86R13451 JES-F
By: Taylor S.B. No. 11
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to policies, procedures, and measures for school safety
and mental health promotion in public schools; making an
appropriation.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 7, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 7.061 to read as follows:
Sec. 7.061. FACILITIES STANDARDS. (a) In this section,
"instructional facility" has the meaning assigned by Section
46.001.
(b) The commissioner shall adopt or amend rules as necessary
to ensure that building standards for instructional facilities and
other school district and open-enrollment charter school
facilities provide a secure and safe environment. In adopting or
amending rules under this section, the commissioner shall include
the use of best practices for:
(1) the design and construction of new facilities; and
(2) the improvement, renovation, and retrofitting of
existing facilities.
(c) Not later than September 1 of each even-numbered year,
the commissioner shall review all rules adopted or amended under
this section and amend the rules as necessary to ensure that
building standards for school district and open-enrollment charter
school facilities continue to provide a secure and safe
environment.
SECTION 2. Chapter 8, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter E to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER E. MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE USE RESOURCES FOR
SCHOOL DISTRICT PERSONNEL
Sec. 8.151. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter, "local mental
health authority" and "non-physician mental health professional"
have the meanings assigned by Section 571.003, Health and Safety
Code.
Sec. 8.152. EMPLOYMENT OF NON-PHYSICIAN MENTAL HEALTH
PROFESSIONAL AS MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE USE RESOURCE. (a) A
local mental health authority shall employ a non-physician mental
health professional to serve as a mental health and substance use
resource for school districts located in the region served by a
regional education service center and in which the local mental
health authority provides services.
(b) If two or more local mental health authorities provide
services in a region served by a regional education service center,
the local mental health authority that primarily operates in the
county in which the center is located shall employ the
non-physician mental health professional and, in making any hiring
decision, consult with other local mental health authorities
providing services in that region.
Sec. 8.153. INTERAGENCY COLLABORATION; MEMORANDUM OF
UNDERSTANDING. (a) A local mental health authority that employs a
non-physician mental health professional under Section 8.152 and
the regional education service center shall collaborate in carrying
out this subchapter.
(b) Each regional education service center shall provide
for a non-physician mental health professional employed for the
region served by the center with a space for the professional to
carry out the professional's duties under Section 8.155. The local
mental health authority that employs the professional shall pay the
center a reasonable administrative cost for providing the space.
(c) A local mental health authority and a regional education
service center may enter into a memorandum of understanding for the
administration of this section.
Sec. 8.154. SUPERVISION OF NON-PHYSICIAN MENTAL HEALTH
PROFESSIONAL. The local mental health authority that employs a
non-physician mental health professional under Section 8.152
shall:
(1) supervise the professional in carrying out the
professional's duties under Section 8.155; and
(2) consult with any other local mental health
authorities in the region in supervising the professional.
Sec. 8.155. DUTIES OF NON-PHYSICIAN MENTAL HEALTH
PROFESSIONAL. (a) A non-physician mental health professional
employed under Section 8.152 shall act as a resource for school
district personnel by:
(1) helping personnel gain awareness and a better
understanding of mental health and co-occurring mental health and
substance use disorders;
(2) assisting personnel to implement initiatives
related to mental health or substance use under state law or agency
rules;
(3) ensuring personnel are aware of:
(A) the list of recommended best practice-based
programs and research-based practices developed under Section
161.325, Health and Safety Code; and
(B) other treatment programs available in the
school district, including programs provided by a local mental
health authority;
(4) on a bimonthly basis, providing personnel with
mental health first aid training;
(5) on a bimonthly basis, providing personnel with
training on prevention and intervention programs that have been
shown to be effective in helping students cope with pressures to:
(A) use alcohol, cigarettes, or illegal drugs; or
(B) misuse prescription drugs; and
(6) on an annual basis, providing personnel with
training regarding the effects of grief and trauma and providing
support to children with intellectual or developmental
disabilities who suffer from grief or trauma.
