| (a) In accordance with Texas Education Code (TEC), §37.1083
and §37.115, each school district and open-enrollment charter
school shall submit information requested by the Texas Education Agency
(TEA) in their efforts to monitor the implementation and operation
of school district safety and security requirements. TEA may review
school district records as necessary to ensure compliance with this
section and TEC, Chapter 37, Subchapters D and G.
(b) The following words and terms, when used in this
section, have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates
otherwise.
(1) Discipline record--a student's cumulative record
of formal disciplinary actions reported through the Public Education
Information Management System from the date that the student was first
enrolled in a public school and that the local education agency has
retained in accordance with the records retention policy.
(2) School system--a term that has the meaning assigned
by §61.1031(a)(6) of this title (relating to School Safety Requirements).
(3) Sentinel--TEA's formal school safety system designed
to collect, process, store, and distribute school safety and security
information.
(c) Sentinel serves as a repository for all safety
and security-related data submitted to TEA by school districts, open-enrollment
charter schools, campuses, and other entities.
(d) Any document or information collected, identified,
developed, or produced relating to the monitoring of school district
safety and security requirements under this section is confidential
under Texas Government Code, §418.177 and §418.181, and
not subject to disclosure under Texas Government Code, Chapter 552.
(e) Each school system shall report the following information
through Sentinel.
(1) Behavioral Threat Assessments (BTAs).
(A) Effective August 1, 2025, when conducting a BTA
under TEC, §37.115, members of a threat assessment team shall
utilize the threat assessment instrument, manual, and field guide
in Sentinel, which are consistent with the model policies published
by the Texas School Safety Center (TxSSC).
(B) Effective August 1, 2025, school systems shall
utilize Sentinel to securely transfer under TEC, §25.036, any
threat assessment conducted on a student to a receiving school system
when a student transfers to a new school district. All BTAs for a
student are subject to the transfer requirement. Any BTAs conducted
prior to August 1, 2025, that are associated with a student transfer
shall be uploaded into Sentinel in a manner determined by TEA.
(2) District Vulnerability Assessments (DVAs).
(A) In accordance with TEC, §37.1083, the TEA
Office of School Safety and Security will monitor the implementation
of requirements related to school safety and security, to include
conducting detailed vulnerability assessments.
(B) Any documentation requested by TEA for a DVA must
be uploaded to Sentinel.
(3) Emergency management.
(A) On or before June 30th of each year, all school
systems shall input their upcoming school year calendar into Sentinel.
Any changes to the school year calendar shall be updated in Sentinel
within three business days after approval by district leadership.
(B) On or before June 30th of each year, school systems
must verify that all district facilities listed in Sentinel reflect
the correct address and campus emergency contact information.
(C) If a school system closes for a localized emergency,
closure information must be immediately recorded in Sentinel.
(D) All school systems shall submit information related
to events requiring an emergency response, including the discovery
of a firearm on a campus in accordance with TEC, §37.1083(h)(1),
in the Sentinel portal. This is inclusive of notifications regarding
a bomb threat or terroristic threat, as outlined in TEC, §37.113.
Submission of information in the Sentinel portal does not substitute
the requirement for local law enforcement notification of certain
activities in TEC, §37.015.
(E) Upon completed review of a school system's multihazard
emergency operations plan, the TxSSC may upload a copy of that plan,
including all required appendices, to the Sentinel portal.
(F) Subsequent to a school system superintendent change,
the direct contact information of the superintendent (or person acting
in that capacity) must be updated in Sentinel within three business
days of a corresponding board meeting.
(4) Intruder Detection Audits (IDAs).
(A) In accordance with TEC, §37.1084, the TEA
Office of School Safety and Security will establish a school safety
review team in each region served by a regional education service
center. Teams shall annually conduct on-site general intruder detection
audits of school district campuses in the team's region.
(B) Any documentation requested by TEA for an IDA must
be uploaded to Sentinel.
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