Toth School Safety Bill Drops Truancy Trigger To Six Absences

The text as introduced · 4,168 words

By: Toth
H.B. No. 1010

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to measures for ensuring safety and security in public

schools, including measures related to certain student records and

conduct.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 7.028(a), Education Code, is amended to

read as follows:

(a) Except as provided by Section 21.006(k), 22.093(l),

22.096, 28.006, 29.001(5), 29.010(a), 33.006(h), 37.1083, 38.003,

or 39.003, the agency may monitor compliance with requirements

applicable to a process or program provided by a school district,

campus, program, or school granted charters under Chapter 12,

including the process described by Subchapter F, Chapter 11, or a

program described by Subchapter B, C, D, E, F, H, or I, Chapter 29,

or Subchapter A, Chapter 37, only as necessary to ensure:

(1) compliance with federal law and regulations;

(2) financial accountability, including compliance

with grant requirements;

(3) data integrity for purposes of:

(A) the Public Education Information Management

System (PEIMS); and

(B) accountability under Chapters 39 and 39A; and

(4) qualification for funding under Chapter 48.

SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 8, Education Code, is

amended by adding Section 8.064 to read as follows:

Sec. 8.064. SCHOOL SAFETY SUPPORT. (a) A regional

education service center shall act as a school safety resource for

school districts and open-enrollment charter schools in the region

served by the center. The center may assist a school district or

open-enrollment charter school:

(1) in developing and implementing a multihazard

emergency operations plan under Section 37.108;

(2) in establishing a school safety and security

committee under Section 37.109;

(3) in conducting emergency school drills and

exercises;

(4) in addressing deficiencies in campus security

identified by a school safety review team under Section 37.1084;

and

(5) by providing guidance on any other matter relating

to school safety and security.

(b) A regional education service center shall provide

assistance as necessary to the region's school safety review team

established under Section 37.1084.

SECTION 3. 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, 37.1084, 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) [ (X) ] parental options to retain a student

under Section 28.02124.

SECTION 4. Section 25.002(a), Education Code, is amended to

read as follows:

(a) If a parent or other person with legal control of a child

under a court order enrolls the child in a public school, the parent

or other person or the school district in which the child most

recently attended school shall furnish to the school district:

(1) the child's birth certificate or another document

suitable as proof of the child's identity;

(2) a copy of the child's records from the school the

child most recently attended if the child has been previously

enrolled in a school in this state or another state , including for a

child who most recently attended a public school in this state, a

copy of the child's disciplinary record and any threat assessment

involving the child's behavior conducted under Section 37.115 ; and

(3) a record showing that the child has the

immunizations as required under Section 38.001, in the case of a

child required under that section to be immunized, proof as

required by that section showing that the child is not required to

be immunized, or proof that the child is entitled to provisional

admission under that section and under rules adopted under that

section.

SECTION 5. Section 25.036, Education Code, is amended by

adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:

(c) In the case of a transfer under this section, a child's

school district of residence shall provide the receiving district

with the child's disciplinary record and any threat assessment

involving the child's behavior conducted under Section 37.115.

SECTION 6. Section 25.095(a), Education Code, is amended to

read as follows:

(a) A school district or open-enrollment charter school

shall notify a student's parent in writing at the beginning of the

school year that if the student is absent from school , without

excuse under Section 25.087, on six [ 10 ] or more days or parts of

days within an eight-week [ a six-month ] period in the same school

year:

(1) the student's parent is subject to prosecution

under Section 25.093; and

(2) the student is subject to referral to a truancy

court for truant conduct under Section 65.003(a), Family Code.

SECTION 7. Section 25.0951(a), Education Code, is amended

to read as follows:

(a) If a student fails to attend school without excuse on

six [ 10 ] or more days or parts of days within an eight-week [ a

six-month ] period in the same school year, a school district shall

within 10 school days of the student's sixth [ 10th ] absence refer

the student to a truancy court for truant conduct under Section

65.003(a), Family Code.

