| (a) Requirement to implement. In order to promote student
safety, on written request by a parent, school district board of trustees,
governing body of an open-enrollment charter school, principal, assistant
principal, or staff member, as authorized by Texas Education Code
(TEC) §29.022(a-1), a school district or an open-enrollment charter
school must provide video equipment to campuses in accordance with
TEC, §29.022, and this section. Campuses that receive video equipment
must place, operate, and maintain video cameras in self-contained
classrooms or other special education settings in accordance with
TEC, §29.022, and this section.
(b) Definitions. For purposes of TEC, §29.022,
and this subchapter, the following terms have the following meanings.
(1) Parent means a person described in TEC, §26.002,
whose child receives special education and related services in one
or more self-contained classrooms or other special education settings.
Parent also means a student who receives special education and related
services in one or more self-contained classrooms or other special
education settings and who is 18 years of age or older or whose disabilities
of minority have been removed for general purposes under Texas Family
Code, Chapter 31, unless the student has been determined to be incompetent
or the student's rights have been otherwise restricted by a court
order.
(2) Staff member means a teacher, a related service
provider, a paraprofessional, a counselor, or an educational aide
assigned to work in a self-contained classroom or other special education
setting.
(3) Open-enrollment charter school means a charter
granted to a charter holder under TEC, §12.101 or §12.152,
identified with its own county district number.
(4) Self-contained classroom means a classroom on a
regular school campus (i.e., a campus that serves students in general
education and students in special education) of a school district
or an open-enrollment charter school, including a room attached to
the classroom used for time-out, but not including a classroom that
is a resource room instructional arrangement under TEC, §42.151,
in which a majority of the students in regular attendance are provided
special education and related services for at least 50 percent of
the instructional day and have one of the following instructional
arrangements/settings described in the student attendance accounting
handbook adopted under §129.1025 of this title (relating to Adoption
by Reference: Student Attendance Accounting Handbook):
(A) self-contained (mild/moderate/severe) regular campus;
(B) full-time early childhood (preschool program for
children with disabilities) special education setting;
(C) residential care and treatment facility--self-contained
(mild/moderate/severe) regular campus;
(D) residential care and treatment facility--full-time
early childhood special education setting;
(E) off home campus--self-contained (mild/moderate/severe)
regular campus; or
(F) off home campus--full-time early childhood special
education setting.
(5) Other special education setting means a classroom
on a separate campus (i.e., a campus that serves only students who
receive special education and related services) of a school district
or open-enrollment charter school, including a room attached to the
classroom or setting used for time-out, in which a majority of the
students in regular attendance are provided special education and
related services, are assigned to the setting for at least 50 percent
of the instructional day, and have one of the following instructional
arrangements/settings described in the student attendance accounting
handbook adopted under §129.1025 of this title:
(A) residential care and treatment facility--separate
campus; or
(B) off home campus--separate campus.
(6) Video camera means a video surveillance camera
with audio recording capabilities.
(7) Video equipment means one or more video cameras
and any technology and equipment needed to place, operate, and maintain
video cameras as required by TEC, §29.022, and this section.
Video equipment also means any technology and equipment needed to
store and access video recordings as required by TEC, §29.022,
and this section.
(8) Incident means an event or circumstance that:
(A) involves alleged "abuse" or "neglect," as those
terms are described in Texas Family Code, §261.001, of a student
by a staff member of the school district or charter school or alleged
"physical abuse" or "sexual abuse," as those terms are described in
Texas Family Code, §261.410, of a student by another student;
and
(B) allegedly occurred in a self-contained classroom
or other special education setting in which video surveillance under
TEC, §29.022, and this section is conducted.
(9) School business day means a day that campus, school
district, or open-enrollment charter school administrative offices
are open.
(10) Time-out has the meaning assigned by TEC, §37.0021.
(c) Exclusions. A school district or open-enrollment
charter school is not required to provide video equipment to a campus
of another district or charter school or to a nonpublic school. In
addition, the Texas School for the Deaf, the Texas School for the
Blind and Visually Impaired, the Texas Juvenile Justice Department,
and any other state agency that provides special education and related
services to students are not subject to the requirements in TEC, §29.022,
and this section.
(d) Use of funds. A school district or open-enrollment
charter school may solicit and accept gifts, grants, and donations
from any person to implement the requirements in TEC, §29.022,
and this section. A district or charter school is not permitted to
use Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Part B, funds or
state special education funds to implement the requirements of TEC, §29.022,
and this section.
(e) Dispute resolution. The special education dispute
resolution procedures in 34 Code of Federal Regulations, §§300.151-300.153
and 300.504-300.515, do not apply to complaints alleging that a school
district or open-enrollment charter school has failed to comply with
TEC, §29.022, and/or this section. Complaints alleging violations
of TEC, §29.022, and/or this section must be addressed through
the district's or charter school's local grievance procedures or other
dispute resolution channels.
(f) Regular school year and extended school year services.
TEC, §29.022, and this section apply to video surveillance during
the regular school year and during extended school year services.
(g) Policies and procedures. Each school district board
of trustees and open-enrollment charter school governing body must
adopt written policies relating to the placement, operation, and maintenance
of video cameras under TEC, §29.022, and this section. At a minimum,
the policies must include:
(1) a statement that video surveillance is for the
purpose of promoting student safety in certain self-contained classrooms
and other special education settings;
(2) information on how a person may appeal an action
by the school district or open-enrollment charter school that the
person believes to be in violation of this section or a policy adopted
in accordance with this section, including the appeal and expedited
review processes under §103.1303 of this title (relating to Commissioner's
Review of Actions Concerning Video Cameras in Special Education Settings)
and the appeals process under TEC, §7.057;
(3) a requirement that the school district or open-enrollment
charter school provide a response to a request made under this section
not later than the seventh school business day after receipt of the
request by the person to whom it must be submitted under TEC, §29.022(a-3),
that authorizes the request or states the reason for denying the request;
(4) except as provided by paragraph (6) of this subsection,
a requirement that a school or campus begin operation of a video camera
in compliance with this section not later than the 45th school business
day, or the first school day after the 45th school business day if
that day is not a school day, after the request is authorized unless
the Texas Education Agency (TEA) grants an extension of time;
(5) a provision permitting the parent of a student
whose admission, review, and dismissal committee has determined that
the student's placement for the following school year will be in a
classroom or other special education setting in which a video camera
may be placed under this section to make a request for the video camera
by the later of:
(A) the date on which the current school year ends;
or
Cont'd... |
