86R9374 JES-F
By: Lucio S.B. No. 1561
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to positive behavior plans of school districts,
development of positive behavior best practices by the Texas
Education Agency, and reporting of disproportionate discretionary
disciplinary action by school districts.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter F, Chapter 11, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 11.2521 to read as follows:
Sec. 11.2521. DISTRICT POSITIVE BEHAVIOR PLAN. (a) A
school district may adopt a district positive behavior plan to
promote learning, improve school safety, and identify strategies to
support students in developing and exhibiting positive behavior. A
positive behavior plan must:
(1) include measurable district performance
objectives to determine if the district is successfully meeting
goals established under the plan;
(2) use an age-appropriate and research-based
approach to identify and support the behavioral needs of students;
(3) be developed with input from stakeholders,
including school district employees, parents, students, and
community members;
(4) complement the individualized education plans of
any district students receiving special education services under
Subchapter A, Chapter 29;
(5) provide evidence-based models for positive
behavior;
(6) provide alternative disciplinary courses of
action that do not rely on the use of in-school suspension,
out-of-school suspension, or placement in a disciplinary
alternative education program to manage student behavior;
(7) detail the use of exclusionary disciplinary
actions, including in-school suspension, out-of-school suspension,
or placement in a disciplinary alternative education program;
(8) provide positive behavior management strategies,
including:
(A) positive behavioral intervention and
support;
(B) trauma-informed practices;
(C) social and emotional learning;
(D) referral for services, if necessary; and
(E) restorative practices; and
(9) include a list of resources necessary to implement
the plan.
(b) On the request of a school district, the agency shall
provide a resource included on the positive behavior best practices
list under Section 37.0017 to the district if the resource is
included in the district's positive behavior plan. The agency may
not charge a district for any resource provided under this section.
(c) A plan adopted under this section satisfies a district's
requirement to develop strategies to improve discipline management
in the district improvement plan under Section 11.252.
SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 37.0017 to read as follows:
Sec. 37.0017. POSITIVE BEHAVIOR BEST PRACTICES LIST. (a)
The agency, in coordination with the Health and Human Services
Commission, shall provide and annually update a list of recommended
best practices relating to school discipline and models of positive
behavior, including methods to:
(1) ensure schools do not take discretionary
disciplinary action against a disproportionate number of students:
(A) of a particular race;
(B) who are enrolled in a special education
program under Subchapter A, Chapter 29; or
(C) who receive accommodations or services under
Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794);
(2) identify underlying causes of disruptive
behaviors;
(3) promote person-centered approaches to behavior
management;
(4) minimize the use of exclusionary disciplinary
actions;
(5) promote a positive school climate;
(6) develop, implement, and revise evidence-based
behavior intervention plans; and
(7) improve the general health and safety of students.
(b) The list developed under Subsection (a) must also
include training materials and other resources on:
(1) positive behavioral intervention and support;
(2) trauma-informed practices;
(3) social and emotional learning;
(4) promoting a positive school climate; and
(5) restorative practices.
(c) In developing the list, the agency may collaborate with:
(1) educators;
(2) community member organizations;
(3) institutions of higher education;
(4) the Texas School Safety Center;
(5) education service centers; and
(6) the Center for Elimination of Disproportionality
and Disparities.
(d) The list developed under Subsection (a) must be posted
on the agency's Internet website and on the Internet website of each
regional education service center.
(e) In updating the list developed under Subsection (a), the
agency shall incorporate data collected from school districts that
have adopted positive behavior plans under Section 11.2521.
SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 37.0201 to read as follows:
Sec. 37.0201. POSITIVE BEHAVIOR PLAN: DISPROPORTIONATE
DISCRETIONARY DISCIPLINARY ACTION. (a) In this section,
"discretionary disciplinary action" means any disciplinary action
taken by a school district that is allowed but not required under
this chapter or the district's student code of conduct.
(b) The agency shall evaluate information reported through
the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) to
determine whether a school district appears to be taking
discretionary disciplinary action, including suspension,
expulsion, placement in a disciplinary alternative education
program or juvenile justice alternative education program, or any
other disciplinary action reported through PEIMS, against a
disproportionate number of students:
(1) of a particular race;
(2) who are enrolled in a special education program
under Subchapter A, Chapter 29; or
(3) who receive accommodations or services under
Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794).
(c) On determining that a school district is taking
discretionary disciplinary action disproportionately, the agency
shall:
(1) notify the district of the determination; and
(2) in the notification include information on the
resources available to school districts through the positive
behavior best practices list provided under Section 37.0017.
(d) A school district determined by the agency to be taking
discretionary disciplinary action disproportionately for three
consecutive years shall develop, adopt, and implement a positive
behavior plan under Section 11.2521. The district's plan must
include strategies to reduce disproportionality in the application
of discretionary disciplinary action.
SECTION 4. This Act applies beginning with the 2019-2020
school year.
SECTION 5. 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.