84R25701 GCB-F
	By: Huberty, Nevárez	H.B. No. 3596

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to public school safety and security policies, procedures,
	and practices.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 37.108, Education Code, is amended by
	amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (b-1) 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
	mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery as defined by the
	commissioner of education or commissioner of higher education in
	conjunction with the governor's office of homeland security.  The
	plan must provide for:
	(1)  district employee training in responding to an
	emergency;
	(2)  if the plan applies to a school district:
	(A)  [,] mandatory school drills and exercises to
	prepare district students and employees for responding to an
	emergency;
	(B)  establishment of memoranda of understanding
	and mutual aid agreements with local law enforcement and other
	entities with jurisdiction over emergency services provided to
	persons residing within the attendance boundaries of the district;
	and
	(C)  the implementation of routine campus safety
	and security assessments under Subsection (b-1);
	(3)  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
	(4)  the implementation of a safety and security audit
	as required by Subsection (b).
	(b-1)  In addition to conducting safety and security audits
	under Subsection (b), each school district shall conduct routine
	campus safety and security assessments throughout the school year
	at intervals set by the Texas School Safety Center.
	SECTION 2.  Sections 37.1081(a) and (b), Education Code, are
	amended to read as follows:
	(a)  The Texas School Safety Center[, in consultation with
	the School Safety Task Force established under Section 37.1082,]
	shall implement [develop] a school safety certification program.
	(b)  The Texas School Safety Center shall award a school
	safety certificate to a school district that:
	(1)  has adopted and implemented a multihazard
	emergency operations plan as required under Section 37.108 and that
	includes in that plan:
	(A)  measures for security of facilities and
	grounds;
	(B)  measures for communication with parents and
	the media in the event of an emergency; and
	(C)  an outline of safety training for school
	employees;
	(2)  demonstrates to the center through documentation
	[with current written self-audit processes] that the district
	conducts at least one drill per year for each of the following types
	of drills:
	(A)  a school lockdown drill;
	(B)  an evacuation drill;
	(C)  a weather-related emergency drill;
	(D)  a reverse evacuation drill; and
	(E)  a shelter-in-place drill;
	(3)  addresses circumstances that may be unique to the
	region in which the district is located and that affect:
	(A)  facilities and security; or
	(B)  the safety of students [is in compliance with
	Sections 37.108(b) and (c)]; and
	(4)  meets any other eligibility criteria [as]
	recommended by the former School Safety Task Force.
	SECTION 3.  Section 37.202, Education Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	Sec. 37.202.  PURPOSE. The purpose of the center is to serve
	as:
	(1)  a central location for school safety and security
	information, including research, training, and technical
	assistance related to successful school safety and security
	programs;
	(2)  a central registry of persons providing school
	safety and security consulting services in the state; [and]
	(3)  a resource for the prevention of youth violence
	and the promotion of safety in the state; and
	(4)  a central location for the collection of
	information concerning research and best practices for threat
	awareness, campus safety and security assessments, and
	cross-jurisdictional sharing of information.
	SECTION 4.  Sections 37.203(a) and (b), Education Code, are
	amended to read as follows:
	(a)  The center is advised by a board of directors composed
	of:
	(1)  the attorney general, or the attorney general's
	designee;
	(2)  the commissioner, or the commissioner's designee;
	(3)  the executive director of the Texas Juvenile
	Justice Department [Probation Commission], or the executive
	director's designee;
	(4)  [the executive commissioner of the Texas Youth
	Commission, or the executive commissioner's designee;
	[(5)]  the commissioner of the Department of State
	Health Services, or the commissioner's designee;
	(5) [(6)]  the commissioner of higher education, or the
	commissioner's designee; and
	(6) [(7)]  the following members appointed by the
	governor with the advice and consent of the senate:
	(A)  a juvenile court judge;
	(B)  a member of a school district's board of
	trustees;
	(C)  an administrator of a public primary school;
	(D)  an administrator of a public secondary
	school;
	(E)  a member of the state parent-teacher
	association;
	(F)  a teacher from a public primary or secondary
	school;
	(G)  a public school superintendent who is a
	member of the Texas Association of School Administrators;
	(H)  a school district police officer or a peace
	officer whose primary duty consists of working in a public school;
	[and]
	(I)  an individual who has experience and
	expertise in information technology security;
	(J)  a school district employee whose primary duty
	consists of managing transportation logistics for a public school
	district;
	(K)  an architect with experience in school
	facility design; and
	(L)  two members of the public who are a parent or
	guardian of a public school student.
	(b)  Members of the board appointed under Subsection (a)(6)
	[(a)(7)] serve staggered two-year terms, with the terms of the
	members described by Subsections (a)(6)(A)-(F) [(a)(7)(A)-(E)]
	expiring on February 1 of each odd-numbered year and the terms of
	the members described by Subsections (a)(6)(G)-(L) [(a)(7)(F)-(I)]
	expiring on February 1 of each even-numbered year.  A member may
	serve more than one term.
	SECTION 5.  Section 37.205, Education Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	Sec. 37.205.  SAFETY TRAINING PROGRAMS. The center shall
	conduct for school districts a safety training program that
	includes:
	(1)  development of a positive school environment and
	proactive safety measures designed to address local concerns;
	(2)  school safety courses for law enforcement
	officials, with a focus on school district police officers and
	school resource officers;
	(3)  discussion of school safety issues with parents
	and community members; [and]
	(4)  assistance in developing a multihazard emergency
	operations plan for adoption under Section 37.108; and
	(5)  training in best practices for threat awareness,
	implementation of campus safety and security assessments, and
	cross-jurisdictional sharing of information.
	SECTION 6.  Section 421.901, Government Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	Sec. 421.901.  INTEROPERABILITY OF CRITICAL INFORMATION
	SYSTEMS. The office of the governor shall develop a plan for
	appropriate entities to use information systems that:
	(1)  employ underlying computer equipment and software
	required to establish interoperable communication between computer
	systems used by local, state, and federal agencies and first
	responders; [and]
	(2)  provide a single point of entry to disseminate
	information, applications, processes, and communications;
	(3)  provide threat awareness information that may
	affect campus security and student safety in the Texas-Mexico
	border region and is obtained through cross-jurisdictional sharing
	of information; and
	(4)  include school security information that may be
	obtained through school district incident reporting, school safety
	audits, and campus safety and security assessments.
	SECTION 7.  Sections 37.1081(c) and 37.1082, Education Code,
	are repealed.
	SECTION 8.  (a)  Not later than February 1, 2016, the
	governor shall appoint new members to the board of directors of the
	Texas School Safety Center as required by Sections
	37.203(a)(6)(I)-(K), Education Code, as added by this Act.
	(b)  Section 37.203, Education Code, as amended by this Act,
	does not affect the term of the member appointed under Section
	37.203(a)(6)(F), Education Code, as amended by this Act, and
	serving on the board immediately before the effective date of this
	Act. After the term of that member expires on February 1, 2016, the
	governor shall appoint a member who meets the requirements under
	Section 37.203(a)(6)(F), Education Code, as amended by this Act, to
	a term expiring February 1, 2017.
	(c)  Section 37.203, Education Code, as amended by this Act,
	does not affect the terms of the members appointed under Section
	37.203(a)(6)(L), Education Code, as amended by this Act, and
	serving on the board immediately before the effective date of this
	Act.  After the terms of those members expire, the governor shall
	appoint members who meet the requirements under Section
	37.203(a)(6)(L), Education Code, as amended by this Act.
	SECTION 9.  This Act applies beginning with the 2015-2016
	school year.
	SECTION 10.  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, 2015.