88R2403 MEW-D
By: González of El Paso H.B. No. 195
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to provisions and plans by public schools to ensure the
safety of individuals with disabilities during a disaster or
emergency situation.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 12.104(b), Education Code, as amended by
Chapters 542 (S.B. 168), 887 (S.B. 1697), 915 (H.B. 3607), 974 (S.B.
2081), and 1046 (S.B. 1365), Acts of the 87th Legislature, Regular
Session, 2021, 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, except class size limits for prekindergarten
classes imposed under Section 25.112, which do not apply;
(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) the provisions of Subchapter A, Chapter 39;
(M) public school accountability and special
investigations under Subchapters A, B, C, D, F, G, and J, Chapter
39, and Chapter 39A;
(N) the requirement under Section 21.006 to
report an educator's misconduct;
(O) intensive programs of instruction under
Section 28.0213;
(P) the right of a school employee to report a
crime, as provided by Section 37.148;
(Q) bullying prevention policies and procedures
under Section 37.0832;
(R) 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;
(S) the right under Section 37.0151 to report to
local law enforcement certain conduct constituting assault or
harassment;
(T) 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);
(U) establishment of residency under Section
25.001;
(V) school safety requirements under Sections
37.108, 37.1081, 37.1082, 37.1083, 37.109, 37.113, 37.114,
37.1141, 37.115, 37.207, and 37.2071;
(W) the early childhood literacy and mathematics
proficiency plans under Section 11.185;
(X) the college, career, and military readiness
plans under Section 11.186; and
(Y) [(X)] parental options to retain a student
under Section 28.02124.
SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 29.0053 to read as follows:
Sec. 29.0053. INCLUSION OF ACCOMMODATIONS DURING DISASTER
OR EMERGENCY IN INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAM OR SECTION 504
PLAN. (a) In this section:
(1) "Committee" means a committee established under
Section 29.005(a).
(2) "Section 504 plan" means a plan created under
Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794).
(3) "Team" means an individualized education program
team, as defined by 20 U.S.C. Section 1414(d)(1)(B), established
for a student under Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29
U.S.C. Section 794).
(b) In developing or modifying an individualized education
program or a Section 504 plan for a student, the student's committee
or team, as applicable, shall consider and, if appropriate, address
in the student's program or plan any necessary accommodations that
the student will need during a disaster or emergency situation.
SECTION 3. Section 37.108(f), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(f) A school district shall include in its multihazard
emergency operations plan:
(1) a chain of command that designates the individual
responsible for making final decisions during a disaster or
emergency situation and identifies other individuals responsible
for making those decisions if the designated person is unavailable;
(2) provisions that address physical and
psychological safety for responding to a natural disaster, active
shooter, and any other dangerous scenario identified for purposes
of this section by the agency or the Texas School Safety Center;
(3) provisions for ensuring the safety of students in
portable buildings;
(4) provisions for ensuring that students and district
personnel with disabilities are provided equal access to safety
during a disaster or emergency situation based on the guidelines
established by the agency under Section 37.1083;
(5) provisions for providing immediate notification
to parents, guardians, and other persons standing in parental
relation in circumstances involving a significant threat to the
health or safety of students, including identification of the
individual with responsibility for overseeing the notification;
(6) provisions for supporting the psychological
safety of students, district personnel, and the community during
the response and recovery phase following a disaster or emergency
situation that:
(A) are aligned with best practice-based
programs and research-based practices recommended under Section
38.351;
(B) include strategies for ensuring any required
professional development training for suicide prevention and
grief-informed and trauma-informed care is provided to appropriate
school personnel;
(C) include training on integrating
psychological safety and suicide prevention strategies into the
district's plan, such as psychological first aid for schools
training, from an approved list of recommended training established
by the commissioner and Texas School Safety Center for:
(i) members of the district's school safety
and security committee under Section 37.109;
(ii) district school counselors and mental
health professionals; and
(iii) educators and other district
personnel as determined by the district;
(D) include strategies and procedures for
integrating and supporting physical and psychological safety that
align with the provisions described by Subdivision (2); and
(E) implement trauma-informed policies;
(7) a policy for providing a substitute teacher access
to school campus buildings and materials necessary for the
substitute teacher to carry out the duties of a district employee
during an emergency or a mandatory emergency drill; and
(8) the name of each individual on the district's
school safety and security committee established under Section
37.109 and the date of each committee meeting during the preceding
year.
SECTION 4. Subchapter D, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 37.1083 to read as follows:
Sec. 37.1083. GUIDELINES FOR MULTIHAZARD EMERGENCY
OPERATIONS PLAN PROVISIONS FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES. (a)
The agency, in consultation with advocacy groups representing
individuals with disabilities, shall establish guidelines for the
required provisions in a school district's multihazard emergency
operations plan under Section 37.108(f)(4) to ensure the safety of
students and district personnel with disabilities during a disaster
or emergency situation.
(b) A school district must follow the guidelines
established by the agency under Subsection (a) in adopting and
implementing the district's multihazard emergency operations plan
under Section 37.108.
SECTION 5. As soon as practicable after the effective date
of this Act but not later than December 1, 2023, the Texas Education
Agency shall establish guidelines for multihazard emergency
operations plan provisions for individuals with disabilities as
required by Section 37.1083, Education Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 6. This Act applies beginning with the 2023-2024
school year.
SECTION 7. 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, 2023.