(b) A non-physician mental health professional employed
under Section 8.152 may not treat or provide counseling to a student
or provide specific advice to school district personnel regarding a
student.
Sec. 8.156. PARTICIPATION BY SCHOOL DISTRICT NOT REQUIRED.
This subchapter does not require a school district to participate
in training provided by a non-physician mental health professional
or otherwise use the professional as a resource.
Sec. 8.157. DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDING. A state agency to
which money is appropriated to carry out this subchapter shall
ensure that the money is distributed equally among the local mental
health authorities that employ and supervise non-physician mental
health professionals under this subchapter.
Sec. 8.158. REPORT. (a) Before the last business day of
each calendar year, each local mental health authority that employs
and supervises a non-physician mental health professional under
this subchapter shall prepare and submit a report to the Health and
Human Services Commission regarding the outcomes for school
districts and students resulting from services provided by the
non-physician mental health professional.
(b) Not later than January 31 of the following calendar
year, the commission shall compile the information submitted under
this section and prepare and submit a report to the lieutenant
governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, each
standing committee of the legislature having primary jurisdiction
over mental health, and each standing committee of the legislature
having primary jurisdiction over public education.
SECTION 3. Section 11.252(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Each school district shall have a district improvement
plan that is developed, evaluated, and revised annually, in
accordance with district policy, by the superintendent with the
assistance of the district-level committee established under
Section 11.251. The purpose of the district improvement plan is to
guide district and campus staff in the improvement of student
performance for all student groups in order to attain state
standards in respect to the achievement indicators adopted under
Section 39.053(c). The district improvement plan must include
provisions for:
(1) a comprehensive needs assessment addressing
district student performance on the achievement indicators, and
other appropriate measures of performance, that are disaggregated
by all student groups served by the district, including categories
of ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sex, and populations served by
special programs, including students in special education programs
under Subchapter A, Chapter 29;
(2) measurable district performance objectives for
all appropriate achievement indicators for all student
populations, including students in special education programs
under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, and other measures of student
performance that may be identified through the comprehensive needs
assessment;
(3) strategies for improvement of student performance
that include:
(A) instructional methods for addressing the
needs of student groups not achieving their full potential;
(B) methods for addressing the needs of students
for special programs, including:
(i) suicide prevention programs, in
accordance with Subchapter O-1, Chapter 161, Health and Safety
Code, which includes a parental or guardian notification procedure;
(ii) conflict resolution programs;
(iii) violence prevention programs; and
(iv) dyslexia treatment programs;
(C) dropout reduction;
(D) integration of technology in instructional
and administrative programs;
(E) discipline management;
(F) staff development for professional staff of
the district;
(G) career education to assist students in
developing the knowledge, skills, and competencies necessary for a
broad range of career opportunities; and
(H) accelerated education;
(4) strategies for providing to middle school, junior
high school, and high school students, those students' teachers and
school counselors, and those students' parents information about:
(A) higher education admissions and financial
aid opportunities;
(B) the TEXAS grant program and the Teach for
Texas grant program established under Chapter 56;
(C) the need for students to make informed
curriculum choices to be prepared for success beyond high school;
and
(D) sources of information on higher education
admissions and financial aid;
(5) resources needed to implement identified
strategies;
(6) staff responsible for ensuring the accomplishment
of each strategy;
(7) timelines for ongoing monitoring of the
implementation of each improvement strategy;
(8) formative evaluation criteria for determining
periodically whether strategies are resulting in intended
improvement of student performance; [and]
(9) the policy under Section 38.0041 addressing sexual
abuse and other maltreatment of children; and
(10) the trauma-informed care policy required under
Section 38.036.
