Bill Text: TX HB312 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to training for peace officers regarding implicit bias.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-02-25 - Referred to Homeland Security & Public Safety [HB312 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-HB312-Introduced.html
87R355 JCG-F | ||
By: Collier | H.B. No. 312 |
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relating to training for peace officers regarding implicit bias. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Section 1701.253, Occupations Code, is amended | ||
by adding Subsection (q) to read as follows: | ||
(q) As part of the minimum curriculum requirements, the | ||
commission shall require an officer to complete the training | ||
program on implicit bias developed under Section 1701.269. An | ||
officer shall complete the program not later than the second | ||
anniversary of the date the officer is licensed under this chapter | ||
unless the officer completes the program as part of the officer's | ||
basic training course. | ||
SECTION 2. Subchapter F, Chapter 1701, Occupations Code, is | ||
amended by adding Section 1701.269 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 1701.269. IMPLICIT BIAS TRAINING PROGRAM. (a) In this | ||
section: | ||
(1) "Board" means the State Board of Education. | ||
(2) "Implicit bias" means bias in an individual's | ||
thoughts and feelings about social groups that: | ||
(A) can influence the individual's perceptions, | ||
decisions, and actions; and | ||
(B) often operate outside the individual's | ||
conscious awareness and without intent. | ||
(b) The commission and the board shall: | ||
(1) collaborate to develop a training program on | ||
recognizing and addressing implicit bias and testing materials for | ||
the program; and | ||
(2) enter into a memorandum of understanding that | ||
establishes each agency's respective responsibilities in | ||
developing the training program and testing materials. | ||
(c) The training program must: | ||
(1) consist of at least four hours of classroom | ||
instruction; | ||
(2) critically examine common stereotypes and | ||
cultural assumptions often held by communities and the officers who | ||
serve those communities; | ||
(3) examine a training program participant's | ||
perception of other individuals, other individuals' perception of | ||
the participant, and the impact those perceptions have on officer | ||
effectiveness and safety; | ||
(4) facilitate the observation and exploration of | ||
cultural differences to increase a participant's: | ||
(A) awareness of the effect cultural differences | ||
have on attitudes and behaviors; and | ||
(B) appreciation for the commonalities that | ||
exist across diverse cultures; | ||
(5) examine the direct effect diversity skills have on | ||
law enforcement activities, including hate crime investigations; | ||
and | ||
(6) teach usable skills for serving a diverse | ||
community. | ||
(d) In developing the training program, the commission and | ||
the board may consult with any interested party, including a | ||
volunteer work group convened to make recommendations regarding the | ||
training program. | ||
(e) The commission and the board shall provide a reasonable | ||
period for public comment before finalizing the training program. | ||
SECTION 3. Section 1701.352(b), Occupations Code, is | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
(b) The commission shall require a state, county, special | ||
district, or municipal agency that appoints or employs peace | ||
officers to provide each peace officer with a training program at | ||
least once every 48 months that is approved by the commission and | ||
consists of: | ||
(1) topics selected by the agency; and | ||
(2) for an officer holding only a basic proficiency | ||
certificate, not more than 20 hours of education and training that | ||
contain curricula incorporating the learning objectives developed | ||
by the commission regarding: | ||
(A) civil rights, racial sensitivity, and | ||
cultural diversity; | ||
(B) de-escalation and crisis intervention | ||
techniques to facilitate interaction with persons with mental | ||
impairments; | ||
(C) de-escalation techniques to facilitate | ||
interaction with members of the public, including techniques: | ||
(i) for limiting the use of force resulting | ||
in bodily injury; and | ||
(ii) to recognize and address implicit bias | ||
as defined by Section 1701.269; and | ||
(D) unless determined by the agency head to be | ||
inconsistent with the officer's assigned duties: | ||
(i) the recognition, documentation, and | ||
investigation of cases that involve child abuse or neglect, family | ||
violence, and sexual assault, including the use of best practices | ||
and trauma-informed techniques to effectively recognize, document, | ||
and investigate those cases; and | ||
(ii) issues concerning sex offender | ||
characteristics. | ||
SECTION 4. As soon as practicable after the effective date | ||
of this Act: | ||
(1) the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement and the | ||
State Board of Education shall enter into the memorandum of | ||
understanding required by Section 1701.269(b), Occupations Code, | ||
as added by this Act; and | ||
(2) the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement shall | ||
adopt the rules necessary to implement Section 1701.253(q), | ||
Occupations Code, as added by this Act, and Section 1701.352(b), | ||
Occupations Code, as amended by this Act. | ||
SECTION 5. Not later than January 1, 2022, the Texas | ||
Commission on Law Enforcement and the Texas State Board of | ||
Education shall develop the training program and testing materials | ||
required by Section 1701.269, Occupations Code, as added by this | ||
Act. | ||
SECTION 6. Section 1701.253(q), Occupations Code, as added | ||
by this Act, applies only to a person who submits an application for | ||
a peace officer license under Chapter 1701, Occupations Code, on or | ||
after January 1, 2022. A person who submits an application for a | ||
peace officer license under Chapter 1701, Occupations Code, before | ||
January 1, 2022, is governed by the law in effect immediately before | ||
the effective date of this Act, and the former law is continued in | ||
effect for that purpose. | ||
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |