Bill Text: TX SB36 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Relating to creation of a higher education task force focused on mental health services and the offense of hazing.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Vetoed) 2021-06-18 - Vetoed by the Governor [SB36 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-SB36-Enrolled.html
S.B. No. 36 |
|
||
relating to creation of a higher education task force focused on | ||
mental health services and the offense of hazing. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Section 37.152(a), Education Code, is amended to | ||
read as follows: | ||
(a) A person commits an offense if the person: | ||
(1) engages in hazing; | ||
(2) solicits, encourages, directs, aids, or attempts | ||
to aid another in engaging in hazing; | ||
(3) recklessly permits hazing to occur; or | ||
(4) has firsthand knowledge of the planning of a | ||
specific hazing incident involving a student in an educational | ||
institution, or has firsthand knowledge that a specific hazing | ||
incident has occurred, and knowingly fails to report that knowledge | ||
[ |
||
of the institution, a peace officer, or a law enforcement agency. | ||
SECTION 2. Section 37.155(b), Education Code, is amended to | ||
read as follows: | ||
(b) Any person, including an entity organized to support an | ||
organization, who voluntarily reports a specific hazing incident | ||
involving a student in an educational institution to the dean of | ||
students or other appropriate official of the institution, a peace | ||
officer, or a law enforcement agency is immune from civil or | ||
criminal liability that might otherwise be incurred or imposed as a | ||
result of the reported hazing incident if the person: | ||
(1) reports the incident before being contacted by the | ||
institution or a law enforcement agency concerning the incident or | ||
otherwise being included in the institution's or a law enforcement | ||
agency's investigation of the incident; and | ||
(2) [ |
||
(A) any institutional process regarding the | ||
incident, as determined by the dean of students or other | ||
appropriate official of the institution designated by the | ||
institution; or | ||
(B) any law enforcement agency's investigation | ||
regarding the incident, as determined by the chief or other | ||
appropriate official of the law enforcement agency designated by | ||
the law enforcement agency. | ||
SECTION 3. Subchapter Z, Chapter 51, Education Code, is | ||
amended by adding Section 51.91931 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 51.91931. COLLABORATIVE TASK FORCE ON HIGHER EDUCATION | ||
MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES. (a) In this section: | ||
(1) "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher | ||
Education Coordinating Board. | ||
(2) "Institution of higher education" has the meaning | ||
assigned by Section 61.003. | ||
(3) "Task force" means the Collaborative Task Force on | ||
Higher Education Mental Health Services. | ||
(b) The Collaborative Task Force on Higher Education Mental | ||
Health Services is established to study and evaluate mental health | ||
services provided at institutions of higher education directly to | ||
students enrolled at the institution, including students who have | ||
experienced hazing. The task force shall: | ||
(1) research the capacity of institutions of higher | ||
education to identify and address the mental health needs of | ||
students, including students who have experienced hazing, | ||
including for each institution: | ||
(A) performing an equity analysis of the | ||
provision of services at the institution, including analyzing the | ||
number of mental health providers on campus, the length of time a | ||
student must wait for an appointment, partner referrals, length of | ||
treatment, and the types of services provided; | ||
(B) the mental health provider-to-student | ||
ratios; | ||
(C) the number of community partnerships and | ||
referrals for inpatient or outpatient mental health treatment; | ||
(D) the total amount of funds and the total | ||
amount of funds as a percentage of the institution's budget | ||
allocated to direct mental health support services; | ||
(E) campus-wide needs assessment of mental | ||
health climate and student experiences accessing mental health | ||
care; and | ||
(F) staff and faculty mental health training | ||
opportunities, such as mental health first aid and suicide | ||
prevention initiatives, as well as staff and faculty opportunities | ||
to receive mental health care; | ||
(2) identify institutional, environmental, and social | ||
barriers that directly impact student mental health and well-being, | ||
including incidents of hazing; and | ||
(3) explore innovative and effective approaches to | ||
meeting the mental health needs of students, with specific focus on | ||
first generation college students, students of color, economically | ||
disadvantaged students, students who are parents, students of | ||
various sexual orientations, survivors of sexual assault, students | ||
who have experienced hazing, students who are immigrants, students | ||
who are or were previously in the conservatorship of the Department | ||
of Family and Protective Services, and students from rural | ||
communities, including: | ||
(A) stigma reduction and awareness initiatives; | ||
(B) peer support initiatives; | ||
(C) action plans based on campus assessment; | ||
(D) recruiting and retaining counseling staff of | ||
color; | ||
(E) telehealth accessibility and expansion; and | ||
(F) addressing trauma and cultivating | ||
resiliency. | ||
(c) The task force is composed of: | ||
(1) the commissioner of higher education or the | ||
commissioner's designee; | ||
(2) the following additional members appointed by the | ||
commissioner of higher education: | ||
(A) three students who are enrolled at an | ||
institution of higher education in this state, at least one of whom | ||
is enrolled in a certificate program or a junior college; | ||
(B) two persons who provide mental health | ||
services at an institution of higher education and who are: | ||
