Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB17 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	86R9572 JES-F
2	2	By: Bonnen of Galveston H.B. No. 17
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to public school safety measures and procedures.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 7, Education Code, is
10	10	amended by adding Section 7.061 to read as follows:
11	11	Sec. 7.061. FACILITIES STANDARDS. (a) In this section,
12	12	"instructional facility" has the meaning assigned by Section
13	13	46.001.
14	14	(b) The commissioner shall adopt or amend rules as necessary
15	15	to ensure that building standards for instructional facilities and
16	16	other school district and open-enrollment charter school
17	17	facilities provide a secure and safe environment. In adopting or
18	18	amending rules under this section, the commissioner shall include
19	19	the use of best practices for:
20	20	(1) the design and construction of new facilities; and
21	21	(2) the improvement, renovation, and retrofitting of
22	22	existing facilities.
23	23	(c) Not later than September 1 of each even-numbered year,
24	24	the commissioner shall review all rules adopted or amended under
25	25	this section and amend the rules as necessary to ensure that
26	26	building standards for school district and open-enrollment charter
27	27	school facilities continue to provide a secure and safe
28	28	environment.
29	29	SECTION 2. Section 12.104(b), Education Code, as amended by
30	30	Chapters 324 (S.B. 1488), 522 (S.B. 179), and 735 (S.B. 1153), Acts
31	31	of the 85th Legislature, Regular Session, 2017, is reenacted and
32	32	amended to read as follows:
33	33	(b) An open-enrollment charter school is subject to:
34	34	(1) a provision of this title establishing a criminal
35	35	offense; and
36	36	(2) a prohibition, restriction, or requirement, as
37	37	applicable, imposed by this title or a rule adopted under this
38	38	title, relating to:
39	39	(A) the Public Education Information Management
40	40	System (PEIMS) to the extent necessary to monitor compliance with
41	41	this subchapter as determined by the commissioner;
42	42	(B) criminal history records under Subchapter C,
43	43	Chapter 22;
44	44	(C) reading instruments and accelerated reading
45	45	instruction programs under Section 28.006;
46	46	(D) accelerated instruction under Section
47	47	28.0211;
48	48	(E) high school graduation requirements under
49	49	Section 28.025;
50	50	(F) special education programs under Subchapter
51	51	A, Chapter 29;
52	52	(G) bilingual education under Subchapter B,
53	53	Chapter 29;
54	54	(H) prekindergarten programs under Subchapter E
55	55	or E-1, Chapter 29;
56	56	(I) extracurricular activities under Section
57	57	33.081;
58	58	(J) discipline management practices or behavior
59	59	management techniques under Section 37.0021;
60	60	(K) health and safety under Chapter 38;
61	61	(L) public school accountability under
62	62	Subchapters B, C, D, F, G, and J, Chapter 39, and Chapter 39A;
63	63	(M) the requirement under Section 21.006 to
64	64	report an educator's misconduct;
65	65	(N) intensive programs of instruction under
66	66	Section 28.0213;
67	67	(O) the right of a school employee to report a
68	68	crime, as provided by Section 37.148; [and]
69	69	(P) bullying prevention policies and procedures
70	70	under Section 37.0832;
71	71	(Q) the right of a school under Section 37.0052
72	72	to place a student who has engaged in certain bullying behavior in a
73	73	disciplinary alternative education program or to expel the student;
74	74	[and]
75	75	(R) the right under Section 37.0151 to report to
76	76	local law enforcement certain conduct constituting assault or
77	77	harassment;
78	78	(S) [(P)] a parent's right to information
79	79	regarding the provision of assistance for learning difficulties to
80	80	the parent's child as provided by Sections 26.004(b)(11) and
81	81	26.0081(c) and (d); and
82	82	(T) school safety requirements under Sections
83	83	37.108, 37.1081, 37.1082, 37.109, 37.113, 37.114, 37.207, and
84	84	37.2071.
