87R1427 MEW-F
By: Allen H.B. No. 785
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to behavior improvement plans and behavioral intervention
plans for certain public school students and notification and
documentation requirements regarding certain behavior management
techniques.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 29.005, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (h) to read as follows:
(h) If a behavior improvement plan or a behavioral
intervention plan is included as part of a student's individualized
education program under Subsection (g), the committee shall review
the plan at least annually and more frequently if appropriate to
address:
(1) any changes in a student's circumstances,
including:
(A) the placement of the student in a different
educational setting;
(B) an increase or persistence in disciplinary
actions taken regarding the student;
(C) a variation in the student's attendance; or
(D) a variation in the student's behavior,
including an unauthorized unsupervised departure from an
educational setting; or
(2) the safety of the student or others.
SECTION 2. Section 37.001(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The board of trustees of an independent school district
shall, with the advice of its district-level committee established
under Subchapter F, Chapter 11, adopt a student code of conduct for
the district. The student code of conduct must be posted and
prominently displayed at each school campus or made available for
review at the office of the campus principal. In addition to
establishing standards for student conduct, the student code of
conduct must:
(1) specify the circumstances, in accordance with this
subchapter, under which a student may be removed from a classroom,
campus, disciplinary alternative education program, or vehicle
owned or operated by the district;
(2) specify conditions that authorize or require a
principal or other appropriate administrator to transfer a student
to a disciplinary alternative education program;
(3) outline conditions under which a student may be
suspended as provided by Section 37.005 or expelled as provided by
Section 37.007;
(4) specify that consideration will be given, as a
factor in each decision concerning suspension, removal to a
disciplinary alternative education program, expulsion, or
placement in a juvenile justice alternative education program,
regardless of whether the decision concerns a mandatory or
discretionary action, to:
(A) self-defense;
(B) intent or lack of intent at the time the
student engaged in the conduct;
(C) a student's disciplinary history;
(D) a disability that substantially impairs the
student's capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of the student's
conduct;
(E) a student's status in the conservatorship of
the Department of Family and Protective Services; or
(F) a student's status as a student who is
homeless;
(5) provide guidelines for setting the length of a
term of:
(A) a removal under Section 37.006; and
(B) an expulsion under Section 37.007;
(6) address the notification of a student's parent or
guardian of a violation of the student code of conduct committed by
the student that results in suspension, removal to a disciplinary
alternative education program, or expulsion, including specifying:
(A) if the student has a behavior improvement
plan or a behavioral intervention plan, whether the school district
recommends any revision to the plan; or
(B) if the student does not have a behavior
improvement plan or a behavioral intervention plan, whether the
school district recommends conducting or is required under Section
37.004 to conduct a functional behavioral assessment of the
student;
(7) prohibit bullying, harassment, and making hit
lists and ensure that district employees enforce those
prohibitions;
(8) provide, as appropriate for students at each grade
level, methods, including options, for:
(A) managing students in the classroom, on school
grounds, and on a vehicle owned or operated by the district;
(B) disciplining students; and
(C) preventing and intervening in student
discipline problems, including bullying, harassment, and making
hit lists; and
(9) include an explanation of the provisions regarding
refusal of entry to or ejection from district property under
Section 37.105, including the appeal process established under
Section 37.105(h).
SECTION 3. Section 37.0021(d), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(d) The commissioner by rule shall adopt procedures for the
use of restraint and time-out by a school district employee or
volunteer or an independent contractor of a district in the case of
a student with a disability receiving special education services
under Subchapter A, Chapter 29. A procedure adopted under this
subsection must:
(1) be consistent with:
(A) professionally accepted practices and
standards of student discipline and techniques for behavior
management; and
(B) relevant health and safety standards; [and]
(2) identify any discipline management practice or
behavior management technique that requires a district employee or
volunteer or an independent contractor of a district to be trained
before using that practice or technique; and
(3) require a school district to:
(A) provide written notification to the
student's parent or person standing in parental relation to the
student for each use of restraint that includes:
(i) the name of the student;
(ii) the name of the district employee or
volunteer or independent contractor of the district who
administered the restraint;
(iii) the date of the restraint;
(iv) the time that the restraint started
and ended;
(v) the location of the restraint;
(vi) the nature of the restraint;
(vii) a description of the activity in
which the student was engaged immediately preceding the use of the
restraint;
(viii) the behavior of the student that
prompted the restraint;
(ix) any efforts made to de-escalate the
situation and any alternatives to restraint that were attempted;
(x) if the student has a behavior
improvement plan or a behavioral intervention plan, whether the
school district recommends any revision to the plan; and
(xi) if the student does not have a behavior
improvement plan or a behavioral intervention plan, whether the
school district recommends conducting a functional behavioral
assessment of the student;
(B) include in a student's special education
eligibility school records:
(i) a copy of any written notification
provided to the student's parent or person standing in parental
relation to the student under Paragraph (A); and
(ii) the contact information for the parent
or person who received the notification; and
(C) if the student has a behavior improvement
plan or behavioral intervention plan, document each use of time-out
prompted by a behavior of the student specified in the student's
plan, including a description of the behavior that prompted the
time-out.
SECTION 4. Section 37.004, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:
(b-1) If a school district takes a disciplinary action
regarding a student with a disability who receives special
education services that constitutes a change in placement under
federal law, the district shall:
(1) not later than the 10th school day after the change
in placement:
(A) conduct a functional behavioral assessment
of the student; and
(B) review any previously conducted functional
behavioral assessment of the student and any behavior improvement
plan or behavioral intervention plan developed for the student
based on that assessment; and
(2) as necessary:
(A) develop a behavior improvement plan or
behavioral intervention plan for the student if the student does
not have a plan; or
(B) if the student has a behavior improvement
plan or behavioral intervention plan, revise the student's plan.
SECTION 5. This Act applies beginning with the 2021-2022
school year.
SECTION 6. 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, 2021.