Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB2395 Compare Versions

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1	1	88R14341 MLH-D
2	2	By: West S.B. No. 2395
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the establishment of a task force to study disciplinary
8	8	practices and policies in public schools.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS. In this Act:
11	11	(1) "Agency" means the Texas Education Agency.
12	12	(2) "Task force" means the task force established by
13	13	this Act to study disciplinary practices and policies in public
14	14	schools in this state.
15	15	SECTION 2. TASK FORCE TO STUDY SCHOOL DISCIPLINE. (a) A
16	16	task force is established under this Act to study, evaluate, and
17	17	make recommendations for policies and practices relating to student
18	18	discipline in public schools in this state.
19	19	(b) The task force shall consist of:
20	20	(1) the commissioner of education or the
21	21	commissioner's designee;
22	22	(2) the following members appointed by the
23	23	commissioner of education:
24	24	(A) two parents of students enrolled in a public
25	25	school;
26	26	(B) two administrators of a public school;
27	27	(C) two educators certified under Subchapter B,
28	28	Chapter 21, Education Code, and employed by a public school;
29	29	(D) a person who is either:
30	30	(i) a licensed clinical social worker, as
31	31	defined by Section 505.002, Occupations Code; or
32	32	(ii) a school counselor certified under
33	33	Subchapter B, Chapter 21, Education Code;
34	34	(E) a licensed specialist in school psychology,
35	35	as defined by Section 501.002, Occupations Code;
36	36	(F) two people with expertise in school safety
37	37	and school discipline in this state;
38	38	(G) a representative from the Texas School Safety
39	39	Center; and
40	40	(H) a behavior analyst licensed under Chapter
41	41	506, Occupations Code; and
42	42	(3) one additional member appointed by the task force
43	43	to represent each additional organization, group, or agency that
44	44	the task force determines would make necessary or helpful
45	45	contributions.
46	46	(c) The commissioner of education or the commissioner's
47	47	designee shall serve as the presiding officer of the task force.
48	48	(d) The task force shall meet at the times and places that
49	49	the presiding officer determines appropriate. The task force may
50	50	meet at an education research center, as defined by Section 1.005,
51	51	Education Code.
52	52	SECTION 3. DUTIES OF THE TASK FORCE. (a) The task force
53	53	shall conduct a study to examine school discipline practices and
54	54	policies in public schools throughout this state. The study shall
55	55	include:
56	56	(1) an identification of the exclusionary and punitive
57	57	disciplinary practices and procedures used in public schools,
58	58	including:
59	59	(A) in-school suspension;
60	60	(B) out-of-school suspension;
61	61	(C) corporal punishment, as defined by Section
62	62	37.0011, Education Code;
63	63	(D) restraint, as defined by Section 37.0021,
64	64	Education Code;
65	65	(E) disciplinary alternative education programs
66	66	under Subchapter A, Chapter 37, Education Code;
67	67	(F) juvenile justice alternative education
68	68	programs under Section 37.011, Education Code;
69	69	(G) informal disciplinary actions that result in
70	70	a student being removed from a classroom or instruction; and
71	71	(H) expulsion;
72	72	(2) an identification of the alternative disciplinary
73	73	practices and procedures that are age-appropriate and
74	74	research-based and focus on conflict resolution strategies to keep
75	75	students engaged in the classroom that are used in public schools,
76	76	including positive behavior programs under Section 37.0013,
77	77	Education Code;
78	78	(3) an analysis of the practices and procedures
79	79	identified under Subdivision (1) disaggregated based on student
80	80	demographics including:
81	81	(A) race;
82	82	(B) gender;
83	83	(C) national origin;
84	84	(D) disability status;
85	85	(E) economic status;
86	86	(F) emergent bilingual status;
87	87	(G) whether the student is homeless; and
88	88	(H) whether the student is in the conservatorship
89	89	of the state;
90	90	(4) an examination of the practices and policies
91	91	identified under Subdivisions (1) and (2) to determine:
92	92	(A) how the use of disciplinary practices varies
93	93	among independent school districts and open-enrollment charter
94	94	schools, particularly among schools of similar size and student
95	95	characteristics;
96	96	(B) the due process rights provided by schools to
97	97	students and families in school disciplinary proceedings;
98	98	(C) the challenges students and families face in
99	99	understanding and navigating school disciplinary proceedings;
100	100	(D) the impact removing a student from school or
101	101	instruction has on the student and the broader school community;
102	102	(E) the protections afforded to students with
103	103	diagnosed or undetected disabilities in disciplinary practices;
104	104	(F) the challenges students with diagnosed or
105	105	undetected disabilities face when subjected to disciplinary
106	106	practices under Subsection (a);
107	107	(G) the impacts mental and behavioral health
108	108	challenges have on student behavior;
109	109	(H) the current law and relevant regulations
110	110	permitting or requiring a school to account for a student's mental
111	111	or behavioral health when making disciplinary decisions;
112	112	(I) how frequently independent school districts
113	113	and open-enrollment charter schools implement alternative
