By: Burrows, King of Uvalde, Moody, H.B. No. 3
King of Hemphill, Bonnen, et al.
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the development of, 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 the Texas School Safety
Center, identify and adopt any changes recommended 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 11.201(c), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(c) For purposes of this subsection, "severance payment"
means any amount paid by the board of trustees of an independent
school district to or in behalf of a superintendent on early
termination of the superintendent's contract that exceeds the
amount earned by the superintendent under the contract as of the
date of termination, including any amount that exceeds the amount
of earned standard salary and benefits that is paid as a condition
of early termination of the contract. The board of trustees may not
make a severance payment to a superintendent who was terminated as a
result of the district's noncompliance with safety and security
requirements as provided by Section 37.1085. The board of trustees
that makes a severance payment to a superintendent shall report the
terms of the severance payment to the commissioner. The
commissioner shall reduce the district's Foundation School Program
funds by any amount that the amount of the severance payment to the
superintendent exceeds an amount equal to one year's salary and
benefits under the superintendent's terminated contract. The
commissioner may adopt rules as necessary to administer this
subsection.
SECTION 4. 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, 37.1085, 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 5. Section 29.202(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) A student is eligible to receive a public education
grant or to attend another public school in the district in which
the student resides under this subchapter if the student is
assigned to attend a public school campus:
(1) assigned an unacceptable performance rating that
is made publicly available under Section 39.054; or
(2) determined by the commissioner to be noncompliant
with safety and security requirements under Section 37.1085.
SECTION 6. Section 37.081, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (a-1), (a-2), and
(a-3) to read as follows:
(a) The board of trustees of any school district may employ
or contract with security personnel, enter into a memorandum of
understanding with a local law enforcement agency or a county or
municipality that is the employing political subdivision of
commissioned peace officers for the provision of school resource
officers, contract with a security services contractor licensed
under Chapter 1702, Occupations Code, for the provision of a level
two or three commissioned security officer, as defined by Section
1702.002, Occupations Code, 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) A memorandum of understanding for the provision of
school resource officers entered into under Subsection (a) must:
(1) be in the form of an interlocal contract under
Chapter 791, Government Code; and
(2) use a proportionate cost allocation methodology to
address any costs or fees incurred by the school district or the
local law enforcement agency, county, or municipality, as
applicable.
(a-2) The cost allocation methodology used under Subsection
(a-1)(2) may allow a local law enforcement agency, county, or
municipality, as applicable, to recoup direct costs incurred as a
result of the contract but may not allow the agency, county, or
municipality to profit under the contract.
(a-3) A school district, local law enforcement agency,
county, or municipality that enters into a memorandum of
understanding under Subsection (a) may seek funding from federal,
state, and private sources to support the cost of providing school
resource officers under this section.
SECTION 7. 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 district
campus. The board must ensure 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) an individual who holds a level 3 license issued
under Chapter 1702, Occupations Code;
(5) a school marshal; or
(6) a school district employee or a person with whom
the district contracts 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 his or her person while
on school premises in accordance with written regulations or
written authorization of the district under Section
46.03(a)(1)(A), Penal Code.
(c) Subject to Subsection (d), a security officer described
by Subsection (a) may not perform the routine law enforcement
duties of a peace officer, including making arrests, unless the
duty is performed in response to an emergency that poses a threat of
death or serious bodily injury to a student, school district
employee, or other individual at the district campus.
(d) Subsection (c) does not apply to a commissioned peace
officer who is assigned law enforcement duties that are included in
campus and district documents describing the role of peace officers
in the district as required by Section 37.081(d) but who is also
fulfilling the role of armed security officer at the district under
this section.
(e) A local law enforcement agency must apply the same
policies, procedures, and fee structures to each memorandum of
understanding entered into by the law enforcement agency with a
school district for the provision of a school resource officer to
act as an armed security officer in accordance with this section.
