86R30819 JES/JG-F
By: Taylor, et al. S.B. No. 11
(Bonnen of Galveston, Huberty, Metcalf, Thierry,
Price, et al.)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to policies, procedures, and measures for school safety
and mental health promotion in public schools.
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. In making a hiring decision
under this section, the local mental health authority shall consult
with the regional education service center.
(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 and
the regional education service center 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 negotiated cost recovery fee for providing the
space and administrative support outlined in the memorandum of
understanding under Subsection (c). The fee may not exceed $15,000
unless a larger fee is agreed to by the local mental health
authority and center.
(c) A local mental health authority and a regional education
service center shall 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 and the regional education service center
in supervising the professional and seek input from the center
regarding the professional's performance.
Sec. 8.155. DUTIES OF NON-PHYSICIAN MENTAL HEALTH
PROFESSIONAL. (a) A non-physician mental health professional
employed under Section 8.152 shall collaborate with the regional
education service center that focuses on mental health initiatives
and act as a resource for the regional education service center and
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:
(A) state law;
(B) rules adopted by a state agency;
(C) interagency memoranda of understanding; or
(D) programs related to the state law, rules, or
memoranda of understanding;
(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;
(B) other public and private mental health and
substance use prevention, treatment, and recovery programs
available in the school district, including evidence-based
programs provided by a local mental health authority and other
public or private mental health providers; and
(C) other resources available from the Health and
Human Services Commission to support school districts, students, or
students' families;
(4) on a monthly basis, facilitating mental health
first aid training;
(5) on a monthly basis, facilitating training
regarding the effects of grief and trauma and providing support to
children with intellectual or developmental disabilities who
suffer from grief or trauma; and
(6) on a monthly basis, facilitating 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.
(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 Health and Human Services Commission shall compile the
information submitted under this section and prepare and provide a
preliminary report to the agency for review and input. After
receiving the agency's recommendations on the preliminary report,
the commission shall prepare and submit a final report to the
agency, 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);
(T) healthy relationships education under
Section 28.004(q); and
(U) school safety requirements under Sections
37.108, 37.1081, 37.1082, 37.109, 37.113, 37.114, 37.115, 37.207,
and 37.2071.
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 25.081(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Except as authorized under Subsection (b) of this
section, Section 25.0815, Section 25.084, or Section 29.0821, for
each school year each school district must operate for at least
75,600 minutes, including time allocated for instruction,
intermissions, and recesses for students.
SECTION 7. Subchapter C, Chapter 25, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 25.0815 to read as follows:
Sec. 25.0815. OPERATION AND INSTRUCTIONAL TIME WAIVERS FOR
SCHOOL SAFETY TRAINING. (a) The commissioner shall provide a
waiver allowing for fewer minutes of operation and instructional
time than required under Section 25.081(a) for a school district
that requires each educator employed by the district to attend an
approved school safety training course.
(b) A waiver under this section:
(1) must allow sufficient time for the school
district's educators to attend the school safety training course;
and
(2) may not:
(A) result in an inadequate number of minutes of
instructional time for students; or
(B) reduce the number of minutes of operation and
instructional time by more than 420 minutes.
(c) To be approved under this section, a school safety
training course must apply to the Texas School Safety Center. The
Texas School Safety Center may approve a training course if the
course satisfies the training requirements as determined by the
center.
(d) The commissioner may adopt rules to implement this
section.
SECTION 8. Section 28.002, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (z) to read as follows:
(z) The State Board of Education by rule shall require each
school district to incorporate instruction in digital citizenship
into the district's curriculum, including information regarding
the potential criminal consequences of cyberbullying. In this
subsection:
(1) "Cyberbullying" has the meaning assigned by
Section 37.0832.
(2) "Digital citizenship" means the standards of
appropriate, responsible, and healthy online behavior, including
the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, create, and act on all
forms of digital communication.
SECTION 9. Section 28.004, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsections (q) and (r) to read
as follows:
(c) The local school health advisory council's duties
include recommending:
(1) the number of hours of instruction to be provided
in health education;
(2) policies, procedures, strategies, and curriculum
appropriate for specific grade levels designed to prevent obesity,
cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes, and mental health
concerns, including suicide, through coordination of:
(A) health education;
(B) physical education and physical activity;
(C) nutrition services;
(D) parental involvement;
(E) instruction to prevent the use of
e-cigarettes, as defined by Section 161.081, Health and Safety
Code, and tobacco;
(F) school health services;
(G) counseling and guidance services;
(H) a safe and healthy school environment; and
(I) school employee wellness;
(3) appropriate grade levels and methods of
instruction for human sexuality instruction and healthy
relationships education;
(4) strategies for integrating the curriculum
components specified by Subdivision (2) with the following elements
in a coordinated school health program for the district:
(A) school health services;
(B) counseling and guidance services;
(C) a safe and healthy school environment; and
(D) school employee wellness; [and]
(5) if feasible, joint use agreements or strategies
for collaboration between the school district and community
organizations or agencies; and
(6) strategies to increase parental awareness
regarding:
(A) risky behaviors and early warning signs of
suicide risks and behavioral health concerns, including mental
health disorders and substance use disorders; and
(B) available community programs and services
that address risky behaviors, suicide risks, and behavioral health
concerns.
