43	requestor limits the request to specific classrooms or settings
44	44	subject to this subsection.
45	45	(a-1) For purposes of Subsection (a):
46	46	(1) a parent of a child who receives special education
47	47	services in one or more self-contained classrooms or other special
48	48	education settings may request in writing that equipment be
49	49	provided to the school or campus at which the child receives those
50	50	services;
51	51	(2) a board of trustees or governing body may request
52	52	in writing that equipment be provided to one or more specified
53	53	schools or campuses at which one or more children receive special
54	54	education services in self-contained classrooms or other special
55	55	education settings;
56	56	(3) the principal or assistant principal of a school
57	57	or campus at which one or more children receive special education
58	58	services in self-contained classrooms or other special education
59	59	settings may request that equipment be provided to the principal's
60	60	or assistant principal's school or campus; and
61	61	(4) a staff member assigned to work with one or more
62	62	children receiving special education services in self-contained
63	63	classrooms or other special education settings may request in
64	64	writing that equipment be provided to the school or campus at which
65	65	the staff member works.
66	66	(a-2) Each school district or open-enrollment charter
67	67	school shall designate an administrator at the primary
68	68	administrative office of the district or school with responsibility
69	69	for coordinating the provision of equipment to schools and campuses
70	70	in compliance with this section.
71	71	(a-3) A written request must be submitted and acted on as
72	72	follows:
73	73	(1) a parent, staff member, or assistant principal
74	74	must submit a request to the principal or the principal's designee
75	75	of the school or campus addressed in the request, and the principal
76	76	or designee must provide a copy of the request to the administrator
77	77	designated under Subsection (a-2);
78	78	(2) a principal must submit a request by the principal
79	79	to the administrator designated under Subsection (a-2); and
80	80	(3) a board of trustees or governing body must submit a
81	81	request to the administrator designated under Subsection (a-2), and
82	82	the administrator must provide a copy of the request to the
83	83	principal or the principal's designee of the school or campus
84	84	addressed in the request.
85	85	(b) A school or campus that places a video camera in a
86	86	classroom or other special education setting in accordance with
87	87	Subsection (a) shall operate and maintain the camera in the
88	88	classroom or setting, as long as the classroom or setting continues
89	89	to satisfy the requirements under Subsection (a), for the remainder
90	90	of the school year in which the school or campus received the
91	91	request, unless the requestor withdraws the request in writing. At
92	92	the end of each school year, the school or campus must notify the
93	93	parents of each student in regular attendance in the classroom or
94	94	setting that operation of the video camera will not continue during
95	95	the following school year unless a person who is eligible to make a
96	96	request for the next school year under Subsection (a-1) submits a
97	97	new request.
98	98	(c) Except as provided by Subsection (c-1), video [Video]
99	99	cameras placed under this section must be capable of:
100	100	(1) covering all areas of the classroom or other
101	101	special education setting, including a room attached to the
102	102	classroom or setting used for time-out [except that the inside of a
103	103	bathroom or any area in the classroom or setting in which a
104	104	student's clothes are changed may not be visually monitored]; and
105	105	(2) recording audio from all areas of the classroom or
106	106	other special education setting, including a room attached to the
107	107	classroom or setting used for time-out.
108	108	(c-1) The inside of a bathroom or any area in the classroom
109	109	or setting in which a student's clothes are changed may not be
110	110	visually monitored, except for incidental coverage of a minor
111	111	portion of a bathroom or changing area because of the layout of the
112	112	classroom or setting.
113	113	(d) Before a school or campus activates [places] a video
114	114	camera in a classroom or other special education setting under this
115	115	section, the school or campus shall provide written notice of the
116	116	placement to all school or campus staff and to the parents of each
117	117	[a] student attending class or engaging in school activities
118	118	[receiving special education services] in the classroom or setting.
119	119	(i) A video recording of a student made according to this
120	120	section is confidential and may not be released or viewed except as
121	121	provided by this subsection or Subsection (i-1) or (j). A school
122	122	district or open-enrollment charter school shall release a
123	123	recording for viewing by:
124	124	(1) an [a school district] employee [or a parent or
125	125	guardian of a student] who is involved in an alleged incident that
126	126	is documented by the recording and [for which a complaint] has been
127	127	reported to the district or school, on request of the employee [,
128	128	parent, or guardian, respectively];
129	129	(2) a parent or guardian of a student who is involved
130	130	in an alleged incident that is documented by the recording and has
131	131	been reported to the district or school, on request of the parent or
132	132	guardian;
133	133	(3) appropriate Department of Family and Protective
134	134	Services personnel as part of an investigation under Section
135	135	261.406, Family Code;
136	136	(4) [(3)] a peace officer, a school nurse, a district
137	137	or school administrator trained in de-escalation and restraint
138	138	techniques as provided by commissioner rule, or a human resources
139	139	staff member designated by the board of trustees of the school
140	140	district or the governing body of the open-enrollment charter
141	141	school in response to a report of an alleged incident [complaint] or
142	142	an investigation of district or school personnel or a report
143	143	[complaint] of alleged abuse committed by a student; or
144	144	(5) [(4)] appropriate agency or State Board for
145	145	Educator Certification personnel or agents as part of an
146	146	investigation.
147	147	(i-1) A contractor or employee performing job duties
148	148	relating to the installation, operation, or maintenance of video
149	149	equipment or the retention of video recordings who incidentally
150	150	views a video recording is not in violation of Subsection (i).
151	151	(j) If a person described by Subsection (i)(4) [(i)(3)] or
152	152	(5) [(4)] who views the video recording believes that the recording
153	153	documents a possible violation under Subchapter E, Chapter 261,
154	154	Family Code, the person shall notify the Department of Family and
155	155	Protective Services for investigation in accordance with Section
156	156	261.406, Family Code. If any person described by Subsection (i)(3)
157	157	[(i)(2)], [(3), or] (4), or (5) who views the recording believes
158	158	that the recording documents a possible violation of district
159	159	policy or school procedures [policy], the person may allow access
160	160	to the recording to appropriate legal and human resources
161	161	personnel. A recording believed to document a possible violation
162	162	of district policy or school procedures [policy] may be used as part
163	163	of a disciplinary action against district or school personnel and
164	164	shall be released at the request of the student's parent or guardian
165	165	in a legal proceeding. This subsection does not limit the access
166	166	of a student's parent to a record regarding the student under the
167	167	Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C.
168	168	Section 1232g) or other law.
169	169	(l) A district policy or school procedure relating to the
170	170	placement, operation, or maintenance of video cameras under this
171	171	section must:
172	172	(1) include information on how a person may appeal an
173	173	action by the district or school that the person believes to be in
174	174	violation of this section, including the appeals process under
175	175	Section 7.057;
176	176	(2) require that a school district or open-enrollment
177	177	charter school provide a response to a request made under this
178	178	section not later than the seventh school day after receipt of the
179	179	request by the person to whom it must be submitted under Subsection
180	180	(a-3) that authorizes the request or states the reason for denying
181	181	the request; and
182	182	(3) require that a school or a campus begin operation
183	183	of a video camera in compliance with this section not later than the
184	184	45th calendar day after the request is authorized.
185	185	(m) In this section:
186	186	(1) "Staff member" means a teacher, related service
187	187	provider, paraprofessional, counselor, or educational aide
188	188	assigned to work in a self-contained classroom or other special
189	189	education setting.
190	190	(2) "Time-out" has the meaning assigned by Section
191	191	37.0021.
192	192	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
193	193	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
194	194	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
195	195	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
196	196	Act takes effect September 1, 2017.