87R10397 KJE-D
By: Goodwin H.B. No. 3258
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to training requirements for a member of the board of
trustees and the superintendent of an independent school district
regarding cultural competence and implicit bias.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 11.159(c) and (e), Education Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(c) The State Board of Education shall require a trustee to
complete every two years at least:
(1) three hours of training on evaluating student
academic performance; [and]
(2) one hour of training on identifying and reporting
potential victims of sexual abuse, human trafficking, and other
maltreatment of children; and
(3) two hours of training in cultural competence and
implicit bias.
(e) For purposes of this section:
(1) "Cultural competence" means the ability to address
the educational needs of individuals from diverse backgrounds
effectively by applying knowledge, empathy, and insight into the
views on education that those backgrounds present.
(2) "Implicit bias" means:
(A) bias in judgment or behavior that results
from subtle cognitive processes, including implicit attitudes and
implicit stereotypes, that often operate at a level below conscious
awareness and without intentional control; or
(B) implicit attitudes and stereotypes that
result in beliefs or simple associations that a person makes
between an object and its evaluation that are automatically
activated by the mere presence, actual or symbolic, of the attitude
object.
(3) "Other[, "other] maltreatment" has the meaning
assigned by Section 42.002, Human Resources Code.
SECTION 2. Section 21.054, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (h) and adding Subsection (h-1) to read as
follows:
(h) Continuing education requirements for a superintendent
must include at least:
(1) 2-1/2 hours of training every five years on
identifying and reporting potential victims of sexual abuse, human
trafficking, and other maltreatment of children; and
(2) two hours of training every five years in cultural
competence and implicit bias.
(h-1) For purposes of this section:
(1) "Cultural competence" and "implicit bias" have the
meanings assigned by Section 11.159.
(2) "Other [this subsection, "other] maltreatment"
has the meaning assigned by Section 42.002, Human Resources Code.
SECTION 3. A superintendent subject to continuing education
requirements immediately before the effective date of this Act is
not required to comply with the continuing education requirements
described by Section 21.054(h), Education Code, as amended by this
Act, for any continuing education requirements period that ends
before January 1, 2023.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.