86R9803 MEW-D
By: Rosenthal H.B. No. 2654
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to building standards for instructional facilities and
campus safety procedures for public schools.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 11, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 11.007 to read as follows:
Sec. 11.007. BUILDING STANDARDS FOR INSTRUCTIONAL
FACILITIES. (a) In this section, "instructional facility" has the
meaning assigned by Section 46.001.
(b) A school district that constructs a new instructional
facility must comply with the following building and design
standards:
(1) a lock on each entrance door to the building and
classroom door that enables the door to be locked and opened without
a key from inside the building or classroom;
(2) windows on classroom doors that are narrow and
placed on the side of the door away from the door handle;
(3) for a classroom or administrative office wall, the
use of material that is not glass or transparent;
(4) for each window in a classroom or administrative
office, a window covering that may be used to block the view;
(5) a fully functional public address system that can
be clearly heard from each classroom and hallway; and
(6) an adequate number of security cameras to provide
video coverage of each building entrance and hallway.
SECTION 2. Subchapter D, Chapter 12, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 12.138 to read as follows:
Sec. 12.138. BUILDING STANDARDS FOR INSTRUCTIONAL
FACILITIES. (a) In this section, "instructional facility" has the
meaning assigned by Section 46.001.
(b) An open-enrollment charter school that constructs a new
instructional facility must comply with the following building and
design standards:
(1) a lock on each entrance door to the building and
classroom door that enables the door to be locked and opened without
a key from inside the building or classroom;
(2) windows on classroom doors that are narrow and
placed on the side of the door away from the door handle;
(3) for a classroom or administrative office wall, the
use of material that is not glass or transparent;
(4) for each window in a classroom or administrative
office, a window covering that may be used to block the view;
(5) a fully functional public address system that can
be clearly heard from each classroom and hallway; and
(6) an adequate number of security cameras to provide
video coverage of each building entrance and hallway.
SECTION 3. Subchapter D, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 37.116 to read as follows:
Sec. 37.116. CAMPUS SAFETY PROCEDURES. Each school
district and open-enrollment charter school shall adopt and
implement campus safety procedures that provide for the safety of
students and employees, including:
(1) ensuring the live video feed from each security
camera on a district or school campus is readily available to:
(A) the school district police department, if
applicable; or
(B) the dispatch center of a local law
enforcement agency responsible for responding to an emergency at a
campus of the district or school;
(2) requiring school activities to be conducted in a
classroom or in an area with direct access to a secure room, except
for athletic activities that may be held outdoors;
(3) testing the public address system regularly; and
(4) storing and maintaining in the main office of each
district or school campus an active shooter medical kit that
includes tourniquets, bandages, and other supplies that are
typically used to treat an injury involving traumatic blood loss.
SECTION 4. Subchapter C, Chapter 45, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 45.0572 to read as follows:
Sec. 45.0572. REQUIRED BUILDING STANDARDS. A school
district seeking the guarantee of eligible bonds to be used to fund
construction of a new instructional facility, as defined by Section
46.001, must comply with Section 11.007 in order to be eligible for
the guarantee.
SECTION 5. Section 46.0081, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 46.0081. SECURITY CRITERIA IN DESIGN OF INSTRUCTIONAL
FACILITIES. (a) A school district that constructs a new
instructional facility or conducts a major renovation of an
existing instructional facility using funds allotted to the
district under this subchapter shall consider, in the design of the
instructional facility, appropriate security criteria.
(b) A school district that constructs a new instructional
facility using funds allotted to the district under this subchapter
must comply with Section 11.007.
SECTION 6. Subchapter B, Chapter 46, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 46.0341 to read as follows:
Sec. 46.0341. REQUIRED BUILDING STANDARDS. Section
46.0081(b) applies to the payment of and application for assistance
under this subchapter.
SECTION 7. As soon as practicable after the effective date
of this Act, each school district and open-enrollment charter
school shall adopt and implement campus safety procedures as
required by Section 37.116, Education Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 8. Sections 11.007 and 12.138, Education Code, as
added by this Act, apply only to the construction of a new
instructional facility that begins on or after September 1, 2019.
SECTION 9. Subchapter C, Chapter 45, Education Code, as
amended by this Act, and Chapter 46, Education Code, as amended by
this Act, apply only to a school district's application for
guarantee of bonds by the permanent school fund under Subchapter C,
Chapter 45, Education Code, or a school district's application for
state assistance under Chapter 46, Education Code, that is made on
or after September 1, 2019. A school district's application for
guarantee of bonds by the permanent school fund or for state
assistance under Chapter 46, Education Code, that is made before
September 1, 2019, is governed by the law in effect on the date the
application is made, and the former law is continued in effect for
that purpose.
SECTION 10. 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, 2019.