89R16127 KJE-D
By: Dutton H.B. No. 5498
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a public school's grievance procedure.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 26.011, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 26.011. GRIEVANCES [COMPLAINTS]. (a) The board of
trustees of each school district shall adopt a grievance procedure
under which the board shall address each grievance [complaint] that
the board receives concerning violation of a right guaranteed by
this chapter.
(b) The board of trustees of a school district is not
required by Subsection (a) or Section 11.1511(b)(13) to address a
grievance [complaint] that the board receives concerning a
student's participation in an extracurricular activity that does
not involve a violation of a right guaranteed by this chapter. This
subsection does not affect a claim brought by a parent under the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Section 1400
et seq.) or a successor federal statute addressing special
education services for a child with a disability.
(c) The grievance procedure adopted under Subsection (a)
must:
(1) require the school district to provide to a person
who files a grievance not later than the fifth business day after
the date on which the grievance is filed written notice of rights
and procedures for the grievance procedure that includes:
(A) clear instructions regarding how to:
(i) pursue a grievance with the principal
of the campus at which the grievance arose; and
(ii) file an appeal at each level of the
grievance procedure, including to the superintendent and the board
of trustees of the district and to the commissioner under Section
7.057; and
(B) contact information for each relevant
district employee or other person involved in the grievance
procedure;
(2) establish uniform timelines by which the school
district must respond to a grievance at each level of the grievance
procedure;
(3) provide that if the school district fails to
comply with the uniform timelines established under Subdivision
(2), the person who filed the grievance may automatically appeal to
the next level of the grievance procedure;
(4) provide that a school district employee's
disclosure of confidential student information in violation of
state or federal law, including the Family Educational Rights and
Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g), is grounds for
disciplinary action against the employee;
(5) require mandatory training for school district
employees on the proper handling of confidential student
information in accordance with state and federal law, including the
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C.
Section 1232g); and
(6) require the school district to:
(A) maintain the record for the grievance at each
level of the grievance procedure, including any notices sent to the
person who filed the grievance and any official decisions or
actions taken; and
(B) provide secure and timely access to the
record for the grievance to the person who filed the grievance.
(d) The agency shall develop a model form of a notice of
rights and procedures for use under Subsection (c)(1).
(e) If a grievance is appealed to the commissioner under
Section 7.057, the agency may:
(1) investigate an alleged violation of state or
federal law regarding the confidentiality of student information,
including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20
U.S.C. Section 1232g), relating to the grievance;
(2) collaborate with relevant federal agencies in an
investigation described by Subdivision (1); and
(3) take any action necessary to compel the school
district, the board of trustees of the district, or a district
employee to comply with law described by Subdivision (1).
(f) Each school district shall annually submit to the agency
a report on grievances filed in the district during the preceding
year. The report must include for each grievance the resolution of
the grievance and any corrective action taken.
(g) Not later than December 1 of each year, the agency shall
post on the agency's Internet website a report on grievances filed
in school districts during the preceding year. The report must
aggregate the data statewide and state:
(1) the number of grievances filed;
(2) the number of grievances resolved and the
resolution of those grievances; and
(3) any corrective actions taken.
SECTION 2. Section 12.104(b), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) An open-enrollment charter school is subject to:
(1) a provision of this title establishing a criminal
offense;
(2) the provisions in Chapter 554, Government Code;
and
(3) a prohibition, restriction, or requirement, as
applicable, imposed by this title or a rule adopted under this
title, relating to:
(A) the Public Education Information Management
System (PEIMS) to the extent necessary to monitor compliance with
this subchapter as determined by the commissioner;
(B) criminal history records under Subchapter C,
Chapter 22;
(C) reading instruments and accelerated reading
instruction programs under Section 28.006;
(D) accelerated instruction under Section
28.0211;
(E) high school graduation requirements under
Section 28.025;
(F) special education programs under Subchapter
A, Chapter 29;
(G) bilingual education under Subchapter B,
Chapter 29;
(H) prekindergarten programs under Subchapter E
or E-1, Chapter 29, except class size limits for prekindergarten
classes imposed under Section 25.112, which do not apply;
(I) extracurricular activities under Section
33.081;
(J) discipline management practices or behavior
management techniques under Section 37.0021;
(K) health and safety under Chapter 38;
(L) the provisions of Subchapter A, Chapter 39;
(M) public school accountability and special
investigations under Subchapters A, B, C, D, F, G, and J, Chapter
39, and Chapter 39A;
(N) the requirement under Section 21.006 to
report an educator's misconduct;
(O) intensive programs of instruction under
Section 28.0213;
(P) the right of a school employee to report a
crime, as provided by Section 37.148;
(Q) bullying prevention policies and procedures
under Section 37.0832;
(R) the right of a school under Section 37.0052
to place a student who has engaged in certain bullying behavior in a
disciplinary alternative education program or to expel the student;
(S) the right under Section 37.0151 to report to
local law enforcement certain conduct constituting assault or
harassment;
(T) a parent's right to information regarding the
provision of assistance for learning difficulties to the parent's
child as provided by Sections 26.004(b)(11) and 26.0081(c) and (d);
(U) establishment of residency under Section
25.001;
(V) school safety requirements under Sections
37.0814, 37.108, 37.1081, 37.1082, 37.1083, 37.1084, 37.1085,
37.1086, 37.109, 37.113, 37.114, 37.1141, 37.115, 37.207, and
37.2071 and Subchapter J, Chapter 37;
(W) the early childhood literacy and mathematics
proficiency plans under Section 11.185;
(X) the college, career, and military readiness
plans under Section 11.186; [and]
(Y) parental options to retain a student under
Section 28.02124; and
(Z) the grievance procedure under Section
26.011.
SECTION 3. This Act applies beginning with the 2025-2026
school year.
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 September 1, 2025.