SECTION 8. Section 37.108, Education Code, is amended by

amending Subsections (a), (b), and (c) and adding Subsections (a-1)

and (h) to read as follows:

(a) Each school district or public junior college district

shall adopt and implement a multihazard emergency operations plan

for use in the district's facilities. The plan must address

prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery in

accordance with the definitions established for those terms under

Subsection (a-1) [ as defined by the Texas School Safety Center in

conjunction with the governor's office of homeland security and the

commissioner of education or commissioner of higher education, as

applicable ]. The plan must provide for:

(1) training in responding to an emergency for

district employees, including substitute teachers;

(2) measures to ensure district employees, including

substitute teachers, have classroom access to a telephone,

including a cellular telephone, or another electronic

communication device allowing for immediate contact with district

emergency services or emergency services agencies, law enforcement

agencies, health departments, and fire departments;

(3) measures to ensure district communications

technology and infrastructure are adequate to allow for

communication during an emergency;

(4) if the plan applies to a school district :

(A) [ , ] mandatory school drills and exercises,

including drills required under Section 37.114, to prepare district

students and employees for responding to an emergency; and

(B) measures that incorporate and address the

results of a safety and security audit conducted under Subsection

(b) and an on-site vulnerability assessment conducted by a school

safety review team under Section 37.1084;

(5) measures to ensure coordination with the

Department of State Health Services and local emergency management

agencies, law enforcement, health departments, and fire

departments in the event of an emergency; and

(6) the implementation of a safety and security audit

as required by Subsection (b).

(a-1) The Texas School Safety Center shall establish

definitions of prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, and

recovery for purposes of a multihazard emergency operations plan

under Subsection (a):

(1) for a plan applicable to a public junior college

district, in conjunction with the governor's office of homeland

security and the commissioner of higher education; or

(2) for a plan applicable to a school district, in

conjunction with the governor's office of homeland security and

with the approval of the commissioner of education.

(b) At least once every three years, each school district or

public junior college district shall conduct a safety and security

audit of the district's facilities in the following manner:

(1) a school [ . To the extent possible, a ] district

shall :

(A) follow safety and security audit procedures

adopted by the commissioner in consultation with [ developed by ] the

Texas School Safety Center ; and

(B) unless a district employee conducts the

audit, engage [ or ] a person approved by the commissioner and

included in the registry established by the Texas School Safety

Center under Section 37.2091 to conduct the audit; and

(2) a public junior college district shall, to the

extent possible, follow safety and security audit procedures

developed by the Texas School Safety Center or a person included in

the registry established by the Texas School Safety Center under

Section 37.2091 .

(c) A school district or public junior college district

shall report the results of the safety and security audit conducted

under Subsection (b) to the district's board of trustees and, in the

manner required by the Texas School Safety Center, to the Texas

School Safety Center. Additionally, a school district shall report

the results of the audit to the agency. The report provided to the

Texas School Safety Center and, if applicable, to the agency under

this subsection must be signed by:

(1) for a school district, the district's board of

trustees and superintendent; or

(2) for a public junior college district, the

president of the junior college district.

(h) The commissioner, in consultation with the Texas School

Safety Center, shall adopt rules regarding requirements for school

district:

(1) multihazard emergency operations plans; and

(2) safety and security audits.

SECTION 9. Subchapter C, Chapter 37, Education Code, is

amended by adding Section 37.088 to read as follows:

Sec. 37.088. CLASSROOM SAFETY REVIEW AND REFERRAL PROGRAM.

(a) If, after an investigation is completed, the principal of a

public primary or secondary school has reasonable grounds to

believe that a student engaged in violent criminal conduct,

including assaultive conduct, the principal shall:

(1) refer the student to the classroom safety review

committee established under Subsection (b); or

(2) make a report to any school district police

department, if applicable, or the police department of the

municipality in which the school is located or, if the school is not

in a municipality, the sheriff of the county in which the school is

located.

(b) Before the beginning of each school year, a public

primary or secondary school shall establish a classroom safety

review committee that consists of five classroom teachers who are

selected from all classroom teachers employed by the school through

a nomination and election process, as determined by the school.

(c) If a student is referred to the classroom safety review

committee under Subsection (a)(1), the committee shall review all

electronic, written, and verbal evidence or testimony or video

provided to the committee and interview any eyewitnesses. After

review, the committee shall, by majority vote, refer the student

to:

(1) a person designated by the school as the juvenile

diversion administrator under Subsection (d); or

(2) the classroom safety referral board established

under Subsection (e).

(d) A public primary or secondary school shall designate a

person as the juvenile diversion administrator for the school. If

the classroom safety review committee refers a student to the

juvenile diversion administrator under Subsection (c)(1), the

juvenile diversion administrator shall:

(1) require the student to perform a certain number of

hours of community service;

(2) require the student to participate in tutoring; or

(3) make a determination that the student is not

required to take any additional actions.

(e) A public primary or secondary school shall establish a

classroom safety referral board that consists of:

(1) two teachers who serve on the classroom safety

review committee;

(2) an assistant district attorney of the county in

which the school is located;

(3) an investigator from the sheriff's office in the

county in which the school is located; and

(4) a parent of a student enrolled at the school

selected by the board of trustees of the school district.

