bill requiring health screenings after special education restraints

The text as introduced · 732 words

89R1503 PRL-F

By: Bucy
H.B. No. 409

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to requirements regarding certain behavior management for

a student enrolled in a special education program of a public

school.

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

SECTION 1. Section 37.0021, Education Code, is amended by

amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsection (d-1) to read as

follows:

(d) Subject to Subsection (j), the commissioner by rule

shall adopt procedures for the use of restraint and time-out by a

school district employee or volunteer or an independent contractor

of a district in the case of a student with a disability receiving

special education services under Subchapter A, Chapter 29. A

procedure adopted under this subsection must:

(1) be consistent with:

(A) professionally accepted practices and

standards of student discipline and techniques for behavior

management; and

(B) relevant health and safety standards;

(2) identify any discipline management practice or

behavior management technique that requires a district employee or

volunteer or an independent contractor of a district to be trained

before using that practice or technique; and

(3) require a school district to:

(A) provide written notification to the

student's parent or person standing in parental relation to the

student for each use of restraint that includes:

(i) the name of the student;

(ii) the name of the district employee or

volunteer or independent contractor of the district who

administered the restraint;

(iii) the date of the restraint;

(iv) the time that the restraint started

and ended;

(v) the location of the restraint;

(vi) the nature of the restraint;

(vii) a description of the activity in

which the student was engaged immediately preceding the use of the

restraint;

(viii) the behavior of the student that

prompted the restraint;

(ix) any efforts made to de-escalate the

situation and any alternatives to restraint that were attempted;

(x) if the student has a behavior

improvement plan or a behavioral intervention plan, whether the

plan may need to be revised as a result of the behavior that led to

the restraint; [ and ]

(xi) if the student does not have a behavior

improvement plan or a behavioral intervention plan, information on

the procedure for the student's parent or person standing in

parental relation to the student to request an admission, review,

and dismissal committee meeting to discuss the possibility of

conducting a functional behavioral assessment of the student and

developing a plan for the student ; and

(xii) whether a mental and physical health

screening described by Subsection (d-1) was conducted within a

reasonable amount of time after the incident by appropriate school

officials, including a nurse or school counselor, and the results

of the screening ;

(B) include in a student's special education

eligibility school records:

(i) a copy of the written notification

provided to the student's parent or person standing in parental

relation to the student under Paragraph (A);

(ii) information on the method by which the

written notification was sent to the parent or person; [ and ]

(iii) the contact information for the

parent or person to whom the district sent the notification ; and

(iv) a copy of the mental and physical

health screening described by Subsection (d-1) and the results of

the screening ; and

(C) if the student has a behavior improvement

plan or behavioral intervention plan, document each use of time-out

prompted by a behavior of the student specified in the student's

plan, including a description of the behavior that prompted the

time-out.

(d-1) A procedure adopted by the commissioner under

Subsection (d) must require a school district after an incident of

the use of restraint to conduct an overall health assessment for the

purpose of assessing the student's holistic well-being that:

(1) includes evidence-based assessments, as

determined by the commissioner, for a:

(A) mental health screening performed by a school

counselor, school psychologist, or similarly qualified district

professional; and

(B) physical health screening performed by a

school nurse or similarly qualified district professional; and

(2) is performed within a reasonable amount of time

after the incident, as determined by the commissioner.

SECTION 2. 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.