(q) The board of trustees shall determine the specific
content of the district's healthy relationships education with the
advice of the local school health advisory council. The curriculum
for the healthy relationships education must be age-appropriate and
supported by research that is peer-reviewed, conducted in
compliance with accepted scientific methods, and recognized as
accurate by leading professional organizations and agencies with
relevant experience. As age-appropriate, the curriculum must
promote relationship, communication, and decision-making skills,
including strategies to:
(1) develop healthy, age-appropriate relationships;
(2) develop healthy life skills, including critical
thinking, problem solving, effective communication, and
responsible decision making about relationships; and
(3) promote effective communication between
adolescents and their parents, legal guardians, or other family
members about relationships.
(r) In this section, "age-appropriate" means suitable to
particular ages or age groups of children or adolescents, based on
developing cognitive, emotional, and behavioral capacity typical
for the age or age group.
SECTION 10. Section 37.0812, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 37.0812. TRAINING POLICY: SCHOOL DISTRICT PEACE
OFFICERS AND SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS. A school district [with an
enrollment of 30,000 or more students] that commissions a school
district peace officer or at which a school resource officer
provides law enforcement shall adopt a policy requiring the officer
to complete the education and training program required by Section
1701.263, Occupations Code.
SECTION 11. 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
prevention, 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,
including a cellular 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) measures to ensure district communications
technology and infrastructure are adequate to allow for
communication during an emergency;
(4) 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;
(5) [(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
(6) [(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:
(1) for a school district, the district's board of
trustees and superintendent; or
(2) for a public junior college district, the
president of the junior college district.
(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 that address physical and
psychological safety 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 ensuring that students and district
personnel with disabilities are provided equal access to safety
during a disaster or emergency situation;
(5) 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;
(6) provisions for supporting the psychological
safety of students, district personnel, and the community during
the response and recovery phase following a disaster or emergency
situation that:
(A) are aligned with best practice-based
programs and research-based practices recommended under Section
161.325, Health and Safety Code;
(B) include strategies for ensuring any required
professional development training for suicide prevention and
grief-informed and trauma-informed care is provided to appropriate
school personnel;
(C) include training on integrating
psychological safety strategies into the district's plan, such as
psychological first aid for schools training, from an approved list
of recommended training established by the commissioner and Texas
School Safety Center for:
(i) members of the district's school safety
and security committee under Section 37.109;
(ii) district school counselors and mental
health professionals; and
(iii) educators and other district
personnel as determined by the district;
(D) include strategies and procedures for
integrating and supporting physical and psychological safety that
align with the provisions described by Subdivision (2); and
(E) implement trauma-informed policies;
(7) 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
(8) 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 12. 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 13. 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, to the greatest extent practicable,
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) 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;
(7) one or more designees of the district's
superintendent, one of whom must be a classroom teacher in the
district;
(8) 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
(9) 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 14. 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 AND SAFE AND SUPPORTIVE
SCHOOL PROGRAM AND TEAM. (a) In this section:
(1) "Harmful, threatening, or violent behavior"
includes behaviors, such as verbal threats, threats of self harm,
bullying, cyberbullying, fighting, the use or possession of a
weapon, sexual assault, sexual harassment, dating violence,
stalking, or assault, by a student that could result in:
(A) specific interventions, including mental
health or behavioral supports;
(B) in-school suspension;
(C) out-of-school suspension; or
(D) the student's expulsion or removal to a
disciplinary alternative education program or a juvenile justice
alternative education program.
(2) "Team" means a threat assessment and safe and
supportive school team established by the board of trustees of a
school district under this section.
(b) The agency, in coordination with the Texas School Safety
Center, shall adopt rules to establish a safe and supportive school
program. The rules shall incorporate research-based best practices
for school safety, including providing for:
(1) physical and psychological safety;
(2) a multiphase and multihazard approach to
prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery in a
crisis situation;
(3) a systemic and coordinated multitiered support
system that addresses school climate, the social and emotional
domain, and behavioral and mental health; and
(4) multidisciplinary and multiagency collaboration
to assess risks and threats in schools and provide appropriate
interventions, including rules for the establishment and operation
of teams.
