By: Burrows H.B. No. 3
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the development and implementation of, and funding for
public school safety and security requirements.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 7.028(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Section 21.006(k), 22.093(l),
22.096, 28.006, 29.001(5), 29.010(a), 33.006(h), 37.1084, 38.003,
or 39.003, the agency may monitor compliance with requirements
applicable to a process or program provided by a school district,
campus, program, or school granted charters under Chapter 12,
including the process described by Subchapter F, Chapter 11, or a
program described by Subchapter B, C, D, E, F, H, or I, Chapter 29,
or Subchapter A, Chapter 37, only as necessary to ensure:
(1) compliance with federal law and regulations;
(2) financial accountability, including compliance
with grant requirements;
(3) data integrity for purposes of:
(A) the Public Education Information Management
System (PEIMS); and
(B) accountability under Chapters 39 and 39A; and
(4) qualification for funding under Chapter 48.
SECTION 2. Section 7.061(c), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(c) Not later than September 1 of each even-numbered year,
the commissioner shall review all rules adopted or amended under
this section and amend the rules as necessary to ensure that
building standards for school district and open-enrollment charter
school facilities continue to provide a secure and safe
environment. In reviewing and amending the rules, the commissioner
shall:
(1) in consultation with Texas School Safety Center,
identify and adopt any changes under Section 37.221; and
(2) require that new and, to the extent feasible,
existing school facilities meet or exceed the amended building
standards.
SECTION 3. 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
37.0814, 37.108, 37.1081, 37.1082, 37.1084, 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 4. Subchapter C, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 37.0814 to read as follows:
Sec. 37.0814. ARMED SECURITY OFFICER REQUIRED. (a) The
board of trustees of each school district shall determine the
appropriate number of armed security officers for each campus;
however, they shall ensure that at least one armed security officer
is present during regular school hours at each district campus.
(b) A security officer described by Subsection (a) must be:
(1) a school district peace officer;
(2) a school resource officer;
(3) a commissioned peace officer employed as security
personnel under Section 37.081;
(4) a school marshal; or
(5) a school district employee who:
(A) has completed school safety training
provided by a qualified handgun instructor certified in school
safety under Section 411.1901, Government Code; and
(B) carries a handgun on their person on school
premises in accordance with written regulations or written
authorization of the district under Section 46.03(a)(1)(A), Penal
Code.
SECTION 5. Section 37.108, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (b), and (c) and adding Subsections (a-1)
and (h) to read as follows:
(a) Each school district or public junior college district
shall adopt and implement a multihazard emergency operations plan
for use in the district's facilities. The plan must address
prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery in
accordance with the definitions established for those terms under
Subsection (a-1) [as defined by the Texas School Safety Center in
conjunction with the governor's office of homeland security and the
commissioner of education or commissioner of higher education, as
applicable]. The plan must provide for:
(1) training in responding to an emergency for
district employees, including substitute teachers;
(2) measures to ensure district employees, including
substitute teachers, have classroom access to a telephone,
including a cellular telephone, or another electronic
communication device allowing for immediate contact with district
emergency services or emergency services agencies, law enforcement
agencies, health departments, and fire departments;
(3) measures to ensure district communications
technology and infrastructure are adequate to allow for
communication during an emergency;
(4) if the plan applies to a school district:
(A) [,] mandatory school drills and exercises,
including drills required under Section 37.114, to prepare district
students and employees for responding to an emergency; and
(B) measures that incorporate and address the
results of a safety and security audit conducted under Subsection
(b) and an intruder detection audit conducted under Section
37.1084;
(5) measures to ensure coordination with the
Department of State Health Services and local emergency management
agencies, law enforcement, health departments, and fire
departments in the event of an emergency; and
(6) the implementation of a safety and security audit
as required by Subsection (b).
(a-1) The Texas School Safety Center shall establish
definitions of prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, and
recovery for purposes of a multihazard emergency operations plan
under Subsection (a):
(1) for a plan applicable to a public junior college
district, in conjunction with the governor's office of homeland
security and the commissioner of higher education; or
(2) for a plan applicable to a school district, in
conjunction with the governor's office of homeland security and
with the approval of the commissioner of education.