SECTION 8. Section 37.108, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (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 as
defined by the Texas School Safety Center in conjunction with the
governor's office of homeland security, [and] the commissioner of
education, and the [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,
mandatory school drills and exercises, including drills required
under Section 37.114, to prepare district students and employees
for responding to an emergency;
(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);
(7) evidence-based strategies to create positive and
safe school environments, including:
(A) family engagement programs;
(B) employee trainings on multi-tiered systems
of support for academic and behavioral success;
(C) efforts to respond to chronic absenteeism;
(D) trauma-informed practices as defined in
Section 38.036; and
(E) opportunities for community feedback on the
implementation of the measures required by this subdivision; and
(8) any other requirements established by the Texas
School Safety Center in consultation with the agency.
(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. A [To the extent possible, a]
district shall follow safety and security audit procedures
developed by the Texas School Safety Center in coordination with
the commissioner of education or commissioner of higher education,
as applicable, or a person included in the registry established by
the Texas School Safety Center under Section 37.2091.
(h) The Texas School Safety Center and the agency shall
provide school safety-related data collected by the center or
agency to each other on request.
SECTION 9. Section 37.1081(a), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) If the board of trustees of a school district receives
notice of noncompliance under Section 37.207(e) or 37.2071(d) or
(g) [37.2071(g)], the board shall hold a public hearing to notify
the public of:
(1) the district's failure to:
(A) submit or correct deficiencies in a
multihazard emergency operations plan; or
(B) report the results of a safety and security
audit to the Texas School Safety Center as required by law;
(2) the dates during which the district has not been in
compliance; and
(3) the names of each member of the board of trustees
and the superintendent serving in that capacity during the dates
the district was not in compliance.
SECTION 10. The heading to Section 37.1082, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 37.1082. MULTIHAZARD EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLAN
NONCOMPLIANCE; APPOINTMENT OF AGENCY MONITOR, CONSERVATOR, OR
BOARD OF MANAGERS.
SECTION 11. Sections 37.1082(a) and (b), Education Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(a) If the agency receives notice from the Texas School
Safety Center of a school district's failure to submit a
multihazard emergency operations plan, the commissioner may
appoint an agency monitor [a conservator] for the district under
Chapter 39A. The agency monitor [conservator] may participate in
and report to the agency on the district's adoption,
implementation, and submission of [order the district to adopt,
implement, and submit] a multihazard emergency operations plan.
(b) If a district fails to comply with an agency monitor's
requests regarding the district's adoption, implementation, and
submission of [a conservator's order to adopt, implement, and
submit] a multihazard emergency operations plan within the time
frame imposed by the commissioner, the commissioner may appoint a
conservator or board of managers under Chapter 39A to oversee the
operations of the district.
SECTION 12. Subchapter D, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
amended by adding Sections 37.1084 and 37.1085 to read as follows:
Sec. 37.1084. AGENCY MONITORING OF SCHOOL DISTRICT SAFETY
AND SECURITY REQUIREMENTS. (a) The agency shall monitor school
district compliance with safety and security requirements,
including by annually conducting on-site audits of school
districts. The agency may conduct the on-site audits using a cycle
of random selection. The on-site audits must be conducted in
accordance with criteria developed by the agency in consultation
with the Texas School Safety Center.
(b) The monitoring must include intruder detection audits
of each school district to determine whether an intruder could gain
unsecured, unauthorized access to a district campus. The agency
shall ensure that an intruder detection audit is conducted annually
at each school district and that the audit includes an on-site audit
of not less than 25 percent of the district's campuses.
(c) The agency may establish an office of school safety and
security within the agency to coordinate the agency's monitoring of
school district compliance with 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.
(d) The agency shall, in coordination with the Texas School
Safety Center, 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.
(e) The agency may use or require the use of third parties to
conduct the monitoring required under this section.
(f) The agency and 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 may require a school district to submit
information necessary for the agency to conduct an on-site audit or
otherwise monitor school district compliance with 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).
(h) The agency may review school district records as
necessary to ensure compliance with this subchapter and Subchapter
G.
(i) 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.