85	85	SECTION 3. Section 37.108, Education Code, is amended by
86	86	amending Subsections (a), (b), and (c) and adding Subsection (f) to
87	87	read as follows:
88	88	(a) Each school district or public junior college district
89	89	shall adopt and implement a multihazard emergency operations plan
90	90	for use in the district's facilities. The plan must address
91	91	mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery as defined by the
92	92	Texas School Safety Center in conjunction with the governor's
93	93	office of homeland security and the commissioner of education or
94	94	commissioner of higher education, as applicable [in conjunction
95	95	with the governor's office of homeland security]. The plan must
96	96	provide for:
97	97	(1) [district employee] training in responding to an
98	98	emergency for district employees, including substitute teachers;
99	99	(2) measures to ensure district employees, including
100	100	substitute teachers, have classroom access to a telephone or
101	101	another electronic communication device allowing for immediate
102	102	contact with district emergency services or emergency services
103	103	agencies, law enforcement agencies, health departments, and fire
104	104	departments;
105	105	(3) if the plan applies to a school district,
106	106	mandatory school drills and exercises, including drills required
107	107	under Section 37.114, to prepare district students and employees
108	108	for responding to an emergency;
109	109	(4) [(3)] measures to ensure coordination with the
110	110	Department of State Health Services and local emergency management
111	111	agencies, law enforcement, health departments, and fire
112	112	departments in the event of an emergency; and
113	113	(5) [(4)] the implementation of a safety and security
114	114	audit as required by Subsection (b).
115	115	(b) At least once every three years, each school district or
116	116	public junior college district shall conduct a safety and security
117	117	audit of the district's facilities. To the extent possible, a
118	118	district shall follow safety and security audit procedures
119	119	developed by the Texas School Safety Center or a person included in
120	120	the registry established by the Texas School Safety Center under
121	121	Section 37.2091 [comparable public or private entity].
122	122	(c) A school district or public junior college district
123	123	shall report the results of the safety and security audit conducted
124	124	under Subsection (b) to the district's board of trustees and, in the
125	125	manner required by the Texas School Safety Center, to the Texas
126	126	School Safety Center. The report provided to the Texas School
127	127	Safety Center under this subsection must be signed by the
128	128	district's board of trustees and superintendent. The Texas School
129	129	Safety Center shall compile school district audit results and
130	130	report them to the agency.
131	131	(f) A school district shall include in its multihazard
132	132	emergency operations plan:
133	133	(1) a chain of command that designates the individual
134	134	responsible for making final decisions during a disaster or
135	135	emergency situation and identifies other individuals responsible
136	136	for making those decisions if the designated person is unavailable;
137	137	(2) provisions for responding to a natural disaster,
138	138	active shooter, and any other dangerous scenario identified for
139	139	purposes of this section by the agency or the Texas School Safety
140	140	Center;
141	141	(3) provisions for ensuring the safety of students in
142	142	portable buildings;
143	143	(4) provisions for providing immediate notification
144	144	to parents, guardians, and other persons standing in parental
145	145	relation in circumstances involving a significant threat to the
146	146	health or safety of students, including identification of the
147	147	individual with responsibility for overseeing the notification;
148	148	(5) a policy for providing a substitute teacher access
149	149	to school campus buildings and materials necessary for the
150	150	substitute teacher to carry out the duties of a district employee
151	151	during an emergency or a mandatory emergency drill; and
152	152	(6) the name of each individual on the district's
153	153	school safety and security committee established under Section
154	154	37.109 and the date of each committee meeting during the preceding
155	155	year.
156	156	SECTION 4. Subchapter D, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
157	157	amended by adding Sections 37.1081 and 37.1082 to read as follows:
158	158	Sec. 37.1081. PUBLIC HEARING ON MULTIHAZARD EMERGENCY
159	159	OPERATIONS PLAN NONCOMPLIANCE. (a) If the board of trustees of a
160	160	school district receives notice of noncompliance under Section
161	161	37.207(e) or 37.2071(g), the board shall hold a public hearing to
162	162	notify the public of:
163	163	(1) the district's failure to:
164	164	(A) submit or correct deficiencies in a
165	165	multihazard emergency operations plan; or
166	166	(B) report the results of a safety and security
167	167	audit to the Texas School Safety Center as required by law;
168	168	(2) the dates during which the district has not been in
169	169	compliance; and
170	170	(3) the names of each member of the board of trustees
171	171	and the superintendent serving in that capacity during the dates
172	172	the district was not in compliance.
