No School Nurse? Only Districts Over 10,000 Students Must Tell Parents

The text as introduced · 592 words

90R3048 RAL-D

By: Jones of Dallas
H.B. No. 645

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

relating to a notification requirement if a public school does not

have a nurse, school counselor, or librarian assigned to the school

during all instructional hours.

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

SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 25, Education Code, is

amended by adding Section 25.096 to read as follows:

Sec. 25.096. PARENTAL NOTIFICATION CONCERNING NURSES,

SCHOOL COUNSELORS, AND LIBRARIANS. (a) In this section:

(1) "Librarian" means a person certified as a

librarian under Subchapter B, Chapter 21.

(2) "Nurse" means a person licensed under Chapter 301,

Occupations Code.

(3) "School counselor" means a person certified as a

school counselor under Subchapter B, Chapter 21.

(b) Except as otherwise provided by Subsection (i), a public

school, including an open-enrollment charter school, that does not

have a full-time nurse, school counselor, or librarian or the

equivalent of a full-time nurse, school counselor, or librarian

assigned to be present at the school for more than 30 consecutive

instructional days during the same school year shall provide

written notice of the absence to the parent of or other person

standing in parental relation to each student enrolled in the

school.

(c) A school has the equivalent of a full-time nurse under

Subsection (b) if the school has two or more nurses assigned to the

school and all regular student instructional hours at the campus

during the regular school day are covered by the assignment of at

least one nurse.

(d) A school has the equivalent of a full-time school

counselor under Subsection (b) if the school has two or more school

counselors assigned to the school and all regular student

instructional hours at the campus during the regular school day are

covered by the assignment of at least one school counselor.

(e) A school has the equivalent of a full-time librarian

under Subsection (b) if the school has two or more librarians

assigned to the school and all regular student instructional hours

at the campus during the regular school day are covered by the

assignment of at least one librarian.

(f) The principal of the school shall provide the notice

required by Subsection (b) not later than the 30th instructional

day after the first day the school does not have a full-time nurse,

school counselor, or librarian or the equivalent of a full-time

nurse, school counselor, or librarian assigned to be present at the

school.

(g) The school shall:

(1) make a good faith effort to ensure that the notice

required by this section is provided in a bilingual form to any

parent or other person standing in parental relation whose primary

language is not English; and

(2) retain a copy of any notice provided under this

section.

(h) A school may satisfy the notice requirement under

Subsection (f) by posting the notice on the school's Internet

website. Notice posted under this subsection must be accessible

from the home page of the Internet website by use of not more than

three links.

(i) This section does not apply to a school district or

open-enrollment charter school with a student enrollment of less

than 10,000 students.

SECTION 2. This Act applies beginning with the 2027-2028

school year.

SECTION 3. 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, 2027.