Bill Text: MS HB490 | 2020 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: School Safety Law for Children with Disabilities; enact to require public schools and charter schools to install cameras and door alarms.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2020-03-03 - Died In Committee [HB490 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2020-HB490-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2020 Regular Session
To: Education; Appropriations
By: Representative Bell (65th)
House Bill 490
AN ACT TO REQUIRE EACH LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICT AND CHARTER SCHOOL, IN CONSULTATION WITH THE LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY IN THE JURISDICTION IN WHICH THE SCHOOL OR CHARTER SCHOOL IS LOCATED, TO INSTALL SECURITY CAMERAS AND DOOR ALARMS IN THEIR SCHOOL FACILITIES; TO REQUIRE SUCH SCHOOLS TO EVALUATE AND SET PRIORITIES FOR THE INSTALLATION OF THE SECURITY CAMERAS AND DOOR ALARMS BY THE END OF THE 2024-2025 SCHOOL YEAR; TO REQUIRE EACH LOCAL SCHOOL BOARD AND CHARTER SCHOOL GOVERNING BOARDS TO SUBMIT REPORTS TO THE LOCAL GOVERNING AUTHORITY REGARDING TRAINING ON STUDENT SAFETY PROTOCOLS FOR SCHOOL PERSONNEL, BEGINNING WITH THE 2024-2025 SCHOOL YEAR, AND ANNUALLY THEREAFTER; TO REQUIRE THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY TO ADMINISTER A GRANT PROGRAM TO AWARD PARTNERING LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES AND PUBLIC SCHOOLS OR CHARTER SCHOOLS WITH FINANCIAL GRANTS UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF "KEVIN AND AVONTE'S LAW OF 2018" FOR THE PURPOSE OF REDUCING THE RISK OF INJURY AND DEATH RELATING TO THE WANDERING CHARACTERISTICS OF SOME INDIVIDUALS WITH AUTISM AND OTHER DISABILITIES AND SAFEGUARDING THE WELL-BEING OF INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES DURING INTERACTIONS WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT; TO STIPULATE THE PROCESS OF THE APPLICATION FOR AND RECEIPT OF SUCH GRANTS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. (1) (a) Each local school district and charter school, in consultation with the State Department of Education and local law enforcement agency in the jurisdiction in which the school district or charter school is located, shall install security cameras and door alarms at public schools and charter schools subject to the rules and regulations of the State Board of Education and the Charter School Authorizer Board, where the superintendent or charter school governing board, in consultation with the local law enforcement agency, deems such cameras and door alarms appropriate for safety purposes. The cameras may be placed at the entrance and exit doors of each school and may be placed in any area of the school where individuals do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy. The number, type, placement and location of such cameras within each school shall be at the discretion of the State Department of Education, in consultation with the principal of each school or administrative director of each charter school and the local law enforcement agency.
(b) Door alarms may be placed at the discretion of the superintendent of education or charter school administrative director, in consultation with the local law enforcement agency, at the exterior doors of school buildings under the jurisdiction of the respective educational entities, including buildings serving students in pre-kindergarten through Grade 12, and any facility under the educational providers jurisdictions that offer educational, vocational and behavioral instruction or support programs for students with disabilities from age three (3) to twenty-one (21) years of age. The alarms should provide an audible alert indicating an unauthorized departure from the school building.
(2) (a) Each local school district and charter school, in consultation with the State Department of Education and local law enforcement agency in the jurisdiction in which the school district or charter school is located, shall set the priorities for installation of cameras as set forth in subsection (1)(a) of this section to include, among other appropriate factors, consideration of the level of violence in schools, as determined by the local law enforcement agency and the superintendent of education or charter school administrative director. By the end of the 2024-2025 school year, the potential installation of cameras shall have been reviewed for all schools subject to the rules and regulations of the State Board of Education or the Charter School Authorizer Board. At the end of the 2024-2025 school year, the local school board and charter school governing board shall submit reports to the local governing authority indicating, for each school under its jurisdiction, the findings of the review and the reasons for the findings contained therein.
(b) Each local school district and charter school, in consultation with the State Department of Education and the local law enforcement agency in the jurisdiction in which the school district or charter school is located, shall evaluate and set priorities for the installation of door alarms, as set forth in subsection (1)(b) of this section by the end of the 2024-2025 school year, the local school district or charter school shall complete an evaluation for all schools under its jurisdiction, including buildings serving students in pre-kindergarten through Grade 12, and any facility under the educational providers jurisdictions that offer educational, vocational and behavioral instruction or support programs for students with disabilities from age three (3) to twenty-one (21) years of age. By the end of the 2024-2025 school year, the local school board and charter school governing boards shall submit reports to the local governing authority that describe the results of the evaluation conducted pursuant to this subsection, including, but not limited to, a list of the school buildings where the installation of door alarms has been deemed to be an appropriate safety measure and a timeline for such installation.