SECTION 4. Section 12.104(b), Education Code, as amended by
Chapters 324 (S.B. 1488), 522 (S.B. 179), and 735 (S.B. 1153), Acts
of the 85th Legislature, Regular Session, 2017, is reenacted and
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, F, G, and J, Chapter 39, and Chapter 39A;
(M) the requirement under Section 21.006 to
report an educator's misconduct;
(N) intensive programs of instruction under
Section 28.0213;
(O) the right of a school employee to report a
crime, as provided by Section 37.148; [and]
(P) bullying prevention policies and procedures
under Section 37.0832;
(Q) the right of a school under Section 37.0052
to place a student who has engaged in certain bullying behavior in a
disciplinary alternative education program or to expel the student;
[and]
(R) the right under Section 37.0151 to report to
local law enforcement certain conduct constituting assault or
harassment;
(S) [(P)] a parent's right to information
regarding the provision of assistance for learning difficulties to
the parent's child as provided by Sections 26.004(b)(11) and
26.0081(c) and (d); and
(T) school safety requirements under Sections
37.108, 37.1081, 37.1082, 37.109, 37.113, 37.114, 37.115, 37.207,
37.2071, and 37.220.
SECTION 5. Sections 21.054(d) and (d-2), Education Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(d) Continuing education requirements for a classroom
teacher must provide that not more than 25 percent of the training
required every five years include instruction regarding:
(1) collecting and analyzing information that will
improve effectiveness in the classroom;
(2) recognizing early warning indicators that a
student may be at risk of dropping out of school;
(3) digital learning, digital teaching, and
integrating technology into classroom instruction;
(4) educating diverse student populations, including:
(A) students with disabilities, including mental
health disorders;
(B) students who are educationally
disadvantaged;
(C) students of limited English proficiency; and
(D) students at risk of dropping out of school;
[and]
(5) understanding appropriate relationships,
boundaries, and communications between educators and students;
and[.]
(6) [(d-2) Continuing education requirements for a
classroom teacher may include instruction regarding] how grief and
trauma affect student learning and behavior and how evidence-based,
grief-informed, and trauma-informed strategies support the
academic success of students affected by grief and trauma.
(d-2) The instruction required under Subsection (d)(6)
must:
(1) comply with the training required by Section
38.036(c)(1); and
(2) be approved by the commissioner.
SECTION 6. Section 37.108, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (b), and (c) and adding Subsections (b-1)
and (f) to read as follows:
(a) Each school district or public junior college district
shall adopt and implement a multihazard emergency operations plan
for use in the district's facilities. The plan must address
mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery as defined by the
Texas School Safety Center in conjunction with the governor's
office of homeland security and the commissioner of education or
commissioner of higher education, as applicable [in conjunction
with the governor's office of homeland security]. The plan must
provide for:
(1) [district employee] training in responding to an
emergency for district employees, including substitute teachers;
(2) measures to ensure district employees, including
substitute teachers, have classroom access to a telephone or
another electronic communication device allowing for immediate
contact with district emergency services or emergency services
agencies, law enforcement agencies, health departments, and fire
departments;
(3) if the plan applies to a school district,
mandatory school drills and exercises, including drills required
under Section 37.114, to prepare district students and employees
for responding to an emergency;
(4) [(3)] measures to ensure coordination with the
Department of State Health Services and local emergency management
agencies, law enforcement, health departments, and fire
departments in the event of an emergency; and
(5) [(4)] the implementation of a safety and security
audit as required by Subsection (b).
(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].
(b-1) In a school district's safety and security audit
required under Subsection (b), the district must certify that the
district used the funds provided to the district through the school
safety allotment under Section 42.168 only for the purposes
provided by that section.
(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 report provided to the Texas School
Safety Center under this subsection must be signed by the
district's board of trustees and superintendent. The Texas School
Safety Center shall compile school district audit results and
report them to the agency.
(f) 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 policy for providing a substitute teacher access
to school campus buildings and materials necessary for the
substitute teacher to carry out the duties of a district employee
during an emergency or a mandatory emergency drill; 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.
