Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3867 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

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1	1	By: Bucy, Allen, Garcia H.B. No. 3867
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to requirements regarding certain behavior management for
7	7	a student enrolled in a special education program of a public school
8	8	and related reporting requirements regarding the use of restraint.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 37.0021, Education Code, is amended by
11	11	amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsection (d-1) to read as
12	12	follows:
13	13	(d) The commissioner by rule shall adopt procedures for the
14	14	use of restraint and time-out by a school district employee or
15	15	volunteer or an independent contractor of a district in the case of
16	16	a student with a disability receiving special education services
17	17	under Subchapter A, Chapter 29. A procedure adopted under this
18	18	subsection must:
19	19	(1) be consistent with:
20	20	(A) professionally accepted practices and
21	21	standards of student discipline and techniques for behavior
22	22	management; and
23	23	(B) relevant health and safety standards;
24	24	(2) identify any discipline management practice or
25	25	behavior management technique that requires a district employee or
26	26	volunteer or an independent contractor of a district to be trained
27	27	before using that practice or technique; and
28	28	(3) require a school district to:
29	29	(A) provide written notification to the
30	30	student's parent or person standing in parental relation to the
31	31	student for each use of restraint that includes:
32	32	(i) the name of the student;
33	33	(ii) the name of the district employee or
34	34	volunteer or independent contractor of the district who
35	35	administered the restraint;
36	36	(iii) the date of the restraint;
37	37	(iv) the time that the restraint started
38	38	and ended;
39	39	(v) the location of the restraint;
40	40	(vi) the nature of the restraint;
41	41	(vii) a description of the activity in
42	42	which the student was engaged immediately preceding the use of the
43	43	restraint;
44	44	(viii) the behavior of the student that
45	45	prompted the restraint;
46	46	(ix) any efforts made to de-escalate the
47	47	situation and any alternatives to restraint that were attempted;
48	48	(x) if the student has a behavior
49	49	improvement plan or a behavioral intervention plan, whether the
50	50	plan may need to be revised as a result of the behavior that led to
51	51	the restraint; [and]
52	52	(xi) if the student does not have a behavior
53	53	improvement plan or a behavioral intervention plan, information on
54	54	the procedure for the student's parent or person standing in
55	55	parental relation to the student to request an admission, review,
56	56	and dismissal committee meeting to discuss the possibility of
57	57	conducting a functional behavioral assessment of the student and
58	58	developing a plan for the student; and
59	59	(xii) whether a mental and physical health
60	60	screening was conducted within a reasonable amount of time after
61	61	the incident by appropriate school officials, including a nurse or
62	62	school counselor, and the results of the screening;
63	63	(B) include in a student's special education
64	64	eligibility school records:
65	65	(i) a copy of the written notification
66	66	provided to the student's parent or person standing in parental
67	67	relation to the student under Paragraph (A);
68	68	(ii) information on the method by which the
69	69	written notification was sent to the parent or person; [and]
70	70	(iii) the contact information for the
71	71	parent or person to whom the district sent the notification; and
72	72	(iv) a copy of the mental and physical
73	73	health screening and the results of the screening; and
74	74	(C) if the student has a behavior improvement
75	75	plan or behavioral intervention plan, document each use of time-out
76	76	prompted by a behavior of the student specified in the student's
77	77	plan, including a description of the behavior that prompted the
78	78	time-out.
79	79	(d-1) A procedure adopted by the commissioner under
80	80	Subsection (d) must require a school district after an incident of
81	81	the use of restraint to conduct an overall health assessment, only
82	82	if the district first obtains the written consent of the student's
83	83	parent or person standing in parental relation to the student for
84	84	the assessment, for the purpose of assessing the student's holistic
85	85	well-being that:
86	86	(1) includes evidence-based assessments, as
87	87	determined by the commissioner, for a:
88	88	(A) mental health screening performed by a school
89	89	counselor, school psychologist, or similarly qualified district
90	90	professional; and
91	91	(B) physical health screening performed by a
92	92	school nurse or similarly qualified district professional; and
93	93	(2) is performed within a reasonable amount of time
94	94	after the incident, as determined by the commissioner.
95	95	SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
96	96	amended by adding Section 37.024 to read as follows:
97	97	Sec. 37.024. REQUIRED PEIMS REPORTING OF RESTRAINT; REPORT.
98	98	(a) Each school district and open-enrollment charter school shall
99	99	include in the district's or school's Public Education Information
100	100	Management System (PEIMS) report the total number, disaggregated by
101	101	ethnicity, gender, status as receiving special education services,
102	102	and status as being in the conservatorship of the Department of
103	103	Family and Protective Services, of incidents of uses of restraint,
104	104	as defined by Section 37.0021.
105	105	(b) The agency shall:
106	106	(1) aggregate the data required under Subsection (a)
107	107	by state, region, district or school, and campus in an annual report
108	108	that is readily understandable;
109	109	(2) make the report publicly available on the agency's
110	110	Internet website; and
111	111	(3) provide the report to each school district and
112	112	open-enrollment charter school.
113	113	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
114	114	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
115	115	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
116	116	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
117	117	Act takes effect September 1, 2023.