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, the official text

S.B. No. 57

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. 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

recommendations and guidelines established by the commissioner

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 2. Section 37.1086, Education Code, is amended to

read as follows:

Sec. 37.1086. RECOMMENDATIONS AND GUIDELINES FOR SCHOOL

DRILL ACCOMMODATIONS AND MULTIHAZARD EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLAN

PROVISIONS FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES OR IMPAIRMENTS. (a)

The commissioner by rule [agency] shall establish:

(1) recommendations 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) during a mandatory school drill required under Section 37.114;

and

(2) guidelines for:

(A) the documentation of accommodations for a

student described by Subdivision (1) in 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 mandatory

school drill required under Section 37.114 or a disaster or

emergency situation;

(B) required communications between campus

administrators and staff regarding the accommodations described by

Paragraph (A); and

(C) required communications between campus

administrators and the school district's school safety and security

committee established under Section 37.109 regarding students or

district personnel with disabilities or impairments for purposes of

providing recommendations for updating the district's multihazard

emergency operations plan required by Section 37.108(a).

(b) In establishing recommendations and guidelines under

Subsection (a), the commissioner 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 commissioner [agency] under Subsection (a)(2)

[(a)] in adopting and implementing the district's multihazard

emergency operations plan under Section 37.108.

SECTION 3. Sections 37.109(a-1), (b), (c), and (d),

Education Code, are amended to read as follows:

(a-1) The committee, to the greatest extent practicable,

must include:

(1) one or more representatives of an office of

emergency management of a county or city in which the district is

located;

(2) one or more representatives of the local police

department or sheriff's office;

(3) one or more representatives of the district's

police department, if applicable;

(4) the president of the district's board of trustees;

(5) a member of the district's board of trustees other

than the president;

(6) the district's superintendent;

(7) two [one] or more designees of the district's

superintendent, one of whom must be a classroom teacher in the

district and one of whom must be an administrator of special

education in the district;

(8) if the district partners with an open-enrollment

charter school to provide instruction to students, a member of the

open-enrollment charter school's governing body or a designee of

the governing body; and

(9) two parents or guardians of students enrolled in

the district.

(b) The committee shall:

(1) participate on behalf of the district in

developing and implementing emergency plans consistent with the

district multihazard emergency operations plan required by Section

37.108(a) to ensure that the plans reflect specific campus,

facility, or support services needs, including recommended

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);

(2) periodically provide recommendations to the

district's board of trustees and district administrators regarding

updating the district multihazard emergency operations plan

required by Section 37.108(a) in accordance with best practices

identified by the agency, the Texas School Safety Center, or a

person included in the registry established by the Texas School

Safety Center under Section 37.2091;

(3) provide the district with any campus, facility, or

support services information required in connection with a safety

and security audit required by Section 37.108(b), a safety and

security audit report required by Section 37.108(c), or another

report required to be submitted by the district to the Texas School

Safety Center;

(4) review each report required to be submitted by the

district to the Texas School Safety Center to ensure that the report

contains accurate and complete information regarding each campus,

facility, or support service in accordance with criteria

established by the center; and

(5) consult with local law enforcement agencies on

methods to increase law enforcement presence near district

campuses.

(c) Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, the

committee shall meet at least once during each academic semester

and at least once during the summer and as necessary to provide

recommendations, based on communications with campus

administrators described by Section 37.1086(a)(2)(C), for updating

the district multihazard emergency operations plan required by

Section 37.108(a) to include recommended 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). A committee established by a school district that operates

schools on a year-round system or in accordance with another

alternative schedule shall meet at least three times during each

calendar year, with an interval of at least two months between each

meeting.

(d) The committee is subject to Chapter 551, Government

Code. The committee shall meet in executive session when

discussing information regarding a student's individualized

education program or a plan created under Section 504,

Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794) for a student[,]

and may otherwise meet in executive session as provided by Chapter

551, Government Code [that chapter]. Notice of a committee meeting

must be posted in the same manner as notice of a meeting of the

district's board of trustees.

SECTION 4. As soon as practicable after the effective date

of this Act but not later than June 1, 2026, the commissioner of

education shall adopt rules establishing the recommendations and

guidelines required by Section 37.1086, Education Code, as amended

by this Act.

SECTION 5. 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.

______________________________
______________________________

President of the Senate
Speaker of the House

I hereby certify that S.B. No. 57 passed the Senate on

March 20, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 29, Nays 0; and that

the Senate concurred in House amendment on May 30, 2025, by the

following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.

______________________________

Secretary of the Senate

I hereby certify that S.B. No. 57 passed the House, with

amendment, on May 27, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 107,

Nays 31, two present not voting.

______________________________

Chief Clerk of the House

Approved:

______________________________

Date

______________________________

Governor