(b) At least once every three years, each school district or
public junior college district shall conduct a safety and security
audit of the district's facilities in the following manner:
(1) a school [. To the extent possible, a] district
shall:
(A) follow safety and security audit procedures
adopted by the commissioner as developed by the Texas School Safety
Center; and
(B) unless a district employee conducts the
audit, engage [or] a person approved by the commissioner and
included in the registry established by the Texas School Safety
Center under Section 37.2091 to conduct the audit; and
(2) a public junior college district shall, to the
extent possible, follow safety and security audit procedures
developed by the Texas School Safety Center or a person included in
the registry established by the Texas School Safety Center under
Section 37.2091.
(h) The commissioner shall adopt rules from proposals of the
Texas School Safety Center regarding requirements for school
district:
(1) multihazard emergency operations plans; and
(2) safety and security audits.
SECTION 6. Subchapter D, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 37.1084 to read as follows:
Sec. 37.1084. AGENCY MONITORING OF SCHOOL DISTRICT SAFETY
AND SECURITY REQUIREMENTS. (a) The agency shall monitor the
implementation and operation of school district multihazard
emergency operations plans and safety and security audits and other
school district safety and security requirements. The monitoring
must include at least one intruder detection audit of each school
district to determine whether an intruder could gain unsecured,
unauthorized access to a district campus. Each school district
shall have at least one Intruder Detection Audit per year, with at
least 25% of the campuses being physically audited.
(b) The agency may establish an office of school safety and
security within the agency to coordinate the agency's monitoring of
school district safety and security requirements under this
section. The head of an office of school safety and security
established under this subsection must report directly to the
commissioner.
(c) The agency shall provide technical assistance to
support implementation of school district multihazard emergency
operations plans and safety and security audits and other school
district safety and security requirements.
(d) The agency may use or require the use of third parties to
conduct the monitoring required under this section.
(e) The commissioner may take appropriate action under
Chapter 39A, including the assignment of a conservator or the
appointment of a board of managers, if a school district fails to:
(1) submit to the required monitoring under this
section;
(2) comply with applicable safety and security
requirements; or
(3) address in a reasonable time period, as determined
by commissioner rule, issues raised by the monitoring of the
district under this section.
(f) The agency, or if approved by the agency, the Texas
School Safety Center, may identify, develop, and make available to
school districts information to assist districts in the
implementation and operation of safety and security requirements,
including relevant:
(1) guidelines;
(2) techniques;
(3) blueprints;
(4) best practices; and
(5) procedures.
(g) The agency, the Texas School Safety Center, and school
districts may share information described by Subsection (f) with
one another.
(h) The agency may require a school district to submit
information necessary for the agency to monitor the implementation
and operation of school district safety and security requirements
under this section, including:
(1) notice of an event requiring a district's
emergency response; and
(2) information regarding the district's response and
use of emergency operations procedures during an event described by
Subdivision (1).
(i) The agency may review school district records as
necessary to ensure compliance with this subchapter and Subchapter
G.
(j) Any document or information collected, identified,
developed, or produced relating to the monitoring of school
district safety and security requirements under this section is
confidential under Sections 418.177 and 418.181, Government Code,
and not subject to disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code.
(k) The commissioner may adopt rules as necessary to
administer this section.
(i) Any proceeds from bonds must be used by school districts
to come into compliance with the school safety standards set forth
herein before any other money from bonds can be spent otherwise.
SECTION 7. Chapter 37, Education Code, is amended by adding
37.116 to read as follows:
37.116. SCHOOL SAFETY COORDINATION AND REPORTING PROGRAM.
(a) In each county under 350,000 population, the sheriff
shall twice annually coordinate a meeting of school officials and
all law enforcement in the county that could respond to a school
violence incident.
(b) The following entities are required to participate in
the biannual meetings:
(1) the elected sheriff or designee;
(2) the police chief or designee for any police
department in the county;
(3) each elected constable or designee in the county;
(4) each school police department chief or security
coordinator:
(5) DPS personnel assigned to the county;
(6) other state agency law enforcement officers
assigned to the county;
(7) federal law enforcement officials assigned to the
county;
(8) County and Municipal EMS and Fire command staff;
(9) the superintendent or designee for each district
in the county; and
(10) other entities deemed appropriate by the sheriff.
