bill planning for students with disabilities during school drills

The text as introduced · 1,059 words

89R2751 MEW-D

By: Zaffirini
S.B. No. 57

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

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. Subchapter A, Chapter 29, Education Code, is

amended by adding Section 29.0052 to read as follows:

Sec. 29.0052. 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 37.1086.

(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 2. 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 37.1086 ;

(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;

(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; and

(9) certification that the district is in compliance

with Section 37.117.

SECTION 3. Section 37.1086, Education Code, is amended to

read as follows:

Sec. 37.1086. 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 29.0052 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 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 [ , in consultation ] 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) [ (b) ] A school district must follow the guidelines

established by the agency under Subsection (a)(2) [ (a) ] in adopting

and implementing the district's multihazard emergency operations

plan under Section 37.108.

SECTION 4. As soon as practicable after the effective date

of this Act but not later than December 1, 2025, the Texas Education

Agency shall establish the guidelines required by Section 37.1086,

Education Code, as amended by this Act.

SECTION 5. Section 29.0052, Education Code, as added by

this Act, applies beginning with the 2026-2027 school year.

SECTION 6. 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.