SECTION 7. Subchapter D, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
amended by adding Sections 37.1081 and 37.1082 to read as follows:
Sec. 37.1081. PUBLIC HEARING ON MULTIHAZARD EMERGENCY
OPERATIONS PLAN NONCOMPLIANCE. (a) If the board of trustees of a
school district receives notice of noncompliance under Section
37.207(e) or 37.2071(g), the board shall hold a public hearing to
notify the public of:
(1) the district's failure to:
(A) submit or correct deficiencies in a
multihazard emergency operations plan; or
(B) report the results of a safety and security
audit to the Texas School Safety Center as required by law;
(2) the dates during which the district has not been in
compliance; and
(3) the names of each member of the board of trustees
and the superintendent serving in that capacity during the dates
the district was not in compliance.
(b) The school district shall provide the information
required under Subsection (a)(3) in writing to each person in
attendance at the hearing.
(c) The board shall give members of the public a reasonable
opportunity to appear before the board and to speak on the issue of
the district's failure to submit or correct deficiencies in a
multihazard emergency operations plan or report the results of a
safety and security audit during a hearing held under this section.
(d) A school district required to hold a public hearing
under Subsection (a) shall provide written confirmation to the
Texas School Safety Center that the district held the hearing.
Sec. 37.1082. MULTIHAZARD EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLAN
NONCOMPLIANCE; APPOINTMENT OF CONSERVATOR OR BOARD OF MANAGERS.
(a) If the agency receives notice from the Texas School Safety
Center of a school district's failure to submit a multihazard
emergency operations plan, the commissioner may appoint a
conservator for the district under Chapter 39A. The conservator
may order the district to adopt, implement, and submit a
multihazard emergency operations plan.
(b) If a district fails to comply with a conservator's order
to adopt, implement, and submit a multihazard emergency operations
plan within the time frame imposed by the commissioner, the
commissioner may appoint a board of managers under Chapter 39A to
oversee the operations of the district.
(c) The commissioner may adopt rules as necessary to
administer this section.
SECTION 8. 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) one or more representatives of an office of
emergency management of a county or city in which the district is
located;
(2) one or more representatives of the local police
department or sheriff's office;
(3) one or more representatives of the district's
police department, if applicable;
(4) one or more representatives of a municipality with
territory included within the boundaries of the district;
(5) the president of the district's board of trustees;
(6) a member of the district's board of trustees other
than the president;
(7) the district's superintendent;
(8) one or more designees of the district's
superintendent, one of whom must be a classroom teacher in the
district;
(9) if the district partners with an open-enrollment
charter school to provide instruction to students, a member of the
open-enrollment charter school's governing body or a designee of
the governing body; and
(10) two parents or guardians of students enrolled in
the district.
(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 to the
district's board of trustees and district administrators 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; and
(5) consult with local law enforcement agencies on
methods to increase law enforcement presence near district
campuses.
(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, and may meet in executive session as provided by that chapter.
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 9. Subchapter D, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
amended by adding Sections 37.113, 37.114, and 37.115 to read as
follows:
Sec. 37.113. 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.
Sec. 37.114. EMERGENCY EVACUATIONS; MANDATORY SCHOOL
DRILLS. The commissioner, in consultation with the Texas School
Safety Center and the state fire marshal, shall adopt rules:
(1) providing procedures for evacuating and securing
school property during an emergency; and
(2) designating the number of mandatory school drills
to be conducted each semester of the school year, not to exceed
eight drills, including designating the number of:
(A) evacuation fire exit drills; and
(B) lockdown, lockout, shelter-in-place, and
evacuation drills.
Sec. 37.115. THREAT ASSESSMENT TEAMS. (a) In this section,
"threatening behaviors" include behaviors by a student that could
result in the student's expulsion or removal to a disciplinary
alternative education program or a juvenile justice alternative
education program, including verbal threats, fighting, the use or
possession of a weapon, or assault.
(b) The board of trustees of each school district shall
establish threat assessment teams to serve at each campus of the
district and shall adopt policies and procedures for the teams. The
threat assessment team is responsible for determining the
appropriate method for the assessment and intervention of
individuals who make threats of violence or exhibit threatening
behaviors on the campus. The policies and procedures adopted under
this section must:
(1) be consistent with the model policies and
procedures developed by the Texas School Safety Center under
Section 37.220;
(2) require threat assessment teams to complete
training provided by the Texas School Safety Center or a regional
education service center regarding evidence-based threat
assessment programs; and
(3) require each threat assessment team established
under this section to report the information required under
Subsection (h) regarding the team's activities to the agency.