(c) Attendees at the biannual meetings will discuss agency
capabilities, resources, emergency radio interoperability, chain
of command planning, and other topics submitted by the attendees.
(d) The sheriff shall submit to the center a report
identifying the attendee list and the agenda items discussed. The
center shall maintain the reports and make them available on its
public website.
SECTION 8. Section 37.2071, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (c), and (e) and adding Subsections (b-1)
and (e-1) to read as follows:
(a) The center shall establish a random or need-based cycle
for the center's review and verification of school district and
public junior college district multihazard emergency operations
plans adopted under Section 37.108. The cycle must:
(1) provide for each district's plan to be reviewed at
regular intervals as determined by the center; and
(2) if applicable to a school district's plan, be
approved by the agency.
(b-1) The center shall share with the agency a copy of each
school district multihazard emergency operations plan submitted
under Subsection (b) and any other information requested by the
agency regarding the review of a school district's multihazard
emergency operations plan.
(c) The center, or, for a school district, the center and
the agency, shall review each district's multihazard emergency
operations plan submitted under Subsection (b) and:
(1) verify the plan meets the requirements of Section
37.108; or
(2) provide the district with written notice:
(A) describing the plan's deficiencies;
(B) including specific recommendations to
correct the deficiencies; and
(C) [(B)] stating that the district must correct
the deficiencies in its plan and resubmit the revised plan to the
center.
(e) The center, or for a school district, the center and the
agency may approve a district multihazard emergency operations plan
that has deficiencies if the district submits a revised plan that
the center or the center and the agency, if applicable, determines
will correct the deficiencies.
(e-1) A school district multihazard emergency operations
plan may not be verified or approved under this section without the
agency's approval.
SECTION 9. Section 37.2091, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:
(b-1) The center must receive approval from the agency
before adding to the registry a person providing school safety or
security consulting services to school districts.
SECTION 10. Subchapter G, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 37.221 to read as follows:
Sec. 37.221. FACILITIES STANDARDS REVIEW. At least once
every five years, the center shall review the building standards
for instructional facilities adopted under Section 7.061 and make
recommendations to the commissioner regarding any changes
necessary to ensure that the building standards reflect best
practices for student safety. The commissioner shall work with
local jurisdictions to make the adopted building standards part of
local building codes to ensure compliance.
SECTION 11. Section 48.115, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (b-1) to
read as follows:
(a) A [From funds appropriated for that purpose, the
commissioner shall provide to a] school district is entitled to an
annual allotment equal to the sum of the following amounts or a
greater [in the] amount provided by appropriation:
(1) $10 for each student in average daily attendance,
plus $1 for each student in average daily attendance per every $50
by which the district's maximum basic allotment under Section
48.051 exceeds $6,160, prorated as necessary; and
(2) $15,000 per campus.
(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, school marshals, and other persons
authorized by a school board under other law to carry a weapon;
(B) employing a school safety director and other
personnel to manage and monitor school safety initiatives and
implementation; and
(C) [(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 measures [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, and individuals trained in restorative discipline and
restorative justice practices;
(ii) providing mental health personnel and
support;
(iii) providing behavioral health
services;
(iv) establishing threat reporting
systems; and
(v) developing and implementing programs
focused on restorative justice practices, culturally relevant
instruction, and providing mental health support; and
(4) providing programs related to suicide prevention,
intervention, and postvention.
(b-1) The agency and Texas School Safety Center shall
designate certain technologies that a school district can purchase,
using funds allocated under this section, from a vendor approved by
the agency and Texas School Safety Center. The funds allocated
herein may not be used by a school district to purchase technologies
from a vendor not on the aforementioned approved list.
SECTION 12. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails
over another Act of the 88th Legislature, Regular Session, 2023,
relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
codes.
SECTION 13. Section 7.028, Education Code, as amended by
this Act, and Chapter 37, Education Code, as amended by this Act,
apply beginning with the 2023-2024 school year.
SECTION 14. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of
this section, 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.
(b) Section 48.115, Education Code, as amended by this Act,
and Section 48.116, Education Code, as added by this Act, take
effect September 1, 2023.