(3) Beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, and annually thereafter, each local school board and charter school governing boards shall submit reports to the local governing authority regarding training on student safety protocols for school personnel. The report shall include, but need not be limited to: (a) General details on the type and scope of the training administered;
(b) The intended audience for each training; and
(c) Whether such training was mandatory for certain personnel.
SECTION 2. (1) The Mississippi Department of Public Safety shall administer a grant program to award partnering law enforcement agencies and public schools or charter schools with financial grants under the provisions of Kevin and Avonte's Law of 2018, for the purposes of:
(a) Reducing the risk of injury and death relating to the wandering characteristics of some individuals with autism and other disabilities; and
(b) Safeguarding the well-being of individuals with disabilities during interactions with law enforcement.
(2) A grant awarded under this section shall be:
(a) Distributed directly to a law enforcement agency provided that such law enforcement agency has consulted with a local school district or charter school board for the installations of such safety devices as required under Section 1 of this act; and
(b) Used to:
(i) Provide education and resources to law enforcement agencies, first responders, schools, clinicians and the public in order to:
1. Reduce the risk of wandering by individuals with autism or other disabilities;
2. Help to identify signs of abuse in individuals with autism or other disabilities;
3. Increase personal safety and survival skills for individuals with autism or other disabilities; and
4. Facilitate effective communication with individuals who have communication-related disabilities, including the use of assistive communication techniques and technology;
(ii) Provide training and emergency protocols for school administrators, staff, and families;
(iii) Provide response tools and training for law enforcement and search-and-rescue agencies, including:
1. Tracking technology;
2. Reverse 911 technology;
3. Assistive communication technology;
4. Endangered Missing Advisories; and
5. Federal search-and-rescue guidelines for special needs children; or
(iv) Provide response tools and training to law enforcement agencies in order to recognize and respond to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
(3) The Department of Public Safety, in consultation with the State Department of Education and the Division of Child Protection Services shall establish standards and best practices relating to the use of tracking technology to monitor children with autism and other disabilities. In establishing the standards and best practices required, the Department of Public Safety:
(a) Shall determine the criteria used to determine which individuals would benefit from the use of a tracking device; and
(b) Shall determine who should have direct access to the tracking system; and
(c) May establish standards and best practices the department determines are necessary to the administration of a tracking system, including procedures in order to:
(i) Safeguard the privacy of the data used by the tracking device such that:
1. Access to the data is restricted to agencies determined necessary by the Attorney General; and
2. Use of the data is solely for the purpose of preventing injury or death;
(ii) Develop criteria to determine whether use of the tracking device is the least restrictive alternative in order to prevent risk of injury or death prior to issuing the tracking device, including the previous consideration of less restrictive alternatives;
(iii) Provide training for law enforcement agencies to recognize signs of abuse in their interactions with applicants;
(iv) Protecting the civil rights and liberties of children with disabilities who use tracking devices, including their rights under the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States;
(v) Establish a complaint and investigation process to address:
1. Incidents of noncompliance by grant recipients with the best practices established by the department or other applicable law; and
2. Use of a tracking device over the objection of a child with a disability; and
(vi) The role which state agencies responsible for providing services to children with developmental disabilities and state agencies responsible for child protective services should have in the administration of a tracking system.
(4) (a) Each law enforcement agency and school district or charter school that receives a grant under this section shall comply with any standards and best practices relating to the use of tracking devices as established by the Department of Public Safety under subsection (3) of this section, in consultation with the State Department of Education, the Division of Child Protection Services and leading research, advocacy, self-advocacy and service organizations.
(b) The Department of Public Safety, in consultation with the State Department of Education and the Division of Child Protection Services, shall determine whether a law enforcement agency that receives a grant under this section acts in compliance with the requirement described in subsection (3) of this section.
(5) The standards and best practices established by the Department of Public Safety under subsection (3) of this section shall apply only to the grant program authorized under this section.
SECTION 3. To request a grant under Section 2 of this act, the chief officer of a law enforcement agency shall submit an application to the Department of Public Safety in such form and containing such information as the department may reasonably require, as such information is required of the department by the Attorney General of the United States in its allocation of grant funds for such purposes.
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.
