Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB2078 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1		By: Taylor of Galveston S.B. No. 2078
2		-	(Bonnen of Brazoria)
3	2
4	3
5	4		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	5		AN ACT
7	6		relating to the duties of school districts, open-enrollment charter
8	7		schools, the Texas Education Agency, and the Texas School Safety
9	8		Center regarding multihazard emergency operations plans and other
10	9		school safety measures.
11	10		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	11		SECTION 1. Section 12.104(b), Education Code, is amended to
13	12		read as follows:
14	13		(b) An open-enrollment charter school is subject to:
15	14		(1) a provision of this title establishing a criminal
16	15		offense; and
17	16		(2) a prohibition, restriction, or requirement, as
18	17		applicable, imposed by this title or a rule adopted under this
19	18		title, relating to:
20	19		(A) the Public Education Information Management
21	20		System (PEIMS) to the extent necessary to monitor compliance with
22	21		this subchapter as determined by the commissioner;
23	22		(B) criminal history records under Subchapter C,
24	23		Chapter 22;
25	24		(C) reading instruments and accelerated reading
26	25		instruction programs under Section 28.006;
27	26		(D) accelerated instruction under Section
28	27		28.0211;
29	28		(E) high school graduation requirements under
30	29		Section 28.025;
31	30		(F) special education programs under Subchapter
32	31		A, Chapter 29;
33	32		(G) bilingual education under Subchapter B,
34	33		Chapter 29;
35	34		(H) prekindergarten programs under Subchapter E
36	35		or E-1, Chapter 29;
37	36		(I) extracurricular activities under Section
38	37		33.081;
39	38		(J) discipline management practices or behavior
40	39		management techniques under Section 37.0021;
41	40		(K) health and safety under Chapter 38;
42	41		(L) public school accountability under
43	42		Subchapters B, C, D, E, F, G, and J, Chapter 39;
44	43		(M) the requirement under Section 21.006 to
45	44		report an educator's misconduct;
46	45		(N) intensive programs of instruction under
47	46		Section 28.0213; [and]
48	47		(O) school safety requirements under Sections
49	48		37.108, 37.1083, 37.109, 37.112, and 37.207; and
50	49		(P) the right of a school employee to report a
51	50		crime, as provided by Section 37.148.
52	51		SECTION 2. Section 37.108, Education Code, is amended by
53	52		amending Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsections (e) and (f)
54	53		to read as follows:
55	54		(b) At least once every three years, each school district or
56	55		public junior college district shall conduct a safety and security
57	56		audit of the district's facilities. To the extent possible, a
58	57		district shall follow safety and security audit procedures
59	58		developed by the Texas School Safety Center or a person included in
60	59		the registry established by the Texas School Safety Center under
61	60		Section 37.2091 [comparable public or private entity].
62	61		(c) A school district or public junior college district
63	62		shall report the results of the safety and security audit conducted
64	63		under Subsection (b) to the district's board of trustees and, in the
65	64		manner required by the Texas School Safety Center, to the Texas
66	65		School Safety Center. The Texas School Safety Center shall compile
67	66		school district audit results and report them to the agency.
68	67		(e) A school district shall include in its multihazard
69	68		emergency operations plan:
70	69		(1) a chain of command that designates the individual
71	70		responsible for making final decisions during a disaster or
72	71		emergency situation and identifies other individuals responsible
73	72		for making those decisions if the designated person is unavailable;
74	73		(2) provisions for responding to a natural disaster,
75	74		active shooter, and any other dangerous scenario identified for
76	75		purposes of this section by the agency or the Texas School Safety
77	76		Center;
78	77		(3) provisions for ensuring the safety of students in
79	78		portable buildings;
80	79		(4) provisions for providing immediate notification
81	80		to parents, guardians, and other persons standing in parental
82	81		relation in circumstances involving a significant threat to the
83	82		health or safety of students, including identification of the
84	83		individual with responsibility for overseeing the notification;
85	84		(5) a statement of the amount per student expended by
86	85		the district on school safety; and
87	86		(6) the name of each individual on the district's
88	87		school safety and security committee established under Section
89	88		37.109 and the date of each committee meeting during the preceding
90	89		year.
91	90		(f) The Texas School Safety Center, in coordination with the
92	91		agency, shall develop the method to be used by a school district in
93	92		determining the amount per student expended by the district on
94	93		school safety for purposes of the statement required under
95	94		Subsection (e)(5). The method must include variable components
96	95		that reflect a district's size and geographic location.
97	96		SECTION 3. Subchapter D, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
98	97		amended by adding Section 37.1083 to read as follows:
99	98		Sec. 37.1083. AGENCY DUTIES REGARDING SCHOOL SAFETY
100	99		MEASURES. (a) The agency shall adopt a model multihazard
101	100		emergency operations plan that school districts may use in
102	101		developing district-specific multihazard emergency operations
103	102		plans as required by Section 37.108. To the extent possible, the
104	103		agency shall solicit input from the Texas School Safety Center
105	104		before adopting the model plan.
106	105		(b) The agency shall adopt a cycle for the agency's review
107	106		and approval of school district multihazard emergency operations
108	107		plans adopted under Section 37.108.