114	114	disciplinary practices and policies identified under Subdivision
115	115	(2);
116	116	(J) the challenges independent school districts
117	117	and open-enrollment charter schools face in implementing
118	118	alternative disciplinary practices and policies identified under
119	119	Subdivision (2);
120	120	(K) the systems in place to monitor and support
121	121	school districts and open-enrollment charter schools in
122	122	implementing alternative disciplinary practices and policies
123	123	identified under Subdivision (2);
124	124	(L) the number of school districts that have
125	125	implemented:
126	126	(i) a positive behavior program under
127	127	Section 37.0013, Education Code; or
128	128	(ii) a program for graduated sanctions for
129	129	certain school offenses under Section 37.144, Education Code;
130	130	(M) for each program listed under Paragraph (L)
131	131	implemented by a school district:
132	132	(i) the method with which the program is
133	133	implemented;
134	134	(ii) the challenges that made
135	135	implementation difficult;
136	136	(iii) the systems in place to monitor and
137	137	support the program;
138	138	(iv) whether and to what extent the
139	139	implementation of the program has reduced the district's reliance
140	140	on disciplinary practices and policies identified under
141	141	Subdivision (1); and
142	142	(v) whether the programs have reduced the
143	143	incidence of behavioral complaints by students and teachers in the
144	144	district;
145	145	(N) the duties typically performed by a campus
146	146	behavior coordinator;
147	147	(O) the strategies campus behavior coordinators
148	148	use to reduce a reliance on disciplinary practices and policies
149	149	identified under Subdivision (1);
150	150	(P) the resources and training to which educators
151	151	have access regarding the disciplinary practices and policies
152	152	identified under Subdivision (2);
153	153	(Q) the resources and training educators lack
154	154	relating to disciplinary practices and policies identified under
155	155	Subdivision (2);
156	156	(R) how the COVID-19 pandemic and remote learning
157	157	impacted student behavior and school disciplinary resources;
158	158	(S) whether there are gaps in current data
159	159	collection methods relating to the disciplinary practices and
160	160	policies identified under Subdivisions (1) and (2), that if
161	161	corrected, would aid assessment of disciplinary practices;
162	162	(T) the manner and frequency of use of informal
163	163	disciplinary practices and policies in public schools, including
164	164	unreported out-of-school suspensions, early parent pick-ups,
165	165	silent lunches, exclusion from recess, time-out, as defined by
166	166	Section 37.0021, Education Code, and removal by a teacher under
167	167	Section 37.002, Education Code; and
168	168	(U) the frequency with which restraint, as
169	169	defined by Section 37.0021, Education Code, is used on students as a
170	170	disciplinary measure; and
171	171	(5) an examination of the manner in which current laws
172	172	and practices interact with and affect student discipline in this
173	173	state, including:
174	174	(A) whether Chapter 37, Education Code, provides
175	175	sufficiently clear guidance on disciplinary practices identified
176	176	under Subdivisions (1) and (2), specifically identifying
177	177	redundancies or conflicts in the law that impact implementation;
178	178	(B) the current state of disciplinary
179	179	alternative education programs under Subchapter A, Chapter 37,
180	180	Education Code, and how those programs affect student outcomes;
181	181	(C) the current state of, and challenges to,
182	182	oversight and accountability for disciplinary alternative
183	183	education programs under Subchapter A, Chapter 37, Education Code;
184	184	(D) how to reduce the frequency and lengths of
185	185	student placements in disciplinary alternative education programs
186	186	under Subchapter A, Chapter 37, Education Code, in this state; and
187	187	(E) changes to law or policy that will better
188	188	facilitate a student's transition back to the student's regular
189	189	classroom from a disciplinary alternative education program under
190	190	Subchapter A, Chapter 37, Education Code.
191	191	(b) Based on the results of the study conducted under this
192	192	Act, the task force shall recommend changes to current law and
193	193	regulations to improve student disciplinary practices and policies
194	194	in public schools in this state.
195	195	(c) In completing the study and recommendations under this
196	196	Act, the task force shall seek feedback from students, families,
197	197	and educators and shall include that feedback in its report.
198	198	(d) The task force may use money appropriated or otherwise
199	199	available for the purposes of completing the duties assigned to the
200	200	task force under this Act.
201	201	SECTION 4. REPORT TO LEGISLATURE. Not later than December
202	202	1, 2024, the task force shall prepare and submit to the legislature
203	203	a written report that includes the findings from the study and the
204	204	recommendations developed by the task force under this Act.
205	205	SECTION 5. EXPIRATION. The task force is abolished and this
206	206	Act expires September 1, 2025.
207	207	SECTION 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect
208	208	immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members
209	209	elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas
210	210	Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for
211	211	immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2023.