(f) If the classroom safety review committee refers a

student to the classroom safety referral board, the board shall

review all electronic, written, and verbal evidence or testimony or

video provided to the board and may hear new testimony from the

student or an eyewitness of the conduct. After review, the board, by

majority vote, shall:

(1) report the student's conduct to the local law

enforcement agency; or

(2) refer the student to the juvenile diversion

administrator under Subsection (d).

(g) Materials and information provided to or produced by the

classroom safety review committee or the classroom safety referral

board during a student review under this section must be maintained

in the student's school record until the student's 24th birthday.

(h) A person commits an offense if the person destroys

material or information described by Subsection (g) before the

period of maintenance required under that subsection has expired.

An offense under this subsection is a Class A misdemeanor.

(i) If an educator commits an offense under Subsection (h),

the educator may be subject to termination or suspension of the

educator's contract.

(j) Any testimony provided by an educator to the classroom

safety review committee or the classroom safety referral board

under this section is confidential and may not be disclosed to any

other person.

SECTION 10. Subchapter D, Chapter 37, Education Code, is

amended by adding Sections 37.1083 and 37.1084 to read as follows:

Sec. 37.1083. AGENCY MONITORING OF SCHOOL DISTRICT SAFETY

AND SECURITY REQUIREMENTS. (a) The agency shall monitor the

implementation and operation of requirements related to school

district safety and security, including school district:

(1) multihazard emergency operations plans; and

(2) safety and security audits.

(b) The agency shall establish an office of school safety

and security within the agency to coordinate the agency's

monitoring of school district safety and security requirements

under this section. The director of the office is appointed by the

governor and must report directly to the commissioner.

(c) The agency shall provide technical assistance to school

districts to support the implementation and operation of safety and

security requirements, including the preparation of multihazard

emergency operations plans and performance of safety and security

audits.

(d) The agency may engage or require a school district to

engage a third party as necessary to enable the agency to monitor

the implementation and operation of school district safety and

security requirements under this section.

(e) The commissioner may take appropriate action under

Chapter 39A, including the assignment of a conservator or the

appointment of a board of managers, if a school district fails to:

(1) submit to the required monitoring under this

section;

(2) comply with applicable safety and security

requirements; or

(3) address in a reasonable time period, as determined

by commissioner rule, issues raised by the monitoring of the

district under this section.

(f) The agency, or if approved by the agency, the Texas

School Safety Center, may identify, develop, and make available to

school districts information to assist districts in the

implementation and operation of safety and security requirements,

including relevant:

(1) guidelines;

(2) techniques;

(3) blueprints;

(4) best practices; and

(5) procedures.

(g) The agency, the Texas School Safety Center, and school

districts may share information described by Subsection (f) with

one another.

(h) The agency may require a school district to submit

information necessary for the agency to monitor the implementation

and operation of school district safety and security requirements

under this section, including:

(1) notice of an event requiring a district's

emergency response; and

(2) information regarding the district's response and

use of emergency operations procedures during an event described by

Subdivision (1).

(i) The agency may review school district records as

necessary to ensure compliance with this subchapter and Subchapter

G.

(j) Any document or information collected, identified,

developed, or produced relating to the monitoring of school

district safety and security requirements under this section is

confidential under Sections 418.177 and 418.181, Government Code,

and not subject to disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code.

(k) The commissioner may adopt rules as necessary to

administer this section.

Sec. 37.1084. REGIONAL SCHOOL SAFETY REVIEW TEAMS. (a) In

this section:

(1) "Office" means the office of school safety and

security established under Section 37.1083.

(2) "Team" means a school safety review team

established under this section.

(b) The office shall establish a school safety review team

in each region served by a regional education service center. A team

shall twice annually conduct on-site vulnerability assessments of

each school district campus in the team's region. In conducting a

vulnerability assessment, a team must:

(1) use a rubric developed by the office in

consultation with the Texas School Safety Center;

(2) not later than the seventh day before the date of a

scheduled assessment, notify the superintendent of the school

district in which the campus being assessed is located; and

(3) on completion of the assessment, provide to the

superintendent and school safety and security committee

established under Section 37.109 for the school district in which

the campus is located a report on the results of the assessment that

includes recommendations to address any deficiencies in campus

security identified by the team.

(c) A regional education service center shall provide

support as necessary to assist the region's team in conducting

on-site vulnerability assessments under this section.

(d) A report produced by a team under this section is

confidential and not subject to disclosure under Chapter 552,

Government Code.

