87R1977 KJE-D
By: Blanco S.B. No. 168
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to active shooter drills conducted by public schools.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 37.1141 to read as follows:
Sec. 37.1141. ACTIVE SHOOTER DRILL REQUIREMENTS. (a)
Before a school district may conduct an active shooter drill, the
district must adopt a policy on active shooter drills that complies
with this section.
(b) The policy must:
(1) prohibit an active shooter drill from including
simulations that mimic or appear to be an actual shooting incident;
(2) require that adequate notice of an active shooter
drill be provided to parents of students expected to participate in
the drill, including information regarding:
(A) the date on which the drill will occur; and
(B) the content, form, and tone of the drill;
(3) require the announcement of an active shooter
drill to students and faculty before the start of the drill;
(4) establish standards regarding the content of an
active shooter drill, including that the content:
(A) be age appropriate and developmentally
appropriate;
(B) be developed by a team of school
administrators, teachers, school-based mental health
professionals, and law enforcement officers, with input from
parents and students; and
(C) incorporate trauma-informed practices to
directly address the well-being of students who participate in the
drill; and
(5) provide for the tracking of data regarding the
efficacy and impact of active shooter drills conducted by the
district, including any symptoms or indicators of trauma among
student participants that result from such a drill.
SECTION 2. Section 12.104(b), Education Code, as amended by
Chapters 262 (H.B. 1597), 464 (S.B. 11), 467 (H.B. 4170), and 943
(H.B. 3), Acts of the 86th Legislature, Regular Session, 2019, is
reenacted and amended to read as follows:
(b) An open-enrollment charter school is subject to:
(1) a provision of this title establishing a criminal
offense;
(2) the provisions in Chapter 554, Government Code;
and
(3) a prohibition, restriction, or requirement, as
applicable, imposed by this title or a rule adopted under this
title, relating to:
(A) the Public Education Information Management
System (PEIMS) to the extent necessary to monitor compliance with
this subchapter as determined by the commissioner;
(B) criminal history records under Subchapter C,
Chapter 22;
(C) reading instruments and accelerated reading
instruction programs under Section 28.006;
(D) accelerated instruction under Section
28.0211;
(E) high school graduation requirements under
Section 28.025;
(F) special education programs under Subchapter
A, Chapter 29;
(G) bilingual education under Subchapter B,
Chapter 29;
(H) prekindergarten programs under Subchapter E
or E-1, Chapter 29;
(I) extracurricular activities under Section
33.081;
(J) discipline management practices or behavior
management techniques under Section 37.0021;
(K) health and safety under Chapter 38;
(L) public school accountability under
Subchapters B, C, D, F, G, and J, Chapter 39, and Chapter 39A;
(M) the requirement under Section 21.006 to
report an educator's misconduct;
(N) intensive programs of instruction under
Section 28.0213;
(O) the right of a school employee to report a
crime, as provided by Section 37.148;
(P) bullying prevention policies and procedures
under Section 37.0832;
(Q) the right of a school under Section 37.0052
to place a student who has engaged in certain bullying behavior in a
disciplinary alternative education program or to expel the student;
(R) the right under Section 37.0151 to report to
local law enforcement certain conduct constituting assault or
harassment;
(S) a parent's right to information regarding the
provision of assistance for learning difficulties to the parent's
child as provided by Sections 26.004(b)(11) and 26.0081(c) and (d);
(T) establishment of residency under Section
25.001;
(U) [(T)] school safety requirements under
Sections 37.108, 37.1081, 37.1082, 37.109, 37.113, 37.114,
37.1141, 37.115, 37.207, and 37.2071;
(V) [(T)] the early childhood literacy and
mathematics proficiency plans under Section 11.185; and
(W) [(U)] the college, career, and military
readiness plans under Section 11.186.
SECTION 3. This Act applies beginning with the 2021-2022
school year.
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 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.