(c) The superintendent of the district shall appoint
members to each threat assessment team with expertise in
counseling, classroom instruction, school administration, and law
enforcement. A threat assessment team may serve more than one
campus of a school district, provided that each district campus is
assigned a threat assessment team.
(d) A threat assessment team shall:
(1) assess and report individuals who make threats of
violence or exhibit threatening behavior in accordance with the
policies and procedures adopted under Subsection (b); and
(2) provide guidance to students and school employees
regarding:
(A) recognizing threatening behavior that may
pose a threat to the community, school, or individual; and
(B) reporting potential threats, including
providing information regarding to whom potential threats should be
reported.
(e) On a determination that a student or other individual
poses a serious risk of threat of violence to others, a threat
assessment team shall immediately report the team's determination
to the superintendent. If the individual is a student, the
superintendent shall immediately attempt to inform the parent or
person standing in parental relation to the student. The
requirements of this subsection do not prevent an employee of the
school from acting immediately to prevent an imminent threat or
respond to an emergency.
(f) A threat assessment team identifying a student at risk
of suicide shall act in accordance with the district's suicide
prevention program. If the student at risk of suicide also makes a
threat of violence to others, the threat assessment team shall
conduct a threat assessment in addition to actions taken in
accordance with the district's suicide prevention program.
(g) A threat assessment team identifying a student using or
possessing tobacco, drugs, or alcohol shall act in accordance with
district policies and procedures related to substance abuse
prevention and intervention.
(h) A threat assessment team must report to the agency in
accordance with guidelines developed by the agency the following
information regarding the team's activities for each school
district campus the threat assessment team serves:
(1) the occupation of each person appointed to the
team;
(2) the number of threats and a description of the type
of the threats reported to the team;
(3) the outcome of each assessment made by the threat
assessment team, including:
(A) any disciplinary action taken, including a
change in school placement;
(B) any action taken by law enforcement; or
(C) a referral to or change in counseling, mental
health, special education, or other services; and
(4) the total number, disaggregated by student gender,
race, and status as receiving special education services, of:
(A) citations issued for Class C misdemeanor
offenses;
(B) arrests made in connection with reported
threats; and
(C) incidents of uses of restraint in connection
with a threat assessment or reported threat.
(i) The superintendent of a school district may establish a
committee, or assign to an existing committee established by the
district the duty, to oversee the operations of threat assessment
teams established for the district. A committee with oversight
responsibility under this subsection must include members with
expertise in human resources, education, school administration,
mental health, and law enforcement.
SECTION 10. Section 37.207, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (c), (d), and (e) to read as follows:
(c) In addition to a review of a district's multihazard
emergency operations plan under Section 37.2071, the center may
require a district to submit its plan for immediate review if the
district's audit results indicate that the district is not
complying with applicable standards.
(d) If a district fails to report the results of its audit as
required under Subsection (b), the center shall provide the
district with written notice that the district has failed to report
its audit results and must immediately report the results to the
center.
(e) If six months after the date of the initial notification
required by Subsection (d) the district has still not reported the
results of its audit to the center, the center shall notify the
agency and the district of the district's requirement to conduct a
public hearing under Section 37.1081. This subsection applies only
to a school district.
SECTION 11. Subchapter G, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 37.2071 to read as follows:
Sec. 37.2071. DISTRICT MULTIHAZARD EMERGENCY OPERATIONS
PLAN REVIEW AND APPROVAL. (a) The center shall establish a random
or need-based cycle for the center's review and approval of school
district and public junior college district multihazard emergency
operations plans adopted under Section 37.108. The cycle must
provide for each district's plan to be reviewed at least once every
three years.
(b) A school district or public junior college district
shall submit its multihazard emergency operations plan to the
center on request of the center and in accordance with the center's
review cycle developed under Subsection (a).