(c) The board of trustees of each school district shall
establish a threat assessment and safe and supportive school team
to serve at each campus of the district and shall adopt policies and
procedures for the teams. The team is responsible for developing
and implementing the safe and supportive school program under
Subsection (b) at the district campus served by the team. 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;
(2) require each team 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 team established under this section
to report the information required under Subsection (j) regarding
the team's activities to the agency.
(d) The superintendent of the district shall ensure that the
members appointed to each team have expertise in counseling,
behavior management, mental health and substance use, classroom
instruction, special education, school administration, school
safety and security, emergency management, and law enforcement. A
team may serve more than one campus of a school district, provided
that each district campus is assigned a team.
(e) 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 teams established
for the district. A committee with oversight responsibility under
this subsection must include members with expertise in human
resources, education, special education, counseling, behavior
management, school administration, mental health and substance
use, school safety and security, emergency management, and law
enforcement.
(f) Each team shall:
(1) conduct a threat assessment that includes:
(A) assessing and reporting individuals who make
threats of violence or exhibit harmful, threatening, or violent
behavior in accordance with the policies and procedures adopted
under Subsection (c); and
(B) gathering and analyzing data to determine the
level of risk and appropriate intervention, including:
(i) referring a student for mental health
assessment; and
(ii) implementing an escalation procedure,
if appropriate based on the team's assessment, in accordance with
district policy;
(2) provide guidance to students and school employees
on recognizing harmful, threatening, or violent behavior that may
pose a threat to the community, school, or individual; and
(3) support the district in implementing the
district's multihazard emergency operations plan.
(g) On a determination that a student or other individual
poses a serious risk of violence to self or others, a 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.
(h) A 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 team shall conduct a threat assessment in addition to
actions taken in accordance with the district's suicide prevention
program.
(i) A team identifying a student using or possessing
tobacco, drugs, or alcohol shall act in accordance with district
policies and procedures related to substance use prevention and
intervention.
(j) A team must report to the agency in accordance with
guidelines developed by the agency the following information
regarding the team's activities and other information for each
school district campus the 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 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;
(4) the total number, disaggregated by student gender,
race, and status as receiving special education services, being at
risk of dropping out of school, being in foster care, experiencing
homelessness, being a dependent of military personnel, being
pregnant or a parent, having limited English proficiency, or being
a migratory child, of, in connection with an assessment or reported
threat by the team:
(A) citations issued for Class C misdemeanor
offenses;
(B) arrests;
(C) incidents of uses of restraint;
(D) changes in school placement, including
placement in a juvenile justice alternative education program or
disciplinary alternative education program;
(E) referrals to or changes in counseling, mental
health, special education, or other services;
(F) placements in in-school suspension or
out-of-school suspension and incidents of expulsion;
(G) unexcused absences of 15 or more days during
the school year; and
(H) referrals to juvenile court for truancy; and
(5) the number and percentage of school personnel
trained in:
(A) a best-practices program or research-based
practice under Section 161.325, Health and Safety Code, including
the number and percentage of school personnel trained in:
(i) suicide prevention; or
(ii) grief and trauma-informed practices;
(B) mental health or psychological first aid for
schools;
(C) training relating to the safe and supportive
school program established under Subsection (b); or
(D) any other program relating to safety
identified by the commissioner.
(k) The commissioner may adopt rules to implement this
section.
SECTION 15. 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 16. 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 VERIFICATION. (a) The center shall establish a
random or need-based cycle for the center's review and verification
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 regular
intervals as determined by the center.
(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) verify the plan meets the requirements of Section
37.108; 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 review and
verification.
(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 verification of multihazard
emergency operations plans under this section is not subject to
disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code.
SECTION 17. 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 18. 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, in coordination with the agency,
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;
(2) the referral of a student for a full individual and
initial evaluation for special education services under Section
29.004; and
(3) a student or school personnel to anonymously
report dangerous, violent, or unlawful activity that occurs or is
threatened to occur on school property or that relates to a student
or school personnel.
SECTION 19. 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. A district must include the policy in the district
improvement plan required under Section 11.252.
(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 grief.
(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 must be
provided:
(1) through a program selected from the list of
recommended best practice-based programs and research-based
practices established under Section 161.325, Health and Safety
Code;
(2) as part of any new employee orientation for all new
school district educators; and
(3) to existing school district educators on a
schedule adopted by the agency by rule that requires educators to be
trained at intervals necessary to keep educators informed of
developments in the field.
(d) For any training under Subsection (c), each school
district shall maintain records that include the name of each
district staff member who participated in the training.
(e) Each school district shall report annually to the agency
the following information for the district as a whole and for each
school campus:
(1) the number of teachers, principals, and counselors
employed by the district who have completed training under this
section; and
(2) the total number of teachers, principals, and
counselors employed by the district.
