Bill Text: TX SB1398 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Relating to the placement and use of video cameras in certain self-contained classrooms or other settings providing special education services.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-1)
Status: (Passed) 2017-06-12 - Effective immediately [SB1398 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-SB1398-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Relating to the placement and use of video cameras in certain self-contained classrooms or other settings providing special education services.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-1)
Status: (Passed) 2017-06-12 - Effective immediately [SB1398 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-SB1398-Introduced.html
85R8528 MEW-D | ||
By: Lucio | S.B. No. 1398 |
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relating to the placement and use of video cameras in certain | ||
self-contained classrooms or other settings providing special | ||
education services. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Section 29.022, Education Code, is amended by | ||
amending Subsections (a), (b), (c), (d), (i), and (j) and adding | ||
Subsections (a-1), (a-2), (a-3), (c-1), (i-1), (l), and (m) to read | ||
as follows: | ||
(a) In order to promote student safety, on receipt of a | ||
written request authorized under Subsection (a-1) [ |
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charter school shall provide equipment, including a video camera, | ||
to the [ |
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charter school campus or campuses specified in the request [ |
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provided by this subsection shall place, operate, and maintain one | ||
or more video cameras in [ |
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a majority of the students in regular attendance are[ |
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services[ |
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classrooms [ |
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[ |
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provided that: | ||
(1) a school or campus that receives equipment as a | ||
result of the request by a parent or staff member is required to | ||
place equipment only in classrooms or settings in which the | ||
parent's child is in regular attendance or to which the staff member | ||
is assigned, as applicable; and | ||
(2) a school or campus that receives equipment as a | ||
result of the request by a board of trustees, governing body, | ||
principal, or assistant principal is required to place equipment | ||
only in classrooms or settings identified by the requestor, if the | ||
requestor limits the request to specific classrooms or settings | ||
subject to this subsection. | ||
(a-1) For purposes of Subsection (a): | ||
(1) a parent of a child who receives special education | ||
services in one or more self-contained classrooms or other special | ||
education settings may request in writing that equipment be | ||
provided to the school or campus at which the child receives those | ||
services; | ||
(2) a board of trustees or governing body may request | ||
in writing that equipment be provided to one or more specified | ||
schools or campuses at which one or more children receive special | ||
education services in self-contained classrooms or other special | ||
education settings; | ||
(3) the principal or assistant principal of a school | ||
or campus at which one or more children receive special education | ||
services in self-contained classrooms or other special education | ||
settings may request that equipment be provided to the principal's | ||
or assistant principal's school or campus; and | ||
(4) a staff member assigned to work with one or more | ||
children receiving special education services in self-contained | ||
classrooms or other special education settings may request in | ||
writing that equipment be provided to the school or campus at which | ||
the staff member works. | ||
(a-2) Each school district or open-enrollment charter | ||
school shall designate an administrator at the primary | ||
administrative office of the district or school with responsibility | ||
for coordinating the provision of equipment to schools and campuses | ||
in compliance with this section. | ||
(a-3) A written request must be submitted and acted on as | ||
follows: | ||
(1) a parent, staff member, or assistant principal | ||
must submit a request to the principal or the principal's designee | ||
of the school or campus addressed in the request, and the principal | ||
or designee must provide a copy of the request to the administrator | ||
designated under Subsection (a-2); | ||
(2) a principal must submit a request by the principal | ||
to the administrator designated under Subsection (a-2); and | ||
(3) a board of trustees or governing body must submit a | ||
request to the administrator designated under Subsection (a-2), and | ||
the administrator must provide a copy of the request to the | ||
principal or the principal's designee of the school or campus | ||
addressed in the request. | ||
(b) A school or campus that places a video camera in a | ||
classroom or other special education setting in accordance with | ||
Subsection (a) shall operate and maintain the camera in the | ||
classroom or setting, as long as the classroom or setting continues | ||
to satisfy the requirements under Subsection (a), for the remainder | ||
of the school year in which the school or campus received the | ||
request, unless the requestor withdraws the request in writing. At | ||
the end of each school year, the school or campus must notify the | ||
parents of each student in regular attendance in the classroom or | ||
setting that operation of the video camera will not continue during | ||