(c) The center shall review each district's multihazard
emergency operations plan submitted under Subsection (b) and:
(1) approve the plan; or
(2) provide the district with written notice:
(A) describing the plan's deficiencies; and
(B) stating that the district must correct the
deficiencies in its plan and resubmit the revised plan to the
center.
(d) If a district fails to submit its multihazard emergency
operations plan to the center for review, the center shall provide
the district with written notice stating that the district:
(1) has failed to submit a plan; and
(2) must submit a plan to the center for approval.
(e) The center may approve a district multihazard emergency
operations plan that has deficiencies if the district submits a
revised plan that the center determines will correct the
deficiencies.
(f) If three months after the date of initial notification
of a plan's deficiencies under Subsection (c)(2) or failure to
submit a plan under Subsection (d) a district has not corrected the
plan deficiencies or has failed to submit a plan, the center shall
provide written notice to the district and agency that the district
has not complied with the requirements of this section and must
comply immediately.
(g) If a school district still has not corrected the plan
deficiencies or has failed to submit a plan six months after the
date of initial notification under Subsection (c)(2) or (d), the
center shall provide written notice to the school district stating
that the district must hold a public hearing under Section 37.1081.
(h) If a school district has failed to submit a plan, the
notice required by Subsection (g) must state that the commissioner
is authorized to appoint a conservator under Section 37.1082.
(i) Any document or information collected, developed, or
produced during the review and approval of multihazard emergency
operations plans under this section is not subject to disclosure
under Chapter 552, Government Code.
SECTION 12. Section 37.2091(d), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(d) The center shall verify the information provided by a
person under Subsection (c) to confirm [registry is intended to
serve only as an informational resource for school districts and
institutions of higher education. The inclusion of a person in the
registry is not an indication of] the person's qualifications and
[or] ability to provide school safety or security consulting
services before adding the person to the registry [or that the
center endorses the person's school safety or security consulting
services].
SECTION 13. Subchapter G, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 37.220 to read as follows:
Sec. 37.220. MODEL THREAT ASSESSMENT TEAM POLICIES AND
PROCEDURES. (a) The center shall develop model policies and
procedures to assist school districts in establishing and training
threat assessment teams.
(b) The model policies and procedures developed under
Subsection (a) must include procedures, when appropriate, for:
(1) the referral of a student to a local mental health
authority or health care provider for evaluation or treatment; and
(2) the referral of a student for a full individual and
initial evaluation for special education services under Section
29.004.
SECTION 14. Subchapter A, Chapter 38, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 38.036 to read as follows:
Sec. 38.036. TRAUMA-INFORMED CARE POLICY. (a) Each school
district shall adopt and implement a policy requiring the
integration of trauma-informed practices in each school
environment.
(b) A policy required by this section must address:
(1) using resources developed by the agency, methods
for:
(A) increasing staff and parent awareness of
trauma-informed care; and
(B) implementation of trauma-informed practices
and care by district and campus staff; and
(2) available counseling options for students
affected by trauma or toxic stress.
(c) The methods under Subsection (b)(1) for increasing
awareness and implementation of trauma-informed care must include
training as provided by this subsection. The training:
(1) must be provided:
(A) through an evidence-based,
evidence-informed, or promising practices training program that
addresses the effects of trauma and is approved by the agency; and
(B) as part of any new employee orientation for
all new school district educators or coaches; and
(2) may be included in staff development provided
under Section 21.451.
(d) For any training provided under Subsection (c), each
school district shall maintain records that include the name of
each district staff member who participated in the training.
(e) If a school district determines that the district does
not have sufficient resources to provide the training required
under Subsection (c), the district shall make reasonable efforts to
collaborate with a community organization to provide training that
meets the requirements of Subsection (c) at no cost to the district.
(f) The commissioner shall adopt rules as necessary to
administer this section.
