| (a) Definitions. The following words and terms, when
used in this section, shall have the following meanings.
(1) Actively monitored--supervised by an adult who
can visibly review visitors prior to entrance, who can take immediate
action to close and/or lock the door, and whose duties allow for sufficient
attention to monitoring.
(2) Exterior secured area--an area fully enclosed by
a fence and/or wall that:
(A) if enclosed by a fence or wall, utilizes a fence
or wall at least 6 feet high with design features that prevent it
from being easily scalable, such as stone, wrought iron, chain link
with slats or wind screen, or chain link topped with an anti-scaling
device, or utilizes a fence or wall at least 8 feet high;
(B) is well maintained; and
(C) if gated, features locked gates with emergency
egress hardware and has features to prevent opening from the exterior
without a key or combination mechanism.
(3) Instructional facility--this term has the meaning
assigned in Texas Education Code (TEC), §46.001, and includes
any real property, an improvement to real property, or a necessary
fixture of an improvement to real property that is used predominantly
for teaching curriculum under TEC, §28.002. For purposes of this
section, an instructional facility does not include real property,
improvements to real property, or necessary fixtures of an improvement
to real property that are part of a federal, state, or private correctional
facility or facility of an institution of higher education, medical
provider, or other provider of professional or social services over
which a school system has no control.
(4) Modular, portable building--
(A) an industrialized building as defined by Texas
Occupations Code (TOC), §1202.002 and §1202.003;
(B) any relocatable educational facility as defined
by TOC, §1202.004, regardless of the location of construction
of the facility; or
(C) any other manufactured or site-built building that
is capable of being relocated and is used as a school facility.
(5) Primary entrance--
(A) the main entrance to an instructional facility
that is closest to or directly connected to the reception area; or
(B) any exterior door the school system intends to
allow visitors to use to enter the facility during school hours either
through policy or practice.
(6) School system--a public independent school district
or public open-enrollment charter school.
(7) Secure vestibule--a secured space with two or more
sets of doors and an office sign-in area where all but the exterior
doors shall:
(A) remain closed, latched, and locked;
(B) comply with subsection (c)(3)(B) of this section;
and
(C) only open once the visitor has been visually verified.
(b) The provisions of this section apply to all school
instructional facilities owned, operated, or leased by a school system,
regardless of the date of construction or date of lease. The provisions
of this section ensure that all school system instructional facilities
have access points that are:
(1) secured by design;
(2) maintained to operate as intended; and
(3) appropriately monitored.
(c) A school system shall implement the following safety
and security standards compliance requirements to all school instructional
facilities owned, operated, or leased by the school system.
(1) All instructional facilities campus-wide, including
modular, portable buildings, must include the addition of graphically
represented alpha-numerical characters on both the interior and exterior
of each exterior door location. The characters may be installed on
the door, or on at least one door at locations where more than one
door leads from the exterior to the same room inside the facility,
or on the wall immediately adjacent to or above the door location.
Characters shall comply with the International Fire Code, §505.
The primary entrance of an instructional facility shall always be
the first in the entire sequence and is the only door location that
does not require numbering. The numbering sequence shall be clockwise
and may be sequenced for the entire campus or for each facility individually.
The door-numbering process must comply with any and all accessibility
requirements related to signage.
(2) Unless a secure vestibule is present, a primary
entrance shall:
(A) meet all standards for exterior doors;
(B) include a means to allow an individual located
within the building to visually identify an individual seeking to
enter the primary entrance when the entrance is closed and locked,
including, but not limited to, windows, camera systems, and/or intercoms;
(C) feature a physical barrier that prevents unassisted
access to the facility by a visitor; and
(D) feature a location for a visitor check-in and check-out
process.
(3) All exterior doors shall:
(A) be, by default, set to a closed, latched, and locked
status, except that:
(i) a door may be unlocked if it is actively monitored
or within an exterior secured area; and
(ii) for the purposes of ventilation, a school system
may designate in writing as part of its multi-hazard emergency operations
plan under TEC, §37.108, specific exterior doors that are allowed
to remain open for specified periods of time if explicitly authorized
by the school safety and security committee established by TEC, §37.109,
when a quorum of members are present, and only if it is actively monitored
or within an exterior secured area;
(B) be constructed, both for the door and door frame
and their components, of materials and in a manner that make them
resistant to entry by intruders. Unless inside an exterior secured
area, doors constructed of glass or containing glass shall be constructed
or modified such that the glass cannot be easily broken and allow
an intruder to open or otherwise enter through the door (for example,
using forced entry-resistant film);
(C) include:
(i) a mechanism that fully closes and engages locking
hardware automatically after entry or egress without manual intervention,
regardless of air pressure within or outside of the facility; and
(ii) a mechanism that allows the door to be opened
from the inside when locked to allow for emergency egress while remaining
locked; and
(D) if keyed for re-entry, be capable of being unlocked
with a single (or a small set of) master key(s), whether physical
key, punch code, or key-fob or similar electronic device.
