By: Taylor of Galveston S.B. No. 2078
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the duties of school districts, open-enrollment charter
schools, the Texas Education Agency, and the Texas School Safety
Center regarding multihazard emergency operations plans and other
school safety measures.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 12.104(b), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) An open-enrollment charter school is subject to:
(1) a provision of this title establishing a criminal
offense; and
(2) a prohibition, restriction, or requirement, as
applicable, imposed by this title or a rule adopted under this
title, relating to:
(A) the Public Education Information Management
System (PEIMS) to the extent necessary to monitor compliance with
this subchapter as determined by the commissioner;
(B) criminal history records under Subchapter C,
Chapter 22;
(C) reading instruments and accelerated reading
instruction programs under Section 28.006;
(D) accelerated instruction under Section
28.0211;
(E) high school graduation requirements under
Section 28.025;
(F) special education programs under Subchapter
A, Chapter 29;
(G) bilingual education under Subchapter B,
Chapter 29;
(H) prekindergarten programs under Subchapter E
or E-1, Chapter 29;
(I) extracurricular activities under Section
33.081;
(J) discipline management practices or behavior
management techniques under Section 37.0021;
(K) health and safety under Chapter 38;
(L) public school accountability under
Subchapters B, C, D, E, F, G, and J, Chapter 39;
(M) the requirement under Section 21.006 to
report an educator's misconduct;
(N) intensive programs of instruction under
Section 28.0213; [and]
(O) school safety requirements under Sections
37.108, 37.1083, 37.109, 37.112, and 37.207; and
(P) the right of a school employee to report a
crime, as provided by Section 37.148.
SECTION 2. Section 37.108, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsections (e) and (f)
to read as follows:
(b) At least once every three years, each school district or
public junior college district shall conduct a safety and security
audit of the district's facilities. To the extent possible, a
district shall follow safety and security audit procedures
developed by the Texas School Safety Center or a person included in
the registry established by the Texas School Safety Center under
Section 37.2091 [comparable public or private entity].
(c) A school district or public junior college district
shall report the results of the safety and security audit conducted
under Subsection (b) to the district's board of trustees and, in the
manner required by the Texas School Safety Center, to the Texas
School Safety Center. The Texas School Safety Center shall compile
school district audit results and report them to the agency.
(e) A school district shall include in its multihazard
emergency operations plan:
(1) a chain of command that designates the individual
responsible for making final decisions during a disaster or
emergency situation and identifies other individuals responsible
for making those decisions if the designated person is unavailable;
(2) provisions for responding to a natural disaster,
active shooter, and any other dangerous scenario identified for
purposes of this section by the agency or the Texas School Safety
Center;
(3) provisions for ensuring the safety of students in
portable buildings;
(4) provisions for providing immediate notification
to parents, guardians, and other persons standing in parental
relation in circumstances involving a significant threat to the
health or safety of students, including identification of the
individual with responsibility for overseeing the notification;
(5) a statement of the amount per student expended by
the district on school safety; and
(6) the name of each individual on the district's
school safety and security committee established under Section
37.109 and the date of each committee meeting during the preceding
year.
(f) The Texas School Safety Center, in coordination with the
agency, shall develop the method to be used by a school district in
determining the amount per student expended by the district on
school safety for purposes of the statement required under
Subsection (e)(5). The method must include variable components
that reflect a district's size and geographic location.
SECTION 3. Subchapter D, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 37.1083 to read as follows:
Sec. 37.1083. AGENCY DUTIES REGARDING SCHOOL SAFETY
MEASURES. (a) The agency shall adopt a model multihazard
emergency operations plan that school districts may use in
developing district-specific multihazard emergency operations
plans as required by Section 37.108. To the extent possible, the
agency shall solicit input from the Texas School Safety Center
before adopting the model plan.
(b) The agency shall adopt a cycle for the agency's review
and approval of school district multihazard emergency operations
plans adopted under Section 37.108.
(c) A school district shall:
(1) submit its multihazard emergency operations plan
to the agency in accordance with the cycle adopted under Subsection
(b); and
(2) provide any additional information required by the
agency in connection with the agency's review of the plan.