the following school year unless a person who is eligible to make a | ||
request for the next school year under Subsection (a-1) submits a | ||
new request. | ||
(c) Except as provided by Subsection (c-1), video [ |
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cameras placed under this section must be capable of: | ||
(1) covering all areas of the classroom or other | ||
special education setting, including a room attached to the | ||
classroom or setting used for time-out [ |
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(2) recording audio from all areas of the classroom or | ||
other special education setting, including a room attached to the | ||
classroom or setting used for time-out. | ||
(c-1) The inside of a bathroom or any area in the classroom | ||
or setting in which a student's clothes are changed may not be | ||
visually monitored, except for incidental coverage of a minor | ||
portion of a bathroom or changing area because of the layout of the | ||
classroom or setting. | ||
(d) Before a school or campus activates [ |
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camera in a classroom or other special education setting under this | ||
section, the school or campus shall provide written notice of the | ||
placement to all school or campus staff and to the parents of each | ||
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(i) A video recording of a student made according to this | ||
section is confidential and may not be released or viewed except as | ||
provided by this subsection or Subsection (i-1) or (j). A school | ||
district or open-enrollment charter school shall release a | ||
recording for viewing by: | ||
(1) an [ |
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is documented by the recording and [ |
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reported to the district or school, on request of the employee [ |
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(2) a parent or guardian of a student who is involved | ||
in an alleged incident that is documented by the recording and has | ||
been reported to the district or school, on request of the parent or | ||
guardian; | ||
(3) appropriate Department of Family and Protective | ||
Services personnel as part of an investigation under Section | ||
261.406, Family Code; | ||
(4) [ |
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or school administrator trained in de-escalation and restraint | ||
techniques as provided by commissioner rule, or a human resources | ||
staff member designated by the board of trustees of the school | ||
district or the governing body of the open-enrollment charter | ||
school in response to a report of an alleged incident [ |
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an investigation of district or school personnel or a report | ||
[ |
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(5) [ |
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Educator Certification personnel or agents as part of an | ||
investigation. | ||
(i-1) A contractor or employee performing job duties | ||
relating to the installation, operation, or maintenance of video | ||
equipment or the retention of video recordings who incidentally | ||
views a video recording is not in violation of Subsection (i). | ||
(j) If a person described by Subsection (i)(4) [ |
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(5) [ |
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documents a possible violation under Subchapter E, Chapter 261, | ||
Family Code, the person shall notify the Department of Family and | ||
Protective Services for investigation in accordance with Section | ||
261.406, Family Code. If any person described by Subsection (i)(3) | ||
[ |
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that the recording documents a possible violation of district | ||
policy or school procedures [ |
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to the recording to appropriate legal and human resources | ||
personnel. A recording believed to document a possible violation | ||
of district policy or school procedures [ |
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of a disciplinary action against district or school personnel and | ||
shall be released at the request of the student's parent or guardian | ||
in a legal proceeding. This subsection does not limit the access | ||
of a student's parent to a record regarding the student under the | ||
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. | ||
Section 1232g) or other law. | ||
(l) A district policy or school procedure relating to the | ||
placement, operation, or maintenance of video cameras under this | ||
section must: | ||
(1) include information on how a person may appeal an | ||
action by the district or school that the person believes to be in | ||
violation of this section, including the appeals process under | ||
Section 7.057; | ||
(2) require that a school district or open-enrollment | ||
charter school provide a response to a request made under this | ||
section not later than the seventh school day after receipt of the | ||
request by the person to whom it must be submitted under Subsection | ||
(a-3) that authorizes the request or states the reason for denying | ||
the request; and | ||
(3) require that a school or a campus begin operation | ||
of a video camera in compliance with this section not later than the | ||
45th calendar day after the request is authorized. | ||
(m) In this section: | ||
(1) "Staff member" means a teacher, related service | ||
provider, paraprofessional, counselor, or educational aide | ||
assigned to work in a self-contained classroom or other special | ||
education setting. | ||
(2) "Time-out" has the meaning assigned by Section | ||
37.0021. | ||
SECTION 2. 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, 2017. |