87R5242 JES-D
By: Lucio S.B. No. 1074
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) prioritize 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 or juvenile justice alternative
education program to manage student behavior;
(7) incorporate the use of the comprehensive school
counseling program developed under Section 33.005;
(8) provide positive behavior management strategies,
including:
(A) positive behavior interventions and support;
(B) trauma-informed practices;
(C) social and emotional learning;
(D) referral for services, if necessary;
(E) restorative practices;
(F) meditation; and
(G) guided individual counseling and case
management;
(9) include a list of training and resources necessary
to implement the plan; and
(10) at least once every two years, be reviewed and, if
necessary, revised using data collected on the performance
objectives included in the plan under Subdivision (1).
(b) In determining the training necessary to implement the
positive behavior plan, a school district must, to the extent
possible, include training that fulfills educators' continuing
education requirements under Section 21.054.
(c) A school district's positive behavior plan may:
(1) detail the use of exclusionary disciplinary
actions, including in-school suspension, out-of-school suspension,
or placement in a disciplinary alternative education program or
juvenile justice alternative education program, which may be used
only:
(A) when required by law; or
(B) under the circumstances specified in the
district's student code of conduct adopted under Section 37.001;
and
(2) in accordance with Section 37.081, provide for:
(A) employing security personnel;
(B) entering into a memorandum of understanding
with a local law enforcement agency for the provision of school
resource officers; or
(C) commissioning peace officers.
(d) On the request of a school district, the agency shall
provide a resource included on the positive behavior best practices
list under Section 37.0016 to the district if the district's
positive behavior plan complies with Subsection (a) and the
resource is included in the district's plan. A district must
include a copy of the district's plan with the request. The agency
may not charge a district for any resource provided under this
subsection.
(e) A plan adopted under this section satisfies a school
district's requirement to develop strategies to improve positive
behavior interventions and support in the district improvement plan
under Section 11.252.
SECTION 2. Section 21.054(d), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(d) Continuing education requirements for a classroom
teacher must provide that at least 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 who are eligible to participate in
special education programs under Subchapter A, Chapter 29;
(B) students who are eligible to receive
educational services required under Section 504, Rehabilitation
Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794);
(C) students with mental health conditions or who
engage in substance abuse;
(D) students with intellectual or developmental
disabilities;
(E) students who are educationally
disadvantaged;
(F) students of limited English proficiency; and
(G) students at risk of dropping out of school;
(5) understanding appropriate relationships,
boundaries, and communications between educators and students;
[and]
(6) how mental health conditions, including 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; and
(7) using positive behavior management strategies
described by Section 11.2521(a)(8).
SECTION 3. Section 21.451(d), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(d) The staff development:
(1) may include training in:
(A) technology;
(B) positive behavior intervention and support
strategies, including classroom management, district discipline
policies, the district's positive behavior plan adopted under
Section 11.2521, and the student code of conduct adopted under
Chapter 37; and
(C) digital learning;
(2) subject to Subsection (e) and to Section 21.3541
and rules adopted under that section, must include training that is
evidence-based, as defined by Section 8101, Every Student Succeeds
Act (20 U.S.C. Section 7801), and that:
(A) relates to instruction of students with
disabilities, including students with disabilities who also have
other intellectual or mental health conditions; and
(B) is designed for educators who work primarily
outside the area of special education; and
(3) must include training on:
(A) suicide prevention;
(B) recognizing signs of mental health
conditions and substance abuse;
(C) strategies for establishing and maintaining
positive relationships among students, including conflict
resolution;
(D) 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; and
(E) preventing, identifying, responding to, and
reporting incidents of bullying.
SECTION 4. Subchapter A, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 37.0016 to read as follows:
Sec. 37.0016. 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):
(1) must include training materials and other
resources on:
(A) positive behavior interventions and support;
(B) trauma-informed practices;
(C) social and emotional learning;
(D) promoting a positive school climate; and
(E) restorative practices; and
(2) may include training materials and other resources
on any other topic listed under Subsection (a).
(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) regional education service centers;
(6) the Center for Elimination of Disproportionality
and Disparities;
(7) organizations with expertise in providing
evidence-based training in positive behavior models to school
districts; and
(8) any other entity the agency considers appropriate.
(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,
including data collected by school districts on the performance
objectives included in districts' plans under Section
11.2521(a)(1).
(f) Training materials included in the list under
Subsection (b) must, to the extent possible, fulfill educators'
continuing education requirements under Section 21.054.
SECTION 5. 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 or ethnicity;
(2) who are enrolled in a special education program
under Subchapter A, Chapter 29;
(3) who receive accommodations or services under
Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794);
(4) who are homeless; or
(5) who are in a bilingual education or special
language program under Subchapter B, Chapter 29.
(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) include in the notification information on the
resources available to school districts through the positive
behavior best practices list provided by Section 37.0016.
(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 6. Section 37.081, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (d) and adding Subsection (a-1) to
read as follows:
(a) Subject to Subsection (a-1), the [The] board of trustees
of any school district may employ security personnel, enter into a
memorandum of understanding with a local law enforcement agency for
the provision of school resource officers, and commission peace
officers to carry out this subchapter. If a board of trustees
authorizes a person employed as security personnel to carry a
weapon, the person must be a commissioned peace officer. The
jurisdiction of a peace officer, a school resource officer, or
security personnel under this section shall be determined by the
board of trustees and may include all territory in the boundaries of
the school district and all property outside the boundaries of the
district that is owned, leased, or rented by or otherwise under the
control of the school district and the board of trustees that employ
the peace officer or security personnel or that enter into a
memorandum of understanding for the provision of a school resource
officer.
(a-1) If a school district employs security personnel,
enters into a memorandum of understanding with a local law
enforcement agency for the provision of school resource officers,
or commissions peace officers under Subsection (a), the district
must adopt a positive behavior plan under Section 11.2521 and the
plan must state the duties of the peace officers, school resource
officers, or security personnel.
(d) The board of trustees of the school district shall
determine the law enforcement duties of peace officers, school
resource officers, and security personnel. The duties must be
included in:
(1) the district improvement plan under Section
11.252;
(2) the student code of conduct adopted under Section
37.001;
(3) any memorandum of understanding providing for a
school resource officer; [and]
(4) any other campus or district document describing
the role of peace officers, school resource officers, or security
personnel in the district; and
(5) the district's positive behavior plan adopted
under Section 11.2521.
SECTION 7. This Act applies beginning with the 2021-2022
school year.
SECTION 8. 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.