(4) Except when inside an exterior secured area, classrooms
with exterior entry doors shall include a means to allow an individual
located in the classroom to visually identify an individual seeking
to enter the classroom when the door is closed and locked, including,
but not limited to, windows, camera systems, and/or intercoms.
(5) Except when inside an exterior secured area, all
windows that are adjacent to an exterior door and that are of a size
and position that, if broken, would easily permit an individual to
reach in and open the door from the inside shall be constructed or
modified such that the glass cannot be easily broken.
(6) Except when inside an exterior secured area, all
ground-level windows near exterior doors that are of a size and position
that permits entry from the exterior if broken shall be constructed
or modified such that the glass cannot be easily broken and allow
an intruder to enter through the window frame (for example, using
forced entry-resistant film).
(7) If designed to be opened, all ground-level windows
shall have functional locking mechanisms that allow for the windows
to be locked from the inside and, if large enough for an individual
to enter when opened or if adjacent to a door, be closed and locked
when staff are not present.
(8) Roof access doors should default to a locked, latched,
and closed position when not actively in use and be lockable from
the interior.
(9) All facilities must:
(A) include one or more distinctive, exterior secure
master key box(es) designed to permit emergency access to both law
enforcement agencies and emergency responder agencies from the exterior
(for example, a Knox box) at a location designated by the local authorities
with applicable jurisdiction; or
(B) provide all local law enforcement electronic or
physical master key access to the building(s).
(10) A communications infrastructure shall be implemented
that must:
(A) ensure equipment is in place such that law enforcement
and emergency responder two-way radios can function within most portions
of the building(s); and
(B) include a panic alert button, duress, or equivalent
alarm system, via standalone hardware, software, or integrated into
other telecommunications devices or online applications, that includes
the following functionality.
(i) An alert must be capable of being triggered by
campus staff, including temporary or substitute staff, from an integrated
or enabled device.
(ii) An alert must be triggered automatically in the
event a district employee makes a 9-1-1 call using the hardware or
integrated telecommunications devices described in this subparagraph
from any location within the school system.
(iii) With any alert generated, the location of where
the alert originated shall be included.
(iv) The alert must notify a set of designated school
administrators as needed to provide confirmation of response, and,
if confirmed, notice must be issued to the 9-1-1 center of an emergency
situation requiring a law enforcement and/or emergency response and
must include the location of where the alert originated. A notice
can simultaneously be issued to all school staff of the need to follow
appropriate emergency procedures.
(v) For any exterior doors that feature electronic
locking mechanisms that allow for remote locking, the alert system
will trigger those doors to automatically lock.
(11) In implementing the requirements of this section,
school systems shall comply with state and federal Kari's Laws and
federal RAY BAUM's Act and corresponding rules and regulations pertaining
to 9-1-1 service for school telephone systems, including a multi-line
telephone system.
(d) Certain operating requirements. A school system
shall implement the following.
(1) Access control. The board of trustees or the governing
board shall adopt a policy requiring the following continued auditing
of building access:
(A) conduct at least weekly inspections during school
hours of all exterior doors of all instructional facilities to certify
that all doors are, by default, set to a closed, latched, and locked
status and cannot be opened from the outside without a key as required
in subsection (c)(3)(A) of this section;
(B) report the findings of weekly inspections required
by subparagraph (A) of this paragraph to the school system's safety
and security committee as required by TEC, §37.109, and ensure
the results are kept for review as part of the safety and security
audit as required by TEC, §37.108;
(C) report the findings of weekly inspections required
by subparagraph (A) of this paragraph to the principal or leader of
the instructional facility to ensure awareness of any deficiencies
identified and who must take action to reduce the likelihood of similar
deficiencies in the future; and
(D) include a provision in the school system's applicable
policy stating that nothing in a school system's access control procedures
will be interpreted as discouraging parents, once properly verified
as authorized campus visitors, from visiting campuses they are authorized
to visit.
(2) Exterior and interior door numbering site plan.
(A) A school system must develop and maintain an accurate
site layout and exterior and interior door designation document for
each instructional facility school system-wide that identifies all
exterior and interior doors in the instructional facility and depicts
all exterior doors on a floor plan with an alpha-numeric designation,
in accordance with the door numbering specifications established in
subsection (c)(1) of this section.
(B) Copies of exterior and interior door numbering
site plans shall be readily available in each campus main office.
(C) Electronic copies of exterior and interior door
numbering site plans shall be supplied to the local 9-1-1 administrative
entity so that the site plans can be made available to emergency responders
by 9-1-1 dispatchers.
(D) The site layout and exterior and interior door
designation document should be oriented in a manner that depicts true
north.
(3) Maintenance.
(A) A school system shall perform at least twice-yearly
maintenance checks to ensure the facility components required in subsection
(c) of this section function as required. At a minimum, maintenance
checks shall ensure the following:
(i) instructional facility exterior doors function
properly, including meeting the requirements in subsection (c)(3)(A)
and (C) of this section;
(ii) the locking mechanism for any ground-level windows
that can be opened function properly;
Cont'd... |