109	108		(c) A school district shall:
110	109		(1) submit its multihazard emergency operations plan
111	110		to the agency in accordance with the cycle adopted under Subsection
112	111		(b); and
113	112		(2) provide any additional information required by the
114	113		agency in connection with the agency's review of the plan.
115	114		(d) The Texas School Safety Center shall participate in the
116	115		agency's review and approval of school district multihazard
117	116		emergency operations plans and may provide a recommendation to the
118	117		agency regarding whether a plan complies with applicable standards.
119	118		(e) Regardless of whether the Texas School Safety Center
120	119		provides a recommendation under Subsection (d) and regardless of
121	120		the content of any recommendation provided, the agency shall make
122	121		an independent final determination of whether a school district's
123	122		multihazard emergency operations plan complies with applicable
124	123		standards.
125	124		(f) The agency shall post information on the agency's
126	125		Internet website that identifies each school district that:
127	126		(1) failed to submit the district's multihazard
128	127		emergency operations plan for agency review and approval in
129	128		accordance with the cycle adopted under Subsection (b);
130	129		(2) submitted a multihazard emergency operations plan
131	130		that did not comply with an applicable standard; or
132	131		(3) failed the school safety and security audit
133	132		required to be conducted under Section 37.108(b).
134	133		(g) The commissioner may adopt rules necessary to implement
135	134		this section.
136	135		SECTION 4. Section 37.109, Education Code, is amended by
137	136		adding Subsections (a-1), (c), and (d) and amending Subsection (b)
138	137		to read as follows:
139	138		(a-1) The committee must include:
140	139		(1) a representative of a local fire department,
141	140		emergency services agency, or other emergency services provider;
142	141		(2) a representative of a local police department;
143	142		(3) a representative of a municipality with territory
144	143		included within the boundaries of the district;
145	144		(4) the president of the district's board of trustees;
146	145		(5) a member of the district's board of trustees other
147	146		than the president;
148	147		(6) the district's superintendent; and
149	148		(7) two additional members designated by the
150	149		district's superintendent.
151	150		(b) The committee shall:
152	151		(1) participate on behalf of the district in
153	152		developing and implementing emergency plans consistent with the
154	153		district multihazard emergency operations plan required by Section
155	154		37.108(a) to ensure that the plans reflect specific campus,
156	155		facility, or support services needs;
157	156		(2) periodically provide recommendations regarding
158	157		updating the district multihazard emergency operations plan
159	158		required by Section 37.108(a) in accordance with best practices
160	159		identified by the agency, the Texas School Safety Center, or a
161	160		person included in the registry established by the Texas School
162	161		Safety Center under Section 37.2091;
163	162		(3) provide the district with any campus, facility, or
164	163		support services information required in connection with a safety
165	164		and security audit required by Section 37.108(b), a safety and
166	165		security audit report required by Section 37.108(c), or another
167	166		report required to be submitted by the district to the Texas School
168	167		Safety Center; and
169	168		(4) [(3)] review each report required to be submitted
170	169		by the district to the Texas School Safety Center to ensure that the
171	170		report contains accurate and complete information regarding each
172	171		campus, facility, or support service in accordance with criteria
173	172		established by the center.
174	173		(c) Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, the
175	174		committee shall meet at least once during each academic semester
176	175		and at least once during the summer. A committee established by a
177	176		school district that operates schools on a year-round system or in
178	177		accordance with another alternative schedule shall meet at least
179	178		three times during each calendar year, with an interval of at least
180	179		two months between each meeting.
181	180		(d) The committee is subject to Chapter 551, Government
182	181		Code. Notice of a committee meeting must be posted in the same
183	182		manner as notice of a meeting of the district's board of trustees.
184	183		SECTION 5. Subchapter D, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
185	184		amended by adding Section 37.112 to read as follows:
186	185		Sec. 37.112. NOTIFICATION REGARDING BOMB THREAT OR
187	186		TERRORISTIC THREAT. A school district that receives a bomb threat
188	187		or terroristic threat relating to a campus or other district
189	188		facility at which students are present shall provide notification
190	189		of the threat as soon as possible to the parent or guardian of or
191	190		other person standing in parental relation to each student who is
192	191		assigned to the campus or who regularly uses the facility, as
193	192		applicable.
194	193		SECTION 6. Section 37.207, Education Code, is amended by
195	194		amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (c) to read as
196	195		follows:
197	196		(b) Each school district shall report the results of its
198	197		audits to:
199	198		(1) the center in the manner required by the center;
200	199		and
201	200		(2) the agency, in accordance with commissioner rule.
202	201		(c) The agency shall provide assistance to the center in
203	202		developing the model safety and security audit procedure.
204	203		SECTION 7. Not later than January 1, 2018, the Texas School
205	204		Safety Center shall:
206	205		(1) develop a list of best practices for ensuring the
207	206		safety of public school students receiving instruction in portable
208	207		buildings; and
209	208		(2) provide information regarding the list of best
210	209		practices to school districts using portable buildings for student
211	210		instruction.
212	211		SECTION 8. The commissioner of education is required to
213	212		implement this Act only if the legislature appropriates money
214	213		specifically for that purpose. If the legislature does not
215	214		appropriate money specifically for that purpose, the commissioner
216	215		of education may, but is not required to, implement this Act using
217	216		other appropriations available for the purpose.
218	217		SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.