Schools Working to Implement Texas’ Senate Bill 11 As Fall Approaches
Texas’ Senate Bill 11 was approved in early June, and with fall approaching quickly, it’s necessary for school districts to understand what changes need to be made.
- By Kaitlyn DeHaven
- July 24, 2019
Senate Bill 11, legislation that will increase safety and security across all Texas campuses, was approved in early June. Now, with fall and the beginning of the school year approaching quickly, schools are working to implement the new school safety requirements.
According to KCEN-TV in Temple, Texas, the bill looks at school safety from a practical and instructional approach.
“Superintendent Bobby Ott here in Temple talked with me a number of times about some language that needed to be in there,” Rep. Hugh Shine said. “We made sure we talked to the bill’s author.”
The bill mandates suicide prevention programs, conflict resolution programs, violence prevention programs, Dyslexia treatment programs, dropout reduction programs, and discipline reduction programs in addition to others. The programs also must address cyberbullying, and demonstrate what healthy online behavior looks like.
“The idea behind it is to make sure the schools put forth the effort to have a good strong safety program,” Shine said.
In efforts to proactively prevent safety incidents, the legislation places an emphasis on teaching students how mental health conditions might be demonstrated, in order for them to know when it’s necessary to intervene. In addition, the programs should teach suicide prevention.
Many districts, such as Parker County school districts, began working on safety initiatives to strengthen school safety before the bill was passed. Thus, it won’t be difficult to implement the changes.
This legislation is being implemented on the heels of the Santa Fe shooting, and Gov. Greg Abbott said that the bill is working to prevent another tragedy like the Santa Fe shooting.
“No student should be afraid to go to school,” Abott said. “We must do all we can to make our schools safer. Working together, we will deliver on this promise to our parents, to our students and to our teachers.”
About the Author
Kaitlyn DeHaven is the Associate Content Editor for the Infrastructure Solutions Group at 1105 Media.