By: West, et. al. S.B. No. 133
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to prohibiting the physical restraint of or use of
chemical irritants or Tasers on certain public school students by
peace officers and school security personnel under certain
circumstances.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 37.0021(b), Education Code, is amended
by adding Subdivision (5) to read as follows:
(5) "Taser" means a device manufactured, sold, or
distributed by Taser International, Incorporated, that is
intended, designed, made, or adapted to incapacitate a person by
inflicting an electrical charge through the emission of a
projectile or conductive stream. The term, for purposes of this
section, includes a similar device manufactured, sold, or
distributed by another person.
SECTION 2. Section 37.0021, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsection (j) to read as
follows:
(d) Subject to Subsection (j), the [The] commissioner by
rule shall adopt procedures for the use of restraint and time-out by
a school district employee or volunteer or an independent
contractor of a district in the case of a student with a disability
receiving special education services under Subchapter A, Chapter
29. A procedure adopted under this subsection must:
(1) be consistent with:
(A) professionally accepted practices and
standards of student discipline and techniques for behavior
management; and
(B) relevant health and safety standards;
(2) identify any discipline management practice or
behavior management technique that requires a district employee or
volunteer or an independent contractor of a district to be trained
before using that practice or technique; and
(3) require a school district to:
(A) provide written notification to the
student's parent or person standing in parental relation to the
student for each use of restraint that includes:
(i) the name of the student;
(ii) the name of the district employee or
volunteer or independent contractor of the district who
administered the restraint;
(iii) the date of the restraint;
(iv) the time that the restraint started
and ended;
(v) the location of the restraint;
(vi) the nature of the restraint;
(vii) a description of the activity in
which the student was engaged immediately preceding the use of the
restraint;
(viii) the behavior of the student that
prompted the restraint;
(ix) any efforts made to de-escalate the
situation and any alternatives to restraint that were attempted;
(x) if the student has a behavior
improvement plan or a behavioral intervention plan, whether the
plan may need to be revised as a result of the behavior that led to
the restraint; and
(xi) if the student does not have a behavior
improvement plan or a behavioral intervention plan, information on
the procedure for the student's parent or person standing in
parental relation to the student to request an admission, review,
and dismissal committee meeting to discuss the possibility of
conducting a functional behavioral assessment of the student and
developing a plan for the student;
(B) include in a student's special education
eligibility school records:
(i) a copy of the written notification
provided to the student's parent or person standing in parental
relation to the student under Paragraph (A);
(ii) information on the method by which the
written notification was sent to the parent or person; and
(iii) the contact information for the
parent or person to whom the district sent the notification; and
(C) if the student has a behavior improvement
plan or behavioral intervention plan, document each use of time-out
prompted by a behavior of the student specified in the student's
plan, including a description of the behavior that prompted the
time-out.
(j) A peace officer performing law enforcement duties or
school security personnel performing security-related duties on
school property or at a school-sponsored or school-related activity
may not restrain or use a chemical irritant spray or Taser on a
student enrolled in fifth grade or below unless the student poses a
serious risk of harm to the student or another person.
SECTION 3. 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.