173	173	(b) The school district shall provide the information
174	174	required under Subsection (a)(3) in writing to each person in
175	175	attendance at the hearing.
176	176	(c) The board shall give members of the public a reasonable
177	177	opportunity to appear before the board and to speak on the issue of
178	178	the district's failure to submit or correct deficiencies in a
179	179	multihazard emergency operations plan or report the results of a
180	180	safety and security audit during a hearing held under this section.
181	181	(d) A school district required to hold a public hearing
182	182	under Subsection (a) shall provide written confirmation to the
183	183	Texas School Safety Center that the district held the hearing.
184	184	Sec. 37.1082. MULTIHAZARD EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLAN
185	185	NONCOMPLIANCE; APPOINTMENT OF CONSERVATOR OR BOARD OF MANAGERS.
186	186	(a) If the agency receives notice from the Texas School Safety
187	187	Center of a school district's failure to submit a multihazard
188	188	emergency operations plan, the commissioner may appoint a
189	189	conservator for the district under Chapter 39A. The conservator
190	190	may order the district to adopt, implement, and submit a
191	191	multihazard emergency operations plan.
192	192	(b) If a district fails to comply with a conservator's order
193	193	to adopt, implement, and submit a multihazard emergency operations
194	194	plan within the time frame imposed by the commissioner, the
195	195	commissioner may appoint a board of managers under Chapter 39A to
196	196	oversee the operations of the district.
197	197	(c) The commissioner may adopt rules as necessary to
198	198	administer this section.
199	199	SECTION 5. Section 37.109, Education Code, is amended by
200	200	adding Subsections (a-1), (c), and (d) and amending Subsection (b)
201	201	to read as follows:
202	202	(a-1) The committee must include:
203	203	(1) one or more representatives of an office of
204	204	emergency management of a county or city in which the district is
205	205	located;
206	206	(2) one or more representatives of the local police
207	207	department or sheriff's office;
208	208	(3) one or more representatives of the district's
209	209	police department, if applicable;
210	210	(4) one or more representatives of a municipality with
211	211	territory included within the boundaries of the district;
212	212	(5) the president of the district's board of trustees;
213	213	(6) a member of the district's board of trustees other
214	214	than the president;
215	215	(7) the district's superintendent;
216	216	(8) one or more designees of the district's
217	217	superintendent, one of whom must be a classroom teacher in the
218	218	district;
219	219	(9) if the district partners with an open-enrollment
220	220	charter school to provide instruction to students, a member of the
221	221	open-enrollment charter school's governing body or a designee of
222	222	the governing body; and
223	223	(10) two parents or guardians of students enrolled in
224	224	the district.
225	225	(b) The committee shall:
226	226	(1) participate on behalf of the district in
227	227	developing and implementing emergency plans consistent with the
228	228	district multihazard emergency operations plan required by Section
229	229	37.108(a) to ensure that the plans reflect specific campus,
230	230	facility, or support services needs;
231	231	(2) periodically provide recommendations to the
232	232	district's board of trustees and district administrators regarding
233	233	updating the district multihazard emergency operations plan
234	234	required by Section 37.108(a) in accordance with best practices
235	235	identified by the agency, the Texas School Safety Center, or a
236	236	person included in the registry established by the Texas School
237	237	Safety Center under Section 37.2091;
238	238	(3) provide the district with any campus, facility, or
239	239	support services information required in connection with a safety
240	240	and security audit required by Section 37.108(b), a safety and
241	241	security audit report required by Section 37.108(c), or another
242	242	report required to be submitted by the district to the Texas School
243	243	Safety Center; [and]
244	244	(4) [(3)] review each report required to be submitted
245	245	by the district to the Texas School Safety Center to ensure that the
246	246	report contains accurate and complete information regarding each
247	247	campus, facility, or support service in accordance with criteria
248	248	established by the center; and
249	249	(5) consult with local law enforcement agencies on
250	250	methods to increase law enforcement presence near district
251	251	campuses.
