85R1231 KKA-D
By: Garcia S.B. No. 196
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a notification requirement if a public school,
including an open-enrollment charter school, does not have a nurse,
school counselor, or librarian assigned to the school during all
instructional hours.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 25, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 25.097 to read as follows:
Sec. 25.097. PARENTAL NOTIFICATION CONCERNING NURSES,
SCHOOL COUNSELORS, AND LIBRARIANS. (a) In this section, "nurse"
means a nurse licensed under Chapter 301, Occupations Code.
(b) A public school, including an open-enrollment charter
school, that does not have a full-time nurse, school counselor, or
librarian or the equivalent of a full-time nurse, school counselor,
or librarian assigned to be present at the school for more than 30
consecutive instructional days during the same school year shall
provide written notice of the absence to the parent of or other
person standing in parental relation to each student enrolled in
the school.
(c) A school has the equivalent of a full-time nurse, school
counselor, or librarian under Subsection (b) if the school has two
or more nurses, school counselors, or librarians, as applicable,
assigned to the school and the combined presence of the nurses,
school counselors, or librarians, as applicable, covers all regular
student instructional hours at a campus during the regular school
day.
(d) The principal of the school shall provide the notice
required by Subsection (b) not later than the 30th instructional
day after the first day the school does not have a full-time nurse,
school counselor, or librarian assigned to be present at the
school.
(e) The school shall:
(1) make a good faith effort to ensure that the notice
required by this section is provided in a bilingual form to any
parent or other person standing in parental relation whose primary
language is not English; and
(2) retain a copy of any notice provided under this
section.
(f) A school may satisfy the notice requirement under
Subsection (d) by posting the notice on the school's Internet
website. Notice posted under this subsection must be accessible
from the home page of the Internet website by use of not more than
three links.
(g) A school district that is located in a county with a
population of less than 100,000 is not required to provide the
notice required by this section.
SECTION 2. This Act applies beginning with the 2017-2018
school year.
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, 2017.