(a) A school district shall consider the following best practices for truancy prevention measures. (8) Use existing school programs such as Communities In Schools, 21st Century Community Learning Centers, Restorative Discipline, and Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) to provide students and their parents with services.

(a) Each school district shall have a district improvement plan that is developed, evaluated, and revised annually, in accordance with district policy, by the superintendent with the assistance of the district-level committee established under Section 11.251. The purpose of the district improvement plan is to guide district and campus staff in the improvement of student performance for all student groups in order to attain state Standard in respect to the achievement indicators adopted under Section 39.053(c). The district improvement plan must include provisions for: (3) strategies for improvement of student performance that include: (E) positive behavior interventions and support, including interventions and support that integrate best practices on grief-informed and trauma-informed care.

(c-1) Any minimum academic qualifications for a certificate specified under Subsection (a) that require a person to possess a bachelor’s degree must also require that the person receive, as part of the training required to obtain that certificate, instruction regarding mental health, substance abuse, and youth suicide. The instruction required must: (1) be provided through: (A) a program selected from the list of recommended best practice-based programs and research-based practices established under Section 38.351; or (B) a course offered by any accredited public or private postsecondary educational institution as part of a degree program; and (2) include effective strategies, including de-escalation techniques and positive behavioral interventions and supports, for teaching and intervening with students with mental health conditions or who engage in substance abuse.

(d) The staff development: (1) may include training in: (B) positive behavior intervention and support strategies, including classroom management, district discipline policies, and the student code of conduct adopted under Chapter 37.

(a) Each school district and open-enrollment charter school may develop and implement a program, in consultation with campus behavior coordinators employed by the district or school and representatives of a regional education service center, that provides a disciplinary alternative for a student enrolled in a grade level below grade three who engages in conduct described by Section 37.005(a) and is not subject to Section 37.005(c). The program must:

• (1) be age-appropriate and research-based;

• (2) provide models for positive behavior;

• (3) promote a positive school environment;

• (4) provide alternative disciplinary courses of action that do not rely on the use of in-school suspension, out-of-school suspension, or placement in a disciplinary alternative education program to manage student behavior; and

• (5) provide behavior management strategies, including:

• (A) positive behavioral intervention and support;

• (B) trauma-informed practices;

• (C) social and emotional learning;

• (D) a referral for services, as necessary; and

• (E) restorative practices.

(b) Each school district and open-enrollment charter school may annually conduct training for staff employed by the district or school on the program adopted under Subsection (a).

(a) In this section: (1) “Harmful, threatening, or violent behavior” includes behaviors, such as verbal threats, threats of self harm, bullying, cyberbullying, fighting, the use or possession of a weapon, sexual assault, sexual harassment, dating violence, stalking, or assault, by a student that could result in: (A) specific interventions, including mental health or behavioral supports; (B) in-school suspension; (C) out-of-school suspension; or (D) the student’s expulsion or removal to a disciplinary alternative education program or a juvenile justice alternative education program. (2) “Team” means a threat assessment and safe and supportive school team established by the board of trustees of a school district under this section. (b) The agency, in coordination with the Texas School Safety Center, shall adopt rules to establish a safe and supportive school program. The rules shall incorporate research-based best practices for school safety, including providing for: (1) physical and psychological safety; (2) a multiphase and multihazard approach to prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery in a crisis situation; (3) a systemic and coordinated multitiered support system that addresses school climate, the social and emotional domain, and behavioral and mental health; and (4) multidisciplinary and multiagency collaboration to assess risks and threats in schools and provide appropriate interventions, including rules for the establishment and operation of teams. (c) The board of trustees of each school district shall establish a threat assessment and safe and supportive school team to serve at each campus of the district and shall adopt policies and procedures for the teams. The team is responsible for developing and implementing the safe and supportive school program under Subsection (b) at the district campus served by the team. The policies and procedures adopted under this section must: (1) be consistent with the model policies and procedures developed by the Texas School Safety Center; (2) require each team to complete training provided by the Texas School Safety Center or a regional education service center regarding evidence-based threat assessment programs; and (3) require each team established under this section to report the information required under Subsection (k) regarding the team’s activities to the agency.

(b) The suicide prevention programs on the list must include components that provide for training counselors, teachers, nurses, administrators, and other staff, as well as law enforcement officers and social workers who regularly interact with students, to:

• (1) recognize students at risk of committing suicide, including students who are or may be the victims of or who engage in bullying;
• (2) recognize students displaying early warning signs and a possible need for early mental health or substance abuse intervention, which warning signs may include declining academic performance, depression, anxiety, isolation, unexplained changes in sleep or eating habits, and destructive behavior toward self and others; and
• (3) intervene effectively with students described by Subdivision (1) or (2) by providing notice and referral to a parent or guardian so appropriate action, such as seeking mental health or substance abuse services, may be taken by a parent or guardian.