(f) If a school district determines that the district does
not have sufficient resources to provide the training required
under Subsection (c), the district may partner with a community
mental health organization to provide training that meets the
requirements of Subsection (c) at no cost to the district.
(g) The commissioner shall adopt rules as necessary to
administer this section.
SECTION 20. Subchapter C, Chapter 42, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 42.168 to read as follows:
Sec. 42.168. SCHOOL SAFETY ALLOTMENT. (a) From funds
appropriated for that purpose, the commissioner shall provide to a
school district an annual allotment in the 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:
(i) security cameras or other security
equipment; and
(ii) technology, including communications
systems or devices, that facilitates communication and information
sharing between students, school personnel, and first responders in
an emergency;
(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;
(B) prevention and treatment programs relating
to addressing adverse childhood experiences; and
(C) the prevention, identification, and
management of emergencies and threats, including:
(i) providing mental health personnel and
support;
(ii) providing behavioral health services;
and
(iii) establishing threat reporting
systems.
(c) A school district may use funds allocated under this
section for equipment or software that is used for a school safety
and security purpose and an instructional purpose, provided that
the instructional use does not compromise the safety and security
purpose of the equipment or software.
(d) 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 to receive as provided by appropriation,
against the total amount required under Section 41.093 for the
district to purchase attendance credits.
(e) The commissioner may adopt rules to implement this
section.
SECTION 21. 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 22. Section 161.325(d), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(d) A school district may develop practices and procedures
concerning each area listed in Subsection (a-1), including mental
health promotion and intervention, substance abuse prevention and
intervention, and suicide prevention, that:
(1) include a procedure for providing educational
material to all parents and families in the district that contains
information on identifying risk factors, accessing resources for
treatment or support provided on and off campus, and accessing
available student accommodations provided on campus;
(2) include a procedure for providing notice of a
recommendation for early mental health or substance abuse
intervention regarding a student to a parent or guardian of the
student within a reasonable amount of time after the identification
of early warning signs as described by Subsection (b)(2);
(3) [(2)] include a procedure for providing notice of
a student identified as at risk of committing suicide to a parent or
guardian of the student within a reasonable amount of time after the
identification of early warning signs as described by Subsection
(b)(2);
(4) [(3)] establish that the district may develop a
reporting mechanism and may designate at least one person to act as
a liaison officer in the district for the purposes of identifying
students in need of early mental health or substance abuse
intervention or suicide prevention; and
(5) [(4)] set out available counseling alternatives
for a parent or guardian to consider when their child is identified
as possibly being in need of early mental health or substance abuse
intervention or suicide prevention.
SECTION 23. Section 1701.263(b), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) The commission by rule shall require a school district
peace officer or a school resource officer who is commissioned by or
who provides law enforcement at a school district [with an
enrollment of 30,000 or more students] to successfully complete an
education and training program described by this section before or
within 180 [120] days of the officer's commission by or placement in
the district or a campus of the district. The program must:
(1) consist of at least 16 hours of training;
(2) be approved by the commission; and
(3) provide training in accordance with the curriculum
developed under Section 1701.262 in each subject area listed in
Subsection (c) of that section.
SECTION 24. 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 25. (a) Notwithstanding Section 1701.263(b),
Occupations Code, as amended by this Act, a school district peace
officer or school resource officer who commences employment with or
commences providing law enforcement at a school district with an
enrollment of fewer than 30,000 students on a date occurring before
September 1, 2019, shall complete the training required by Section
1701.263, Occupations Code, as amended by this Act, as soon as
practicable and not later than August 31, 2020. This subsection
does not apply to an officer who is exempt from the training
established under Section 1701.263, Occupations Code, as amended by
this Act, because the officer has completed the training described
by Subsection (b-1) of that section.
(b) Not later than October 1, 2019, a school district with
an enrollment of fewer than 30,000 students shall adopt the
training policy for school district peace officers and school
resource officers required by Section 37.0812, Education Code, as
amended by this Act.
SECTION 26. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of
this section, Section 28.002(z), Education Code, as added by this
Act, and Section 28.004, Education Code, as amended by this Act,
apply beginning with the 2019-2020 school year.
(b) Sections 12.104(b)(2)(T) and 28.004(q) and (r),
Education Code, as added by this Act, and Section 28.004(c)(3),
Education Code, as amended by this Act, apply beginning with the
2020-2021 school year.
SECTION 27. The Texas Education Agency and the Texas School
Safety Center are required to implement a provision of this Act only
if the legislature appropriates money specifically for that
purpose. If the legislature does not appropriate money
specifically for that purpose, the Texas Education Agency or the
Texas School Safety Center may, but is not required to, implement a
provision of this Act using other appropriations available for that
purpose.
SECTION 28. 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 29. 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.