This plank in your Educator’s Bill of Rights states that “safety is a prerequisite for learning.” If our educators and students do not feel secure in their classrooms, then teaching and learning cannot take place effectively. But safety means much more than bulletproof glass and metal detectors. School safety is about reasonable class sizes, clean classrooms, and access to mental health resources, as well as transparency and communication. The 89th Legislature left much to be desired in policy that will keep our campuses safer so our schools can thrive.
A Look Back
In the lead up to the 89th session, a refrain from across Texas districts was the need for additional funds to faithfully implement all that was asked of them in House Bill (HB) 3 (88R). This was the comprehensive school safety package passed in 2023 that contained multiple facilities hardening requirements, including the requirement to place an armed guard on every school campus. Senate Bill (SB) 260 by Sen. Joan Huffman attempted to close this funding gap by doubling the per-student and per-campus allotment, costing about $500 million over the next biennium. However, the appropriation did not fully align with the legislation, and we will be monitoring where the shortfalls persist in district budgets. Even if SB 260 were fully funded, HB 3 continues to be an underfunded mandate.
HB 121 by Rep. Ken King, meanwhile, was the “clean-up” bill that fixed some policy holes related to transparency and students with disabilities, but there is concern that the bill gives more authority to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) over local school safety matters.
Community Safety
Our latest annual polling among our members shows overwhelming concern about the prevalence of gun violence in schools with 82.4% of K-12 employees saying they are concerned by the possibility of gun violence at their campus, along with 81.1% of higher education employees. The response from the Legislature was to pass SB 870 by Sen. Brian Birdwell, which allows school marshals at public school districts, open-enrollment charter schools, private schools, and public junior colleges to openly carry a handgun while in uniform and clearly identified as a school marshal. Previously, marshals were limited to concealed handguns.
What Did (and Didn’t) Pass Regarding Healthy and Safe Schools
Hotline readers know just how much other legislation got wrapped into the final version of HB 2 by Rep. Brad Buckley. Among the bills pulled into that text was SB 27 by Sen. Brandon Creighton, which contained a requirement that a teacher be notified when there is a credible threat that may impact a teacher. SB 27/HB 2 also mirrors revised teacher removal language in HB 6 by Rep. Jeff Leach, which lowers the threshold for a student to be removed for disruptive or unruly behavior.
While we support the need for a teacher to maintain order in their classroom (and abuse or bullying should never be tolerated), there is reason to be concerned that this bill will have a disproportionately negative impact on Black and brown students and students with disabilities.
Further, removing students and placing them in a disciplinary setting may not address the root cause of the behavior, unlike other bills that did not pass.
- HB 5306 by Rep. James Talarico would have created a mental health allotment to fund a comprehensive mental health system on school campuses; it never received a hearing.
- HB 1122 by Rep. Janie Lopez would have gradually amended the required student to counselor ratios on campus; it was left pending in committee.
The 89th Legislature did take some additional positive steps regarding healthy and safe environments, though:
- SB 207 by Sen. Angela Paxton allows for an excused absence for students for mental health appointments.
- SB 546 by Sen. José Menéndez creates research and reporting requirements regarding school bus seat belts and sets the stage for future legislative requirements and appropriations.
- SB 865 by Sen. Carol Alvarado expands the list of campus employees required to complete cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training and establishes requirements for a cardiac emergency response plan.
There were several other bills championed by Texas AFT that did not pass that would have made seemingly small but tangible differences in our classrooms and for our teachers and students. Though these issues are not on the legislative call for the special session, we hope that leadership will see fit to study these critical needs during the interim and consider more appropriate legislation next session.