Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
(a) The following words and terms, when used
in this subchapter, have the following meanings.
(1) Child abuse or neglect--The definition of
child abuse or neglect includes the trafficking of a child in accordance with
Texas Education Code (TEC), §38.004.
(2) Other maltreatment--This term has the
meaning assigned by Human Resources Code, §
42.002.
(3) Trafficking of a child--This term has the
meaning assigned by Texas Penal Code, §
20A.02(a)(5),
(6), (7), or (8).
(b) The board of trustees of a school
district or governing body of an open-enrollment charter school shall adopt and
annually review policies for reporting child abuse and neglect. The policies
shall follow the requirements outlined in Texas Family Code, Chapter 261.
(1) The policies must require that every
school employee, agent, or contractor who suspects a child's physical or mental
health or welfare has been adversely affected by abuse or neglect submit a
written or oral report to at least one of the following authorities within 48
hours or less, as determined by the board of trustees, after learning of facts
giving rise to the suspicion:
(A) a local or
state law enforcement agency;
(B)
the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, Child Protective
Services Division;
(C) a local
office of Child Protective Services, where available; or
(D) the state agency that operates, licenses,
certifies, or registers the facility in which the alleged child abuse or
neglect occurred.
(2)
The policies must require a report to the Texas Department of Family and
Protective Services if the alleged abuse or neglect involves a person
responsible for the care, custody, or welfare of the child and must notify
school personnel of the following:
(A)
penalties under Texas Penal Code, §
39.06;
Texas Family Code, §
261.109;
and Chapter 249 of this title (relating to Disciplinary Proceedings, Sanctions,
and Contested Cases) for failure to submit a required report of child abuse or
neglect;
(B) applicable
prohibitions against interference with an investigation of a report of child
abuse or neglect, including the following:
(i) Texas Family Code, §
261.302
and §
261.303,
prohibiting school officials from denying an investigator's request to
interview a student at school; and
(ii) Texas Family Code, §
261.302,
prohibiting school officials from requiring the presence of a parent or school
administrator during an interview by an investigator;
(C) immunity provisions applicable to a
person who reports child abuse or neglect or otherwise assists an investigation
in good faith;
(D) confidentiality
provisions relating to reports of suspected child abuse or neglect;
(E) any disciplinary action that may result
from noncompliance with the district's reporting policy; and
(F) the prohibition under TEC, §
26.0091,
against using or threatening to use the refusal to consent to administration of
a psychotropic drug to a child or to any other psychiatric or psychological
testing or treatment of a child as the sole basis for making a report of
neglect, except as authorized by TEC, §
26.0091.
(3) Each school district and
open-enrollment charter school shall adopt and implement a policy addressing
sexual abuse, trafficking, and other maltreatment of children. The policy must
be included in any informational handbook provided to students and parents and
must address the following:
(A) methods for
increasing staff, student, and parent awareness of issues regarding sexual
abuse, trafficking, and other forms of maltreatment of children, including
prevention techniques and knowledge of likely warning signs indicating that a
child may be a victim;
(B) actions
a child who is a victim of sexual abuse, trafficking, or other maltreatment
should take to obtain assistance and intervention; and
(C) available counseling options for students
affected by sexual abuse, trafficking, or other maltreatment.
(4) The policies must be
consistent with Texas Family Code, Chapter 261, and 40 TAC Chapter 700
(relating to Child Protective Services) regarding investigations by the Texas
Department of Family and Protective Services, including regulations governing
investigation of abuse by school personnel and volunteers.
(5) The policies may not require that school
personnel report suspicions of child abuse or neglect to a school administrator
prior to making a report to one of the agencies identified in paragraph (1) of
this subsection.
(6) The policies
must include the current toll-free telephone number of the Texas Department of
Family and Protective Services.
(7)
The policies must provide for cooperation with law enforcement child abuse
investigations without the consent of the child's parent, if necessary,
including investigations by the Texas Department of Family and Protective
Services.
(8) The policies must
include child abuse anti-victimization programs in elementary and secondary
schools consisting of age-appropriate, research-based prevention designed to
promote self-protection and prevent sexual abuse and trafficking.
(c) The policies required by this
section and adopted by the board of trustees shall be distributed to all school
personnel at the beginning of each school year. The policies shall be addressed
in staff development programs at regular intervals determined by the board of
trustees.
(d) Training concerning
prevention techniques for, and recognition of, sexual abuse, trafficking, and
all other maltreatment of children, including the sexual abuse, trafficking,
and other maltreatment of children with significant cognitive disabilities,
must be provided as a part of new employee orientation to all new school
district and open-enrollment charter school employees and to existing school
district and open-enrollment charter school employees not previously trained as
required by TEC, §
38.0041.
(1) The training must include:
(A) factors indicating a child is at risk for
sexual abuse, trafficking, or other maltreatment;
(B) warning signs indicating a child may be a
victim of sexual abuse, trafficking, or other maltreatment;
(C) internal procedures for seeking
assistance for a child who is at risk for sexual abuse, trafficking, or other
maltreatment, including referral to a school counselor, a social worker, or
another mental health professional;
(D) techniques for reducing a child's risk
for sexual abuse, trafficking, or other maltreatment; and
(E) information on community organizations
that have relevant research-based programs that are able to provide training or
other education for school district or open-enrollment charter school staff,
students, and parents.
(2) Each school district and open-enrollment
charter school must maintain records that include the name of each staff member
who participated in training.
(3)
To the extent that resources are not yet available from the Texas Education
Agency or commissioner of education, school district and open-enrollment
charter schools shall implement the policies and trainings with existing or
publicly available resources. The school district or open-enrollment charter
school may also work in conjunction with a community organization to provide
the training at no cost to the district or charter school.
(e) Using a format and language that is
clear, simple, and understandable to students, each public school and
open-enrollment charter school shall post, in English and in Spanish:
(1) the current toll-free Texas Department of
Family and Protective Services Abuse Hotline telephone number;
(2) instructions to call 911 for emergencies;
and
(3) directions for accessing
the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services website (
www.txabusehotline.org) for more
information on reporting abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
(f) School districts and open-enrollment
charter schools shall post the information specified in subsection (e) of this
section at each school campus in at least one high-traffic, highly and clearly
visible public area that is readily accessible to and widely used by students.
The information must be on a poster (11x17 inches or larger) in large print and
placed at eye-level to the student for easy viewing. Additionally, the current
toll-free Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Abuse Hotline
telephone number should be in bold print.