252	252	(c) Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, the
253	253	committee shall meet at least once during each academic semester
254	254	and at least once during the summer. A committee established by a
255	255	school district that operates schools on a year-round system or in
256	256	accordance with another alternative schedule shall meet at least
257	257	three times during each calendar year, with an interval of at least
258	258	two months between each meeting.
259	259	(d) The committee is subject to Chapter 551, Government
260	260	Code, and may meet in executive session as provided by that chapter.
261	261	Notice of a committee meeting must be posted in the same manner as
262	262	notice of a meeting of the district's board of trustees.
263	263	SECTION 6. Subchapter D, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
264	264	amended by adding Sections 37.113 and 37.114 to read as follows:
265	265	Sec. 37.113. NOTIFICATION REGARDING BOMB THREAT OR
266	266	TERRORISTIC THREAT. A school district that receives a bomb threat
267	267	or terroristic threat relating to a campus or other district
268	268	facility at which students are present shall provide notification
269	269	of the threat as soon as possible to the parent or guardian of or
270	270	other person standing in parental relation to each student who is
271	271	assigned to the campus or who regularly uses the facility, as
272	272	applicable.
273	273	Sec. 37.114. EMERGENCY EVACUATIONS; MANDATORY SCHOOL
274	274	DRILLS. The commissioner, in consultation with the Texas School
275	275	Safety Center and the state fire marshal, shall adopt rules:
276	276	(1) providing procedures for evacuating and securing
277	277	school property during an emergency; and
278	278	(2) designating the number of mandatory school drills
279	279	to be conducted each semester of the school year, not to exceed 10
280	280	drills, including designating the number of:
281	281	(A) evacuation fire exit drills; and
282	282	(B) lockdown, lockout, shelter-in-place, and
283	283	evacuation drills.
284	284	SECTION 7. Section 37.207, Education Code, is amended by
285	285	adding Subsections (c), (d), and (e) to read as follows:
286	286	(c) In addition to a review of a district's multihazard
287	287	emergency operations plan under Section 37.2071, the center may
288	288	require a district to submit its plan for immediate review if the
289	289	district's audit results indicate that the district is not
290	290	complying with applicable standards.
291	291	(d) If a district fails to report the results of its audit as
292	292	required under Subsection (b), the center shall provide the
293	293	district with written notice that the district has failed to report
294	294	its audit results and must immediately report the results to the
295	295	center.
296	296	(e) If six months after the date of the initial notification
297	297	required by Subsection (d) the district has still not reported the
298	298	results of its audit to the center, the center shall notify the
299	299	agency and the district of the district's requirement to conduct a
300	300	public hearing under Section 37.1081. This subsection applies only
301	301	to a school district.
302	302	SECTION 8. Subchapter G, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
303	303	amended by adding Section 37.2071 to read as follows:
304	304	Sec. 37.2071. DISTRICT MULTIHAZARD EMERGENCY OPERATIONS
305	305	PLAN REVIEW AND APPROVAL. (a) The center shall establish a random
306	306	or need-based cycle for the center's review and approval of school
307	307	district and public junior college district multihazard emergency
308	308	operations plans adopted under Section 37.108. The cycle must
309	309	provide for each district's plan to be reviewed at least once every
310	310	three years.
311	311	(b) A school district or public junior college district
312	312	shall submit its multihazard emergency operations plan to the
313	313	center on request of the center and in accordance with the center's
314	314	review cycle developed under Subsection (a).
315	315	(c) The center shall review each district's multihazard
316	316	emergency operations plan submitted under Subsection (b) and:
317	317	(1) approve the plan; or
318	318	(2) provide the district with written notice:
319	319	(A) describing the plan's deficiencies; and
320	320	(B) stating that the district must correct the
321	321	deficiencies in its plan and resubmit the revised plan to the
322	322	center.
323	323	(d) If a district fails to submit its multihazard emergency
324	324	operations plan to the center for review, the center shall provide
325	325	the district with written notice stating that the district:
326	326	(1) has failed to submit a plan; and
327	327	(2) must submit a plan to the center for approval.
