| 1 | 1 | | 89R4371 CMO-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Eckhardt S.B. No. 367 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | |
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| 6 | 6 | | |
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| 7 | 7 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 8 | 8 | | AN ACT |
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| 9 | 9 | | relating to the implementation by public schools of certain |
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| 10 | 10 | | communicable disease public health orders issued by a health |
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| 11 | 11 | | authority. |
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| 12 | 12 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 13 | 13 | | SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 38, Education Code, is |
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| 14 | 14 | | amended by adding Section 38.0022 to read as follows: |
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| 15 | 15 | | Sec. 38.0022. REQUIRED IMPLEMENTATION OF CERTAIN |
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| 16 | 16 | | COMMUNICABLE DISEASE PUBLIC HEALTH ORDERS. (a) In this section, |
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| 17 | 17 | | "communicable disease" and "health authority" have the meanings |
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| 18 | 18 | | assigned by Section 81.003, Health and Safety Code. |
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| 19 | 19 | | (b) Notwithstanding any other law and subject to Subsection |
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| 20 | 20 | | (c), a school district shall implement or otherwise comply with |
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| 21 | 21 | | health directives outlined in a public health order issued by a |
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| 22 | 22 | | health authority with jurisdiction over territory in which the |
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| 23 | 23 | | district is wholly or partly located regarding evidence-based |
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| 24 | 24 | | practices to reduce or eliminate the transmission of or infection |
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| 25 | 25 | | with a communicable disease among district students and staff, |
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| 26 | 26 | | including directives requiring the students and staff to wear face |
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| 27 | 27 | | masks or face coverings. |
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| 28 | 28 | | (c) If two or more health authorities with jurisdiction over |
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| 29 | 29 | | territory in which a school district is wholly or partly located |
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| 30 | 30 | | issue public health orders with conflicting health directives, the |
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| 31 | 31 | | board of trustees of the district may select which health |
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| 32 | 32 | | authority's public health order the district will implement or |
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| 33 | 33 | | otherwise comply with. |
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| 34 | 34 | | SECTION 2. Section 38.0022, Education Code, as added by |
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| 35 | 35 | | this Act, applies only to a public health order issued by a health |
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| 36 | 36 | | authority on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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| 37 | 37 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |
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