Bill Text: TX HB195 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Engrossed
Bill Title: Relating to provisions and plans by public schools to ensure the safety of individuals with disabilities or impairments during a mandatory school drill or a disaster or emergency situation.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-1)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2023-04-25 - Referred to Education [HB195 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-HB195-Engrossed.html
88R19700 MEW-D | ||
By: González of El Paso, VanDeaver | H.B. No. 195 |
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relating to provisions and plans by public schools to ensure the | ||
safety of individuals with disabilities or impairments during a | ||
mandatory school drill or a disaster or emergency situation. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Section 12.104(b), Education Code, as amended by | ||
Chapters 542 (S.B. 168), 887 (S.B. 1697), 915 (H.B. 3607), 974 (S.B. | ||
2081), and 1046 (S.B. 1365), Acts of the 87th Legislature, Regular | ||
Session, 2021, is reenacted and 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 | ||
37.108, 37.1081, 37.1082, 37.1083, 37.109, 37.113, 37.114, | ||
37.1141, 37.115, 37.207, and 37.2071; | ||
(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) [ |
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under Section 28.02124. | ||
SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 29, Education Code, is | ||
amended by adding Section 29.0053 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 29.0053. INCLUSION OF ACCOMMODATIONS DURING MANDATORY | ||
SCHOOL DRILLS IN INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAM OR SECTION 504 | ||
PLAN. (a) In this section: | ||
(1) "Committee" means a committee established under | ||
Section 29.005(a). | ||
(2) "Section 504 plan" means a plan created under | ||
Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794). | ||
(3) "Team" means a team established for a student | ||
under Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section | ||
794). | ||
(b) In developing or modifying an individualized education | ||
program or a Section 504 plan for a student, the student's committee | ||
or team, as applicable, shall consider whether the student's | ||
disabilities or impairments would require the school district to | ||
provide any specific accommodations for the student during a | ||
mandatory school drill required under Section 37.114. If the | ||
student's committee or team determines that the student would | ||
require a specific accommodation, the committee or team shall: | ||
(1) identify each disability or impairment that | ||
requires accommodation; and | ||
(2) for each disability or impairment identified under | ||
Subdivision (1), recommend specific accommodations for that | ||
disability or impairment. | ||
(c) In making considerations and recommendations under | ||
Subsection (b), a committee or team must follow the guidelines | ||
established by the agency under Section 37.1083. | ||
(d) A student's committee or team shall provide to each | ||
administrator with emergency planning responsibilities at the | ||
school district and campus at which the student is enrolled the | ||
information described by Subsections (b)(1) and (2). | ||
(e) A committee or team may invite school district and | ||
campus administrators with emergency planning responsibilities to | ||
assist the committee or team in making the considerations and | ||
recommendations described by Subsection (b). | ||
SECTION 3. Section 37.108(f), Education Code, is amended to | ||
read as follows: | ||
(f) A school district shall include in its multihazard | ||
emergency operations plan: | ||
(1) a chain of command that designates the individual | ||
responsible for making final decisions during a disaster or | ||
emergency situation and identifies other individuals responsible | ||
for making those decisions if the designated person is unavailable; | ||
(2) provisions that address physical and | ||
psychological safety for responding to a natural disaster, active | ||
shooter, and any other dangerous scenario identified for purposes | ||
of this section by the agency or the Texas School Safety Center; | ||
(3) provisions for ensuring the safety of students in | ||
portable buildings; | ||
(4) provisions for ensuring that students and district | ||
personnel with disabilities are provided equal access to safety | ||
during a disaster or emergency situation based on the guidelines | ||
established by the agency under Section 37.1083; | ||
(5) provisions for providing immediate notification | ||
to parents, guardians, and other persons standing in parental | ||
relation in circumstances involving a significant threat to the | ||
health or safety of students, including identification of the | ||
individual with responsibility for overseeing the notification; | ||
(6) provisions for supporting the psychological | ||
safety of students, district personnel, and the community during | ||
the response and recovery phase following a disaster or emergency | ||
situation that: | ||
(A) are aligned with best practice-based | ||
programs and research-based practices recommended under Section | ||
38.351; | ||
(B) include strategies for ensuring any required | ||
professional development training for suicide prevention and | ||
grief-informed and trauma-informed care is provided to appropriate | ||
school personnel; | ||
(C) include training on integrating | ||
psychological safety and suicide prevention strategies into the | ||
district's plan, such as psychological first aid for schools | ||
training, from an approved list of recommended training established | ||
by the commissioner and Texas School Safety Center for: | ||
(i) members of the district's school safety | ||
and security committee under Section 37.109; | ||
(ii) district school counselors and mental | ||
health professionals; and | ||
(iii) educators and other district | ||
personnel as determined by the district; | ||
(D) include strategies and procedures for | ||
integrating and supporting physical and psychological safety that | ||
align with the provisions described by Subdivision (2); and | ||
(E) implement trauma-informed policies; | ||
(7) a policy for providing a substitute teacher access | ||
to school campus buildings and materials necessary for the | ||
substitute teacher to carry out the duties of a district employee | ||
during an emergency or a mandatory emergency drill; and | ||
(8) the name of each individual on the district's | ||
school safety and security committee established under Section | ||
37.109 and the date of each committee meeting during the preceding | ||
year. | ||
SECTION 4. Subchapter D, Chapter 37, Education Code, is | ||
amended by adding Section 37.1083 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 37.1083. GUIDELINES FOR SCHOOL DRILL ACCOMMODATIONS | ||
AND MULTIHAZARD EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLAN PROVISIONS FOR | ||
INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES OR IMPAIRMENTS. (a) The agency | ||
shall establish guidelines for: | ||
(1) the considerations and recommendations required | ||
under Section 29.0053 regarding accommodations for a student with | ||
an individualized education program or a plan created under Section | ||
504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794); and | ||
(2) the required provisions in a school district's | ||
multihazard emergency operations plan under Section 37.108(f)(4) | ||
to ensure the safety of students and district personnel with | ||
disabilities or impairments during a disaster or emergency | ||
situation. | ||
(b) In establishing guidelines under Subsection (a), the | ||
agency shall consult with: | ||
(1) the Texas School Safety Center; | ||
(2) regional education service centers; | ||
(3) public school educators and administrators who | ||
work with students with disabilities or impairments; and | ||
(4) advocacy groups representing individuals with | ||
disabilities or impairments. | ||
(c) A school district must follow the guidelines | ||
established by the agency under Subsection (a)(2) in adopting and | ||
implementing the district's multihazard emergency operations plan | ||
under Section 37.108. | ||
SECTION 5. As soon as practicable after the effective date | ||
of this Act but not later than December 1, 2023, the Texas Education | ||
Agency shall establish the guidelines required by Section 37.1083, | ||
Education Code, as added by this Act. | ||
SECTION 6. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails | ||
over another Act of the 88th Legislature, Regular Session, 2023, | ||
relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted | ||
codes. | ||
SECTION 7. Section 29.0053, Education Code, as added by | ||
this Act, applies beginning with the 2024-2025 school year. | ||
SECTION 8. 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, 2023. |