(j) The commissioner may adopt rules as necessary to
administer this section.
Sec. 37.1085. ACTIONS BASED ON NONCOMPLIANCE WITH SAFETY
AND SECURITY REQUIREMENTS. (a) For purposes of this section, the
commissioner may determine that a school district or a campus of the
district is noncompliant with the safety and security requirements
under Section 37.1084 if the district fails to:
(1) submit to the required monitoring under that
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 agency's monitoring of
the district under that section.
(b) A student enrolled in a school district determined to be
noncompliant under Subsection (a) is eligible to receive a public
education grant to attend a school in a district other than the
district in which the student resides as provided by Subchapter G,
Chapter 29.
(c) If the superintendent or an administrator of a school
district is terminated by the board of trustees of the district as a
result of a determination that the district was noncompliant under
Subsection (a), the board may not make a severance payment of any
amount to the superintendent or administrator.
(d) The commissioner may adopt rules as necessary to
implement this section.
SECTION 13. Section 37.115, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (j-1) and (j-2) to read as follows:
(j-1) Materials and information provided to or produced by a
team during a threat assessment of a student under this section must
be maintained in the student's school record until the student's
24th birthday.
(j-2) If a person destroys material or information
described by Subsection (j-1) before the period of maintenance
required under that subsection has expired, the board of trustees
of a school district may not renew the person's employment contract
with the school district.
SECTION 14. Subchapter D, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 37.119 to read as follows:
Sec. 37.119. STATEWIDE SCHOOL SAFETY COOPERATIVE CONTRACT
PROGRAM FOR DESIGNATED TECHNOLOGIES; GRANTS. (a) The Department
of Information Resources, in consultation with the agency and the
Texas School Safety Center, shall develop a statewide school safety
cooperative contract program under which the department:
(1) designates certain school safety technologies
that a school district or open-enrollment charter school
participating in the program may procure only under a designated
statewide school safety cooperative contract approved under this
section; and
(2) approves statewide school safety cooperative
contracts with vendors to provide each technology designated under
Subdivision (1).
(b) In designating technologies for purposes of this
section, the Department of Information Resources:
(1) shall include school security solutions
technologies that consist primarily of software applications and
are typically sold on a recurring basis by a vendor of that
technology, including:
(A) software-based access control solutions;
(B) software-based emergency mass notification
solutions;
(C) video management or monitoring services;
(D) video-analytic firearm detection and
alerting systems; and
(E) automated emergency response solutions; and
(2) may not designate:
(A) physical security threat assessments;
(B) hardware products, including security
cameras that are sold as a one-time, fixed-cost product;
(C) physical security hardening products,
including fencing, ballistic glass, door reinforcements, and
similar products;
(D) radios and other general communication
devices; or
(E) enhanced mapping products that are sold as a
one-time cost product with a minimal recurring annual fee.
(c) Before approving and entering into a statewide school
safety cooperative contract with a vendor to provide a designated
technology under this section, the Department of Information
Resources, in consultation with the agency and the Texas School
Safety Center, shall:
(1) ensure the technology contracted for meets the
required specifications under Subsection (d);
(2) consider the purchase price of that technology
compared to the price provided by other vendors or for similar
technologies; and
(3) consider any other relevant factors.
(d) In selecting a vendor of a designated technology for a
statewide school safety cooperative contract, the Department of
Information Resources shall:
(1) ensure that the technology provided by that
vendor:
(A) is capable of being fully integrated into a
statewide system for which the vendor provides continuous uptime
remote monitoring and auditing functionality;
(B) is developed in the United States without the
use of any third-party or open-source data;
(C) is compliant with any applicable
requirements under the National Defense Authorization Act (10
U.S.C. Section 2679); and
(D) if the technology uses software, has an
application programming interface that is accessible to enable
integration with other software; and
(2) to the extent possible, prioritize technologies:
(A) designated as qualified technology under the
federal SAFETY Act (6 U.S.C. Section 441 et seq.); and
(B) provided by a vendor that:
(i) is financially stable;
(ii) has demonstrated capability and
responsibility through a sustained history of successful
deployments of the technology at schools; and
(iii) is able to provide reliable
maintenance and support.