SECTION 15. Subchapter C, Chapter 42, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 42.168 to read as follows:
Sec. 42.168. SCHOOL SAFETY ALLOTMENT. (a) A school
district is entitled to an annual allotment of $50, or a greater
amount provided by appropriation, for each student in average daily
attendance.
(b) Funds allocated under this section must be used to
improve school safety and security, including costs associated
with:
(1) securing school facilities, including:
(A) improvements to school infrastructure;
(B) the use or installation of physical barriers;
and
(C) the purchase and maintenance of security
cameras or other security equipment;
(2) providing security for the district, including:
(A) employing school district peace officers,
private security officers, and school marshals; and
(B) collaborating with local law enforcement
agencies, such as entering into a memorandum of understanding for
the assignment of school resource officers to schools in the
district; and
(3) school safety and security training and planning,
including:
(A) active shooter and emergency response
training; and
(B) prevention and treatment programs relating
to addressing adverse childhood experiences.
(c) A school district that is required to take action under
Chapter 41 to reduce its wealth per student to the equalized wealth
level is entitled to a credit, in the amount of the allotments to
which the district is entitled under this section, against the
total amount required under Section 41.093 for the district to
purchase attendance credits.
(d) The commissioner may adopt rules to implement this
section.
SECTION 16. Section 45.001(a), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) The governing board of an independent school district,
including the city council or commission that has jurisdiction over
a municipally controlled independent school district, the
governing board of a rural high school district, and the
commissioners court of a county, on behalf of each common school
district under its jurisdiction, may:
(1) issue bonds for:
(A) the construction, acquisition, and equipment
of school buildings in the district;
(B) the acquisition of property or the
refinancing of property financed under a contract entered under
Subchapter A, Chapter 271, Local Government Code, regardless of
whether payment obligations under the contract are due in the
current year or a future year;
(C) the purchase of the necessary sites for
school buildings; [and]
(D) the purchase of new school buses;
(E) the retrofitting of school buses with
emergency, safety, or security equipment; and
(F) the purchase or retrofitting of vehicles to
be used for emergency, safety, or security purposes; and
(2) [may] levy, pledge, assess, and collect annual ad
valorem taxes sufficient to pay the principal of and interest on the
bonds as or before the principal and interest become due, subject to
Section 45.003.
SECTION 17. Chapter 61, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter LL to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER LL. REPAYMENT OF CERTAIN SCHOOL COUNSELOR EDUCATION
LOANS
Sec. 61.9851. LOAN REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE AUTHORIZED. The
board shall provide, in accordance with this subchapter and board
rules, assistance in the repayment of eligible student loans for
eligible school counselors who apply and qualify for the
assistance.
Sec. 61.9852. ELIGIBILITY. To be eligible to receive loan
repayment assistance under this subchapter, a school counselor
must:
(1) apply annually for the repayment assistance in a
manner prescribed by the board;
(2) be a United States citizen or permanent resident
alien;
(3) have earned at least a master's degree related to
counseling from any public or accredited private institution of
higher education;
(4) be certified as a school counselor under
Subchapter B, Chapter 21; and
(5) have completed one, two, three, four, or five
years of consecutive employment by a school district in this state:
(A) all or part of which is located in a federally
designated mental health care health professional shortage area; or
(B) at a school that receives federal funding
under Title I, Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. Section 6301 et seq.).
Sec. 61.9853. LIMITATIONS. A school counselor may receive
loan repayment assistance under this subchapter for not more than
five years.
Sec. 61.9854. ELIGIBLE LOANS. (a) The board may provide
loan repayment assistance under this subchapter for the repayment
of any student loan for education at an institution of higher
education, a private or independent institution of higher
education, or a public or private out-of-state institution of
higher education accredited by a recognized accrediting agency,
including loans for undergraduate education, received by an
eligible person through any lender.
(b) The board may not provide repayment assistance for a
student loan that is in default at the time of the person's
application.
(c) In each state fiscal biennium, the board shall attempt
to allocate all funds appropriated to the board for the purpose of
providing loan repayment assistance under this subchapter.
