89R4285 CMO-D
By: West S.B. No. 2242
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to school district policies on dating violence.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 11.252(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Each school district shall have a district improvement
plan that is developed, evaluated, and revised annually, in
accordance with district policy, by the superintendent with the
assistance of the district-level committee established under
Section 11.251. The purpose of the district improvement plan is to
guide district and campus staff in the improvement of student
performance for all student groups in order to attain state
standards in respect to the achievement indicators adopted under
Section 39.053(c). The district improvement plan must include
provisions for:
(1) a comprehensive needs assessment addressing
district student performance on the achievement indicators, and
other appropriate measures of performance, that are disaggregated
by all student groups served by the district, including categories
of ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sex, and populations served by
special programs, including students in special education programs
under Subchapter A, Chapter 29;
(2) measurable district performance objectives for
all appropriate achievement indicators for all student
populations, including students in special education programs
under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, and other measures of student
performance that may be identified through the comprehensive needs
assessment;
(3) strategies for improvement of student performance
that include:
(A) instructional methods for addressing the
needs of student groups not achieving their full potential;
(B) evidence-based practices that address the
needs of students for special programs, including:
(i) suicide prevention programs, in
accordance with Subchapter G, Chapter 38, which include a parental
or guardian notification procedure;
(ii) conflict resolution programs;
(iii) violence prevention programs; and
(iv) dyslexia treatment programs;
(C) dropout reduction;
(D) integration of technology in instructional
and administrative programs;
(E) positive behavior interventions and support,
including interventions and support that integrate best practices
on grief-informed and trauma-informed care;
(F) staff development for professional staff of
the district;
(G) career education to assist students in
developing the knowledge, skills, and competencies necessary for a
broad range of career opportunities;
(H) accelerated education; and
(I) implementation of a comprehensive school
counseling program under Section 33.005;
(4) strategies for providing to elementary school,
middle school, junior high school, and high school students, those
students' teachers and school counselors, and those students'
parents information about:
(A) higher education admissions and financial
aid opportunities, including state financial aid opportunities
such as the TEXAS grant program and the Teach for Texas grant
program established under Chapter 56;
(B) the need for students to make informed
curriculum choices to be prepared for success beyond high school;
and
(C) sources of information on higher education
admissions and financial aid;
(5) resources needed to implement identified
strategies;
(6) staff responsible for ensuring the accomplishment
of each strategy;
(7) timelines for ongoing monitoring of the
implementation of each improvement strategy;
(8) formative evaluation criteria for determining
periodically whether strategies are resulting in intended
improvement of student performance;
(9) the policy under Section 38.0041 addressing sexual
abuse and other maltreatment of children; [and]
(10) the trauma-informed care policy required under
Section 38.036; and
(11) the policy on dating violence required under
Section 37.0831.
SECTION 2. Section 37.0831(b), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) A dating violence policy must:
(1) include:
(A) a definition of dating violence that includes
the intentional use of physical, sexual, verbal, or emotional abuse
by a person to harm, threaten, intimidate, or control another
person in a dating relationship, as defined by Section 71.0021,
Family Code;
(B) a clear statement that dating violence is not
tolerated at school; [and]
(C) [reporting] procedures, protocols, and
guidelines for reporting and responding to incidents [students who
are victims] of dating violence that are focused on victim safety,
including:
(i) a procedure for [immediately] notifying
the parent or guardian of a student about a report received by the
district identifying the student as an alleged victim or
perpetrator of dating violence as soon as reasonably possible,
subject to Subparagraph (ii); and
(ii) a requirement that a school district
notify the parent or guardian of a student identified as an alleged
victim of dating violence before the district notifies the parent
or guardian of a student identified as an alleged perpetrator of
dating violence; and
(D) interim measures to protect and support
victims of dating violence during the pendency of the school's
disciplinary process, including protection from retaliation, and
any other accommodations available to those victims at the school;
and
(2) address safety planning, enforcement of
protective orders, school-based alternatives to protective orders,
training for teachers and administrators at each district campus
that instructs students in grade six or higher, counseling for
affected students, and awareness education for students and
parents.
SECTION 3. Each school district shall implement a policy on
dating violence, as required by Section 37.0831, Education Code, as
amended by this Act, not later than the beginning of 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.