SECTION 11. Section 37.2071, Education Code, is amended by

amending Subsections (a), (c), and (e) and adding Subsections (b-1)

and (e-1) to read as follows:

(a) The center shall establish a random or need-based cycle

for the center's review and verification of school district and

public junior college district multihazard emergency operations

plans adopted under Section 37.108. The cycle must :

(1) provide for each district's plan to be reviewed at

regular intervals as determined by the center ; and

(2) if applicable to a school district's plan, be

approved by the agency .

(b-1) The center shall share with the agency a copy of each

school district multihazard emergency operations plan submitted

under Subsection (b) and any other information requested by the

agency regarding the review of a school district's multihazard

emergency operations plan.

(c) The center , or for a school district, the center and the

agency, shall review each district's multihazard emergency

operations plan submitted under Subsection (b) and:

(1) verify the plan meets the requirements of Section

37.108; or

(2) provide the district with written notice:

(A) describing the plan's deficiencies;

(B) including specific recommendations to

correct the deficiencies; and

(C) [ (B) ] stating that the district must correct

the deficiencies in its plan and resubmit the revised plan to the

center.

(e) The center , or for a school district, the center and the

agency, may approve a district multihazard emergency operations

plan that has deficiencies if the district submits a revised plan

that the center or the center and the agency, if applicable,

determines will correct the deficiencies.

(e-1) A school district multihazard emergency operations

plan may not be verified or approved under this section without the

agency's approval.

SECTION 12. Section 37.2091, Education Code, is amended by

adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:

(b-1) The center must receive approval from the agency

before adding to the registry a person providing school safety or

security consulting services to school districts.

SECTION 13. Section 48.115, Education Code, is amended by

amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (b-1) to

read as follows:

(a) A [ From funds appropriated for that purpose, the

commissioner shall provide to a ] school district is entitled to an

annual allotment equal to the sum of the following amounts or a

greater [ in the ] amount provided by appropriation :

(1) $10 for each student in average daily attendance ,

plus $1 for each student in average daily attendance per every $50

by which the district's maximum basic allotment under Section

48.051 exceeds $6,160, prorated as necessary; and

(2) $15,000 per campus .

(b) Funds allocated under this section must be used to

improve school safety and security, including costs associated

with:

(1) securing school facilities, including:

(A) improvements to school infrastructure;

(B) the use or installation of physical barriers;

and

(C) the purchase and maintenance of:

(i) security cameras or other security

equipment; and

(ii) technology, including communications

systems or devices, that facilitates communication and information

sharing between students, school personnel, and first responders in

an emergency;

(2) providing security for the district, including:

(A) employing school district peace officers,

private security officers, and school marshals; and

(B) collaborating with local law enforcement

agencies, such as entering into a memorandum of understanding for

the assignment of school resource officers to schools in the

district;

(3) school safety and security measures [ training and

planning ], including:

(A) active shooter and emergency response

training;

(B) prevention and treatment programs relating

to addressing adverse childhood experiences; and

(C) the prevention, identification, and

management of emergencies and threats, using evidence-based,

effective prevention practices and including:

(i) providing licensed counselors, social

workers, and individuals trained in restorative discipline and

restorative justice practices;

(ii) providing mental health personnel and

support;

(iii) providing behavioral health

services;

(iv) establishing threat reporting

systems; and

(v) developing and implementing programs

focused on restorative justice practices, culturally relevant

instruction, and providing mental health support; and

(4) providing programs related to suicide prevention,

intervention, and postvention.

(b-1) The agency may designate certain technologies that a

school district, in using funds allocated under this section, may

purchase only from a vendor approved by the agency.

SECTION 14. Section 65.003(a), Family Code, is amended to

read as follows:

(a) A child engages in truant conduct if the child is

required to attend school under Section 25.085, Education Code, and

fails to attend school on six [ 10 ] or more days or parts of days

within an eight-week [ a six month ] period in the same school year.

SECTION 15. (a) As soon as practicable after the effective

date of this Act, the Texas Education Agency shall establish the

office of school safety and security and the governor shall appoint

the director of that office as required by Section 37.1083,

Education Code, as added by this Act.

(b) As soon as practicable after the office of school safety

and security has been established, the office shall establish

school safety review teams in each region served by a regional

education service center as required by Section 37.1084, Education

Code, as added by this Act.

SECTION 16. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails

over another Act of the 88th Legislature, Regular Session, 2025,

relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted

codes.

SECTION 17. Sections 7.028, 25.095, and 25.0951, Education

Code, as amended by this Act, Chapter 37, Education Code, as amended

by this Act, and Section 65.003, Family Code, as amended by this

Act, apply beginning with the 2025-2026 school year.

SECTION 18. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of

this section, 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.

(b) Section 48.115, Education Code, as amended by this Act,

takes effect September 1, 2025.