(d) The Texas School Safety Center shall participate in the
agency's review and approval of school district multihazard
emergency operations plans and may provide a recommendation to the
agency regarding whether a plan complies with applicable standards.
(e) Regardless of whether the Texas School Safety Center
provides a recommendation under Subsection (d) and regardless of
the content of any recommendation provided, the agency shall make
an independent final determination of whether a school district's
multihazard emergency operations plan complies with applicable
standards.
(f) The agency shall post information on the agency's
Internet website that identifies each school district that:
(1) failed to submit the district's multihazard
emergency operations plan for agency review and approval in
accordance with the cycle adopted under Subsection (b);
(2) submitted a multihazard emergency operations plan
that did not comply with an applicable standard; or
(3) failed the school safety and security audit
required to be conducted under Section 37.108(b).
(g) The commissioner may adopt rules necessary to implement
this section.
SECTION 4. Section 37.109, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (a-1), (c), and (d) and amending Subsection (b)
to read as follows:
(a-1) The committee must include:
(1) a representative of a local fire department,
emergency services agency, or other emergency services provider;
(2) a representative of a local police department;
(3) a representative of a municipality with territory
included within the boundaries of the district;
(4) the president of the district's board of trustees;
(5) a member of the district's board of trustees other
than the president;
(6) the district's superintendent; and
(7) two additional members designated by the
district's superintendent.
(b) The committee shall:
(1) participate on behalf of the district in
developing and implementing emergency plans consistent with the
district multihazard emergency operations plan required by Section
37.108(a) to ensure that the plans reflect specific campus,
facility, or support services needs;
(2) periodically provide recommendations regarding
updating the district multihazard emergency operations plan
required by Section 37.108(a) in accordance with best practices
identified by the agency, the Texas School Safety Center, or a
person included in the registry established by the Texas School
Safety Center under Section 37.2091;
(3) provide the district with any campus, facility, or
support services information required in connection with a safety
and security audit required by Section 37.108(b), a safety and
security audit report required by Section 37.108(c), or another
report required to be submitted by the district to the Texas School
Safety Center; and
(4) [(3)] review each report required to be submitted
by the district to the Texas School Safety Center to ensure that the
report contains accurate and complete information regarding each
campus, facility, or support service in accordance with criteria
established by the center.
(c) Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, the
committee shall meet at least once during each academic semester
and at least once during the summer. A committee established by a
school district that operates schools on a year-round system or in
accordance with another alternative schedule shall meet at least
three times during each calendar year, with an interval of at least
two months between each meeting.
(d) The committee is subject to Chapter 551, Government
Code. Notice of a committee meeting must be posted in the same
manner as notice of a meeting of the district's board of trustees.
SECTION 5. Subchapter D, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 37.112 to read as follows:
Sec. 37.112. NOTIFICATION REGARDING BOMB THREAT OR
TERRORISTIC THREAT. A school district that receives a bomb threat
or terroristic threat relating to a campus or other district
facility at which students are present shall provide notification
of the threat as soon as possible to the parent or guardian of or
other person standing in parental relation to each student who is
assigned to the campus or who regularly uses the facility, as
applicable.
SECTION 6. Section 37.207, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (c) to read as
follows:
(b) Each school district shall report the results of its
audits to:
(1) the center in the manner required by the center;
and
(2) the agency, in accordance with commissioner rule.
(c) The agency shall provide assistance to the center in
developing the model safety and security audit procedure.
SECTION 7. Not later than January 1, 2018, the Texas School
Safety Center shall:
(1) develop a list of best practices for ensuring the
safety of public school students receiving instruction in portable
buildings; and
(2) provide information regarding the list of best
practices to school districts using portable buildings for student
instruction.
SECTION 8. The commissioner of education is required to
implement this Act only if the legislature appropriates money
specifically for that purpose. If the legislature does not
appropriate money specifically for that purpose, the commissioner
of education may, but is not required to, implement this Act using
other appropriations available for the purpose.
SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.