328	328	(e) The center may approve a district multihazard emergency
329	329	operations plan that has deficiencies if the district submits a
330	330	revised plan that the center determines will correct the
331	331	deficiencies.
332	332	(f) If three months after the date of initial notification
333	333	of a plan's deficiencies under Subsection (c)(2) or failure to
334	334	submit a plan under Subsection (d) a district has not corrected the
335	335	plan deficiencies or has failed to submit a plan, the center shall
336	336	provide written notice to the district and agency that the district
337	337	has not complied with the requirements of this section and must
338	338	comply immediately.
339	339	(g) If a school district still has not corrected the plan
340	340	deficiencies or has failed to submit a plan six months after the
341	341	date of initial notification under Subsection (c)(2) or (d), the
342	342	center shall provide written notice to the school district stating
343	343	that the district must hold a public hearing under Section 37.1081.
344	344	(h) If a school district has failed to submit a plan, the
345	345	notice required by Subsection (g) must state that the commissioner
346	346	is authorized to appoint a conservator under Section 37.1082.
347	347	(i) Any document or information collected, developed, or
348	348	produced during the review and approval of multihazard emergency
349	349	operations plans under this section is not subject to disclosure
350	350	under Chapter 552, Government Code.
351	351	SECTION 9. Section 37.2091(d), Education Code, is amended
352	352	to read as follows:
353	353	(d) The center shall verify the information provided by a
354	354	person under Subsection (c) to confirm [registry is intended to
355	355	serve only as an informational resource for school districts and
356	356	institutions of higher education. The inclusion of a person in the
357	357	registry is not an indication of] the person's qualifications and
358	358	[or] ability to provide school safety or security consulting
359	359	services before adding the person to the registry [or that the
360	360	center endorses the person's school safety or security consulting
361	361	services].
362	362	SECTION 10. Section 45.001(a), Education Code, is amended
363	363	to read as follows:
364	364	(a) The governing board of an independent school district,
365	365	including the city council or commission that has jurisdiction over
366	366	a municipally controlled independent school district, the
367	367	governing board of a rural high school district, and the
368	368	commissioners court of a county, on behalf of each common school
369	369	district under its jurisdiction, may:
370	370	(1) issue bonds for:
371	371	(A) the construction, acquisition, and equipment
372	372	of school buildings in the district;
373	373	(B) the acquisition of property or the
374	374	refinancing of property financed under a contract entered under
375	375	Subchapter A, Chapter 271, Local Government Code, regardless of
376	376	whether payment obligations under the contract are due in the
377	377	current year or a future year;
378	378	(C) the purchase of the necessary sites for
379	379	school buildings; [and]
380	380	(D) the purchase of new school buses;
381	381	(E) the retrofitting of school buses with
382	382	emergency, safety, or security equipment; and
383	383	(F) the purchase or retrofitting of vehicles to
384	384	be used for emergency, safety, or security purposes; and
385	385	(2) [may] levy, pledge, assess, and collect annual ad
386	386	valorem taxes sufficient to pay the principal of and interest on the
387	387	bonds as or before the principal and interest become due, subject to
388	388	Section 45.003.
389	389	SECTION 11. Not later than January 1, 2020:
390	390	(1) the Texas School Safety Center shall:
391	391	(A) develop a list of best practices for ensuring
392	392	the safety of public school students receiving instruction in
393	393	portable buildings; and
394	394	(B) provide information regarding the list of
395	395	best practices to school districts using portable buildings for
396	396	student instruction;
397	397	(2) the commissioner of education shall adopt or amend
398	398	rules as required by Section 7.061, Education Code, as added by this
399	399	Act; and
400	400	(3) the commissioner of education, in consultation
401	401	with the Texas School Safety Center and the state fire marshal,
402	402	shall adopt rules as required by Section 37.114, Education Code, as
403	403	added by this Act.
404	404	SECTION 12. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails
405	405	over another Act of the 86th Legislature, Regular Session, 2019,
406	406	relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
407	407	codes.
408	408	SECTION 13. This Act takes effect immediately if it
409	409	receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
410	410	house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
411	411	If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
412	412	effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2019.