87R12101 TSS-F
By: Lucio S.B. No. 1596
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the membership of a school district's threat assessment
and safe and supportive school team and committee and the school
safety allotment under the public school finance system.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 37.108(b-1), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(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 48.115 [42.168] only for the
purposes provided by that section.
SECTION 2. Sections 37.115(d) and (e), Education Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(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, and 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, and emergency management[, and law
enforcement].
SECTION 3. Section 42.168, Education Code, as added by
Chapter 464 (S.B. 11), Acts of the 86th Legislature, Regular
Session, 2019, is transferred to Subchapter C, Chapter 48,
Education Code, redesignated as Section 48.115, Education Code,
amended to conform to changes made by Chapter 943 (H.B. 3), Acts of
the 86th Legislature, Regular Session, 2019, and further amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 48.115 [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;
[(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, using evidence-based,
effective prevention practices and including:
(i) providing licensed counselors, social
workers, social-emotional learning coordinators, and individuals
trained in restorative discipline and restorative justice
practices;
(ii) providing mental health personnel and
support;
(iii) [(ii)] providing behavioral health
services; [and]
(iv) [(iii)] establishing threat reporting
systems; and
(v) developing and implementing programs
focused on social-emotional learning, restorative justice
practices, culturally relevant instruction, and providing mental
health support; and
(3) [(4)] providing programs related to suicide
prevention, intervention, and postvention.
(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) The commissioner shall annually publish a report
regarding funds allocated under this section including the
programs, personnel, and resources purchased by districts using
funds under this section and other purposes for which the funds were
used [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 4. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails
over another Act of the 87th Legislature, Regular Session, 2021,
relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
codes.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.