(i) a psychologist, as defined by Section | ||
501.002, Occupations Code; | ||
(ii) a licensed professional counselor, as | ||
defined by Section 503.002, Occupations Code; or | ||
(iii) a licensed clinical social worker, as | ||
defined by Section 505.002, Occupations Code; | ||
(C) one person who is a psychiatrist; | ||
(D) two persons who are higher education | ||
administrators and who oversee the provision of mental health | ||
services at an institution of higher education; | ||
(E) one person who is a member of a foundation | ||
that invests in mental health services provided at institutions of | ||
higher education; | ||
(F) one person who is an employee of an | ||
institution of higher education designated under Subsection (k) or | ||
(l); and | ||
(G) three people who are employees of nonprofit | ||
organizations that specialize in mental health for young adults or | ||
college students; and | ||
(3) for any other entity the task force considers | ||
necessary, one person appointed by the task force for each such | ||
entity. | ||
(d) Persons appointed to serve on the task force shall be | ||
selected to represent the racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic | ||
diversity of this state. | ||
(e) Chapter 2110, Government Code, does not apply to the | ||
task force. | ||
(f) The commissioner of higher education is designated as | ||
the interim presiding officer for purposes of calling and | ||
conducting the initial meeting of the task force. | ||
(g) The task force: | ||
(1) shall at its initial meeting select a presiding | ||
officer from among its members for the purpose of calling and | ||
conducting meetings; and | ||
(2) may select an assistant presiding officer and a | ||
secretary from among its members. | ||
(h) A member of the task force may not receive compensation | ||
or reimbursement for service on the task force. | ||
(i) After its initial meeting, the task force shall meet at | ||
least twice each year at a time and place determined by the | ||
presiding officer. The task force may meet at other times the task | ||
force considers appropriate. The presiding officer may call a | ||
meeting on the presiding officer's own motion. | ||
(j) The task force may meet by teleconference. | ||
(k) The commissioner of higher education shall designate | ||
one institution of higher education with experience in evaluating | ||
mental health services to serve as the lead institution for the task | ||
force. The institution designated under this subsection shall | ||
provide faculty, staff, and administrative support services to the | ||
task force as determined necessary by the task force. | ||
(l) The commissioner of higher education shall designate | ||
two institutions of higher education with experience in evaluating | ||
mental health services to assist the task force and the lead | ||
institution. | ||
(m) In making a designation under Subsections (k) and (l), | ||
the commissioner of higher education shall give preference to at | ||
least one predominantly black institution, as defined by 20 U.S.C. | ||
Section 1067q(c)(9). | ||
(n) The coordinating board shall maintain the data | ||
collected by the task force and the work product of the task force. | ||
(o) The task force shall ensure that data gathered, | ||
information studied, and evaluations conducted under this section: | ||
(1) are collected and maintained in compliance with | ||
federal law regarding confidentiality of student medical or | ||
educational information, including the Health Insurance | ||
Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. Section 1320d | ||
et seq.) and any state law relating to the privacy of student or | ||
health information; and | ||
(2) may not be shared with a federal agency or state | ||
agency, except as otherwise provided by law. | ||
(p) The coordinating board may accept gifts, grants, or | ||
donations on behalf of the task force to carry out the task force's | ||
duties under this section. | ||
(q) Not later than December 1, 2024, the task force shall | ||
submit to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the | ||
house of representatives, and the coordinating board a report of | ||
the results of the task force's activities conducted under this | ||
section and any recommendations for legislative or other action. | ||
(r) The task force is abolished and this section expires | ||
September 1, 2025. | ||
SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act applies only | ||
to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. | ||
An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is | ||
governed by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and | ||
the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For | ||
purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the | ||
effective date of this Act if any element of the offense was | ||
committed before that date. | ||
SECTION 5. Section 37.155, Education Code, as amended by | ||
this Act, applies only to a civil cause of action that accrues on or | ||
after the effective date of this Act. An action that accrued before | ||
the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect at | ||
the time the action accrued, and that law is continued in effect for | ||
that purpose. | ||
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. | ||
______________________________ | ______________________________ | |
President of the Senate | Speaker of the House | |
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 36 passed the Senate on | ||
April 8, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 29, Nays 1; and that | ||
the Senate concurred in House amendment on May 29, 2021, by the | ||
following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Secretary of the Senate | ||
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 36 passed the House, with | ||
amendment, on May 26, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 97, | ||
Nays 49, two present not voting. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Chief Clerk of the House | ||
Approved: | ||
______________________________ | ||
Date | ||
______________________________ | ||
Governor |