By: Bucy H.B. No. 55
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to requirements regarding certain behavior management for
a student enrolled in a special education program of a public
school.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 37.0021, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsection (d-1) to read as
follows:
(d) 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; and
(xii) whether a mental and physical health
screening was conducted within a reasonable amount of time after
the incident by appropriate school officials, including a nurse or
school counselor, and the results of the screening;
(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
(iv) a copy of the mental and physical
health screening and the results of the screening; 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.
(d-1) A procedure adopted by the commissioner under
Subsection (d) must require a school district after an incident of
the use of restraint to conduct an overall health assessment for the
purpose of assessing the student's holistic well-being that:
(1) includes evidence-based assessments, as
determined by the commissioner, for a:
(A) mental health screening performed by a school
counselor, school psychologist, or similarly qualified district
professional; and
(B) physical health screening performed by a
school nurse or similarly qualified district professional; and
(2) is performed within a reasonable amount of time
after the incident, as determined by the commissioner.
SECTION 2. 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 on the 91st day after the last day of the
legislative session.