By: Guillen H.B. No. 110
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the school safety allotment under the public school
finance system; making an appropriation.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 37.0814, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (b) 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 that 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; or
(3) a commissioned peace officer employed as security
personnel under Section 37.081; or
(4) a canine unit as defined by Section 108.001,
Business and Commerce Code.
(c) If the board of trustees of a school district is unable
to comply with this section, the board may claim a good cause
exception from the requirement to comply with this section if the
district's noncompliance is due to the availability of:
(1) funding; or
(2) personnel who qualify to serve as a security
officer described by Subsection (a).
(d) The board of trustees of a school district that claims a
good cause exception under Subsection (c) must develop an
alternative standard with which the district is able to comply,
which may include providing a person to act as a security officer
who is:
(1) a school marshal; or
(2) 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 school premises in
accordance with written regulations or written authorization of the
district under Section 46.03(a)(1)(A), Penal Code.
(e) The board of trustees of a school district must develop
and maintain documentation of the district's implementation of and
compliance with this section, including documentation related to a
good cause exception claimed under Subsection (c), and shall, if
requested by the agency, provide that documentation to the agency
in the manner prescribed by the agency.
SECTION 2. Section 48.115, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-2) to read as
follows:
Sec. 48.115. SCHOOL SAFETY ALLOTMENT. (a) Except as
provided by Subsections (a-1) and (a-2), a school district is
entitled to an annual allotment equal to the sum of the following
amounts or a greater amount provided by appropriation:
(1) $100 [$10] 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) $100,000 [$15,000] per campus.
(a-1) A school district campus that provides only virtual
instruction or utilizes only facilities not subject to the
district's control is not included for purposes of determining a
school district's allotment under Subsection (a).
(a-2) Beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, to be
eligible to receive an allotment under Subsection (a), a school
district must ensure that:
(1) during regular school hours at least one security
officer armed with a firearm is present at each district campus.
For purposes of this subsection, a security officer must be:
(A) a school district peace officer;
(B) a school resource officer;
(C) a commissioned peace officer employed as
security personnel under Section 37.081; or
(D) a canine unit as defined by Section 108.001,
Business and Commerce Code; and
(2) at least one school marshal, school resource
officer, commissioned peace officer, school district peace
officer, or canine unit, armed with a firearm and who has at
minimum received training comparable to section 1701.260(c),
Occupations Code, is appointed, assigned, or employed for every 200
enrolled students.
SECTION 3. Section 18.78, Article IX, Chapter 1170 (H.B.
1), Acts of the 88th Legislature, Regular Session, 2023 (the
General Appropriations Act), is amended by adding Subsections (m)
and (n) to read as follows:
(m) It is the intent of the legislature that money
appropriated under Subsection (c) of this section be expended
equally in each year of the 2024-25 fiscal biennium, not including
any supplemental funds appropriated in 2025 for the same or a
similar purpose.
(n) In addition to amounts appropriated elsewhere in this
Act, TEA is appropriated $2,000,000,000 from general revenue to
implement the provisions of H.B.___, Acts of the 88th Legislature,
4th Called Session, 2023.
SECTION 4. 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.