(e) A school district or open-enrollment charter school
that enters an agreement to participate in the statewide school
safety cooperative contract program under this section may not
purchase a technology designated under this section except under
the applicable approved cooperative contract.
(f) From funds appropriated for the purpose, the agency
shall provide to school districts and open-enrollment charter
schools that participate in the statewide school safety cooperative
contract program grants for the purchase of designated technologies
under an applicable approved cooperative contract.
(g) The Department of Information Resources and the
commissioner may adopt rules as necessary to implement this
section.
SECTION 15. Sections 37.2071(b), (c), (d), (f), (g), and
(h), Education Code, are amended to read as follows:
(b) A school district or public junior college district
shall submit its multihazard emergency operations plan to the
center:
(1) not later than the 30th day after the date [on
request of] the center requests the submission; and
(2) in accordance with the center's review cycle
developed under Subsection (a).
(c) The center 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; [and]
(B) including specific recommendations to
correct the deficiencies; and
(C) stating that the district must correct the
deficiencies in its plan and resubmit the revised plan to the
center.
(d) If a district fails to submit its multihazard emergency
operations plan to the center for review following a notification
by the center that the district has failed to submit the district's
plan, the center shall provide the district with written notice
stating that the district must hold a public hearing under Section
37.1081[:
[(1) has failed to submit a plan; and
[(2) must submit a plan to the center for review and
verification].
(f) If one month [three months] after the date of initial
notification of a plan's deficiencies under Subsection (c)(2) [or
failure to submit a plan under Subsection (d)] a district has not
corrected the plan deficiencies [or has failed to submit a plan],
the center shall provide written notice to the district and agency
that the district has not complied with the requirements of this
section and must comply immediately.
(g) If a school district still has not corrected the plan
deficiencies three [or has failed to submit a plan six] months after
the date of initial notification under Subsection (c)(2) [or (d)],
the center shall provide written notice to the school district
stating that the district must hold a public hearing under Section
37.1081.
(h) If a school district has failed to submit a plan, the
notice required by Subsection (d) [(g)] must state that the
commissioner is authorized to appoint an agency monitor [a
conservator] under Section 37.1082.
SECTION 16. Section 37.2091, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:
(b-1) A school district must confirm that a person is
included in the registry established under Subsection (b) before
the district may engage the person to provide school safety or
security consulting services to the district.
SECTION 17. Subchapter G, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
amended by adding Sections 37.221 and 37.222 to read as follows:
Sec. 37.221. FACILITIES STANDARDS REVIEW. (a) 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.
(b) The commissioner shall coordinate with municipalities
and counties as necessary to align building code requirements with
building standards recommended under Subsection (a) for purposes of
ensuring compliance with those standards.
Sec. 37.222. RESOURCES ON SAFE FIREARM STORAGE. (a) The
center, in collaboration with the Department of Public Safety,
shall provide to each school district and open-enrollment charter
school information and other resources regarding the safe storage
of firearms for distribution by the district or school under
Subsection (b), including information on:
(1) the offense under Section 46.13, Penal Code; and
(2) ways in which parents and guardians can
effectively prevent children from accessing firearms.
(b) Each school district and open-enrollment charter school
shall provide the information and other resources described under
Subsection (a) to the parent or guardian of each student enrolled in
the district or school.
SECTION 18. Subchapter E, Chapter 45, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 45.1011 to read as follows:
Sec. 45.1011. USE OF BOND PROCEEDS FOR SCHOOL SAFETY
COMPLIANCE. (a) The proceeds of bonds issued by school districts
for the construction and equipment of school buildings in the
district and the purchase of the necessary sites for school
buildings may be used to pay the costs associated with complying
with school safety and security requirements for school facilities.
