bill rewriting school dating violence policies

The text as introduced · 897 words

89R4285 CMO-D

By: West
S.B. No. 2242

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to school district policies on dating violence.

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

SECTION 1. Section 11.252(a), Education Code, is amended to

read as follows:

(a) Each school district shall have a district improvement

plan that is developed, evaluated, and revised annually, in

accordance with district policy, by the superintendent with the

assistance of the district-level committee established under

Section 11.251. The purpose of the district improvement plan is to

guide district and campus staff in the improvement of student

performance for all student groups in order to attain state

standards in respect to the achievement indicators adopted under

Section 39.053(c). The district improvement plan must include

provisions for:

(1) a comprehensive needs assessment addressing

district student performance on the achievement indicators, and

other appropriate measures of performance, that are disaggregated

by all student groups served by the district, including categories

of ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sex, and populations served by

special programs, including students in special education programs

under Subchapter A, Chapter 29;

(2) measurable district performance objectives for

all appropriate achievement indicators for all student

populations, including students in special education programs

under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, and other measures of student

performance that may be identified through the comprehensive needs

assessment;

(3) strategies for improvement of student performance

that include:

(A) instructional methods for addressing the

needs of student groups not achieving their full potential;

(B) evidence-based practices that address the

needs of students for special programs, including:

(i) suicide prevention programs, in

accordance with Subchapter G, Chapter 38, which include a parental

or guardian notification procedure;

(ii) conflict resolution programs;

(iii) violence prevention programs; and

(iv) dyslexia treatment programs;

(C) dropout reduction;

(D) integration of technology in instructional

and administrative programs;

(E) positive behavior interventions and support,

including interventions and support that integrate best practices

on grief-informed and trauma-informed care;

(F) staff development for professional staff of

the district;

(G) career education to assist students in

developing the knowledge, skills, and competencies necessary for a

broad range of career opportunities;

(H) accelerated education; and

(I) implementation of a comprehensive school

counseling program under Section 33.005;

(4) strategies for providing to elementary school,

middle school, junior high school, and high school students, those

students' teachers and school counselors, and those students'

parents information about:

(A) higher education admissions and financial

aid opportunities, including state financial aid opportunities

such as the TEXAS grant program and the Teach for Texas grant

program established under Chapter 56;

(B) the need for students to make informed

curriculum choices to be prepared for success beyond high school;

and

(C) sources of information on higher education

admissions and financial aid;

(5) resources needed to implement identified

strategies;

(6) staff responsible for ensuring the accomplishment

of each strategy;

(7) timelines for ongoing monitoring of the

implementation of each improvement strategy;

(8) formative evaluation criteria for determining

periodically whether strategies are resulting in intended

improvement of student performance;

(9) the policy under Section 38.0041 addressing sexual

abuse and other maltreatment of children; [ and ]

(10) the trauma-informed care policy required under

Section 38.036 ; and

(11) the policy on dating violence required under

Section 37.0831 .

SECTION 2. Section 37.0831(b), Education Code, is amended

to read as follows:

(b) A dating violence policy must:

(1) include:

(A) a definition of dating violence that includes

the intentional use of physical, sexual, verbal, or emotional abuse

by a person to harm, threaten, intimidate, or control another

person in a dating relationship, as defined by Section 71.0021,

Family Code;

(B) a clear statement that dating violence is not

tolerated at school; [ and ]

(C) [ reporting ] procedures , protocols, and

guidelines for reporting and responding to incidents [ students who

are victims ] of dating violence that are focused on victim safety ,

including :

(i) a procedure for [ immediately ] notifying

the parent or guardian of a student about a report received by the

district identifying the student as an alleged victim or

perpetrator of dating violence as soon as reasonably possible,

subject to Subparagraph (ii); and

(ii) a requirement that a school district

notify the parent or guardian of a student identified as an alleged

victim of dating violence before the district notifies the parent

or guardian of a student identified as an alleged perpetrator of

dating violence ; and

(D) interim measures to protect and support

victims of dating violence during the pendency of the school's

disciplinary process, including protection from retaliation, and

any other accommodations available to those victims at the school;

and

(2) address safety planning, enforcement of

protective orders, school-based alternatives to protective orders,

training for teachers and administrators at each district campus

that instructs students in grade six or higher, counseling for

affected students, and awareness education for students and

parents.

SECTION 3. Each school district shall implement a policy on

dating violence, as required by Section 37.0831, Education Code, as

amended by this Act, not later than the beginning of the 2025-2026

school year.

SECTION 4. 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.