Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB409 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R1503 PRL-F
2	2	By: Bucy H.B. No. 409
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to requirements regarding certain behavior management for
10	10	a student enrolled in a special education program of a public
11	11	school.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Section 37.0021, Education Code, is amended by
14	14	amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsection (d-1) to read as
15	15	follows:
16	16	(d) Subject to Subsection (j), the commissioner by rule
17	17	shall adopt procedures for the use of restraint and time-out by a
18	18	school district employee or volunteer or an independent contractor
19	19	of a district in the case of a student with a disability receiving
20	20	special education services under Subchapter A, Chapter 29. A
21	21	procedure adopted under this subsection must:
22	22	(1) be consistent with:
23	23	(A) professionally accepted practices and
24	24	standards of student discipline and techniques for behavior
25	25	management; and
26	26	(B) relevant health and safety standards;
27	27	(2) identify any discipline management practice or
28	28	behavior management technique that requires a district employee or
29	29	volunteer or an independent contractor of a district to be trained
30	30	before using that practice or technique; and
31	31	(3) require a school district to:
32	32	(A) provide written notification to the
33	33	student's parent or person standing in parental relation to the
34	34	student for each use of restraint that includes:
35	35	(i) the name of the student;
36	36	(ii) the name of the district employee or
37	37	volunteer or independent contractor of the district who
38	38	administered the restraint;
39	39	(iii) the date of the restraint;
40	40	(iv) the time that the restraint started
41	41	and ended;
42	42	(v) the location of the restraint;
43	43	(vi) the nature of the restraint;
44	44	(vii) a description of the activity in
45	45	which the student was engaged immediately preceding the use of the
46	46	restraint;
47	47	(viii) the behavior of the student that
48	48	prompted the restraint;
49	49	(ix) any efforts made to de-escalate the
50	50	situation and any alternatives to restraint that were attempted;
51	51	(x) if the student has a behavior
52	52	improvement plan or a behavioral intervention plan, whether the
53	53	plan may need to be revised as a result of the behavior that led to
54	54	the restraint; [and]
55	55	(xi) if the student does not have a behavior
56	56	improvement plan or a behavioral intervention plan, information on
57	57	the procedure for the student's parent or person standing in
58	58	parental relation to the student to request an admission, review,
59	59	and dismissal committee meeting to discuss the possibility of
60	60	conducting a functional behavioral assessment of the student and
61	61	developing a plan for the student; and
62	62	(xii) whether a mental and physical health
63	63	screening described by Subsection (d-1) was conducted within a
64	64	reasonable amount of time after the incident by appropriate school
65	65	officials, including a nurse or school counselor, and the results
66	66	of the screening;
67	67	(B) include in a student's special education
68	68	eligibility school records:
69	69	(i) a copy of the written notification
70	70	provided to the student's parent or person standing in parental
71	71	relation to the student under Paragraph (A);
72	72	(ii) information on the method by which the
73	73	written notification was sent to the parent or person; [and]
74	74	(iii) the contact information for the
75	75	parent or person to whom the district sent the notification; and
76	76	(iv) a copy of the mental and physical
77	77	health screening described by Subsection (d-1) and the results of
78	78	the screening; and
79	79	(C) if the student has a behavior improvement
80	80	plan or behavioral intervention plan, document each use of time-out
81	81	prompted by a behavior of the student specified in the student's
82	82	plan, including a description of the behavior that prompted the
83	83	time-out.
84	84	(d-1) A procedure adopted by the commissioner under
85	85	Subsection (d) must require a school district after an incident of
86	86	the use of restraint to conduct an overall health assessment for the
87	87	purpose of assessing the student's holistic well-being that:
88	88	(1) includes evidence-based assessments, as
89	89	determined by the commissioner, for a:
90	90	(A) mental health screening performed by a school
91	91	counselor, school psychologist, or similarly qualified district
92	92	professional; and
93	93	(B) physical health screening performed by a
94	94	school nurse or similarly qualified district professional; and
95	95	(2) is performed within a reasonable amount of time
96	96	after the incident, as determined by the commissioner.
97	97	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
98	98	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
99	99	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
100	100	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
101	101	Act takes effect September 1, 2025.