Sec. 61.9855. REPAYMENT. (a) The board shall deliver any
repayment under this subchapter in a lump sum payable:
(1) to both the lender or other holder of the loan and
the school counselor; or
(2) directly to the lender or other holder of the loan
on the school counselor's behalf.
(b) A repayment under this subchapter may be applied to any
amount due in connection with the loan.
Sec. 61.9856. AMOUNT OF REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE. (a) A school
counselor may receive loan repayment assistance under this
subchapter for each year the school counselor establishes
eligibility for the assistance in an amount determined by applying
the following applicable percentage to the maximum total amount of
assistance allowed for the school counselor under Subsection (b):
(1) for the first year, 10 percent;
(2) for the second year, 15 percent;
(3) for the third year, 20 percent;
(4) for the fourth year, 25 percent; and
(5) for the fifth year, 30 percent.
(b) The total amount of repayment assistance received by a
school counselor under this subchapter may not exceed:
(1) $80,000, for assistance received by a school
counselor who holds a doctoral degree related to counseling; and
(2) $40,000, for assistance received by a school
counselor who holds a master's degree related to counseling.
(c) The total amount of loan repayment assistance provided
under this subchapter may not exceed the sum of:
(1) the total amount of gifts and grants accepted by
the board for the repayment assistance;
(2) legislative appropriations for the repayment
assistance; and
(3) other funds available to the board for the
repayment assistance.
(d) The board may adjust in an equitable manner the
distribution amounts that school counselors would otherwise
receive under Subsection (a) for a year as necessary to comply with
Subsection (c).
Sec. 61.9857. RULES; ADMINISTRATION. (a) The board shall
adopt rules necessary to administer this subchapter.
(b) The board shall distribute to each institution of higher
education or private or independent institution of higher education
and to any appropriate state agency and professional association
copies of the rules adopted under this section and other pertinent
information relating to this subchapter.
(c) The board shall administer the program under this
subchapter in a manner that maximizes any matching funds available
through other sources.
Sec. 61.9858. SOLICITATION AND ACCEPTANCE OF FUNDS. The
board may solicit and accept gifts and grants from any public or
private source for the purposes of this subchapter.
SECTION 18. The amount of $_____ is appropriated from the
economic stabilization fund to the foundation school fund for use
by the commissioner of education to make grants to school districts
and open-enrollment charter schools in accordance with this Act and
commissioner rule during the state fiscal biennium beginning
September 1, 2019, for improvements in the security of school
facilities.
SECTION 19. From among school districts and open-enrollment
charter schools that apply in the time and manner established by the
commissioner of education for a grant of money under this Act to pay
for school security improvements, the commissioner shall select
those school districts and open-enrollment charter schools that
best meet the criteria adopted for the purpose by the commissioner.
The criteria must include:
(1) a school district's or open-enrollment charter
school's need for improvements in the security of district or
school facilities;
(2) a school district's or open-enrollment charter
school's ability to pay for the improvements without the grant; and
(3) the school security improvement plan provided by
the school district or open-enrollment charter school and the
likely effectiveness of that plan in improving school security.
SECTION 20. Not later than January 1, 2020:
(1) the Texas School Safety Center shall:
(A) develop a list of best practices for ensuring
the safety of public school students receiving instruction in
portable buildings; and
(B) provide information regarding the list of
best practices to school districts using portable buildings for
student instruction;
(2) the commissioner of education shall adopt or amend
rules as required by Section 7.061, Education Code, as added by this
Act; and
(3) the commissioner of education, in consultation
with the Texas School Safety Center and the state fire marshal,
shall adopt rules as required by Section 37.114, Education Code, as
added by this Act.
SECTION 21. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails
over another Act of the 86th Legislature, Regular Session, 2019,
relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
codes.
SECTION 22. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of
this section, this Act takes effect September 1, 2019.
(b) Sections 18 and 19 of this Act take effect September 1,
2019, but only if this Act receives a vote of two-thirds of the
members present in each house of the legislature, as provided by
Section 49-g(m), Article III, Texas Constitution.