(b) This subsection applies to a school district that is
determined by the agency, through the agency's monitoring of safety
and security requirements under Section 37.1084, to not be in
compliance with those requirements. Notwithstanding any other law,
a school district to which this subsection applies must use the
proceeds of bonds described by Subsection (a) to achieve compliance
with applicable safety and security requirements before the
district may use those proceeds for any other authorized purpose.
SECTION 19. Section 48.115, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsections (a-1) and
(e) to read as follows:
(a) Subject to Subsection (a-1), 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) $100 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.
(a-1) A school district may not receive an allotment under
Subsection (a) unless the district enters into an agreement with
the Department of Information Resources, the agency, and the Texas
School Safety Center to participate in the statewide school safety
cooperative contract program developed under Section 37.119 for the
purchase of designated technologies.
(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 other persons
authorized by the board of trustees of the district and permitted by
law to carry a weapon on school campus grounds; 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 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; and
(5) employing a school safety director and other
personnel to manage and monitor school safety initiatives and the
implementation of school safety requirements for the district.
(e) Notwithstanding any other law, a school district may use
funds allocated under this section to provide training to an armed
security officer employed by the district in accordance with
Section 37.0814 to prepare the officer to provide instruction to
students in the district on personal safety and related subjects.
SECTION 20. Subchapter B, Chapter 85, Local Government
Code, is amended by adding Section 85.024 to read as follows:
Sec. 85.024. SCHOOL SAFETY MEETINGS. (a) The sheriff of a
county in which a public school is located shall call and conduct
semiannual meetings to discuss:
(1) school safety;
(2) coordinated law enforcement response to school
violence incidents;
(3) law enforcement agency capabilities;
(4) available resources;
(5) emergency radio interoperability;
(6) chain of command planning; and
(7) other related subjects proposed by a person in
attendance at the meeting.
(b) The sheriff of a county in which more than one school
district or open-enrollment charter school is located is only
required to hold one semiannual meeting described by Subsection
(a); however districts and schools located within the same county
may adopt different school safety policies.
(c) The following persons shall attend a meeting called
under Subsection (a):
(1) the sheriff or the sheriff's designee;
(2) the police chief of a municipal police department
in the county or the police chief's designee;
(3) each elected constable in the county or the
constable's designees;
(4) each police chief of a school district's police
department or school district security coordinator from each school
district located in the county;
(5) a representative of the Department of Public
Safety assigned to the county;
(6) a representative of each other state agency with
commissioned peace officers assigned to the county;
(7) a person appointed to a command staff position at
an emergency medical service in the county;
(8) a person appointed to a command staff position at a
municipal emergency medical service in the county;
(9) a person appointed to a command staff position at a
fire department in the county;
(10) the superintendent or the superintendent's
designee of each school district located in the county;
(11) the person who serves the function of
superintendent, or that person's designee, in each open-enrollment
charter school located in the county; and
(12) any other person the sheriff considers
appropriate.
(d) The sheriff shall invite any federal law enforcement
official serving in the county to attend the meeting.
(e) As soon as practicable after a meeting under Subsection
(a), the sheriff shall submit a report to the Texas School Safety
Center identifying the attendees of the meeting and the subjects
discussed. The Texas School Safety Center shall maintain the report
and make it publicly available on the center's Internet website.
The center may not make publicly available and shall redact any
parts of a report that the center determines may expose a safety
vulnerability of a school district facility.
SECTION 21. 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 22. Sections 7.028 and 29.202, 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 23. The change in law made by this Act to Section
37.081, Education Code, applies only to a memorandum of
understanding under that section that is entered into on or after
September 1, 2023.
SECTION 24. Section 37.1085(c), Education Code, as added by
this Act, applies only to a superintendent, administrator serving
as educational leader and chief executive officer of a school
district or open-enrollment charter school, or other administrator
of the district or school employed under a contract entered into on
or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 25. Section 45.1011, Education Code, as added by
this Act, applies only to a bond authorized to be issued at an
election held on or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 26. (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,
takes effect September 1, 2023.