Table of Contents
Background
The 89th Texas Legislature revised the Texas Education Code’s (TEC) school safety laws through Senate Bill 57 (SB 57), which is effective for the 2025-2026 school year. The bill amended many aspects of Chapter 37 on school safety, including the duties of school safety and security committees, the content of multi-hazard emergency operation plans, and the conduct of mandatory school safety drills.
Families of students with disabilities should be aware of these changes and be prepared to make sure their school personnel are making plans to include students with disabilities in school safety drills. Furthermore, districts should be adding individualized accommodations for students with disabilities into the multi-hazard emergency operations plan based upon recommendations from the school safety and security committee.
A summary of the changes in SB 57 is below.
School Safety and Security Committees
Every school district must have a school safety and security committee. Previously, neither special education representation on the committee was required, nor attention to disability accommodations during safety drills and emergency situations was required.
- School safety and security committees must now include an administrator of special education in the district.
- School safety and security committees must now meet at least once each academic semester and once in the summer to provide recommendations on updating the district’s multi-hazard emergency operations plan. These recommendations must cover the inclusion of identified accommodations for each student with a disability during safety drills and emergency situations. Accommodation recommendations will be based on communication with campus administrators.
- To protect the privacy of students with disabilities, the school safety and security committee must meet in executive session when discussing a student with a disability and his or her accommodation needs during safety drills and emergency situations.
Multi-Hazard Emergency Operations Plans
Every school district must have a multi-hazard emergency operations plan that outlines responsibilities and action steps in the event of an emergency situation. Previously, the plans only had to include a general description of steps to protect students with disabilities.
- The district plan must now provide for the safety of students with disabilities in compliance with safety guidelines established by the Texas Education Agency (TEA).
- The district plan must now also document the accommodations that are recommended for students with disabilities during safety drills and emergency situations.
State Guidelines for Mandatory School Safety Drills
Every school year, schools must conduct safety drills so students and staff have practiced how to evacuate and take shelter during an emergency. Previously, state law was silent about students with disabilities and how they should be accommodated during drills.
- Now, TEA must create guidelines with recommendations for accommodations for students with disabilities during mandated safety drills.
- TEA must now also outline best practices for communication among the district’s school safety and security committee, administrators, and teachers about accommodations for students with disabilities during safety drills and emergency situations.
For more information on education for students with disabilities, visit our Education resources page.
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Disclaimer: Disability Rights Texas strives to update its materials on an annual basis, and this handout is based upon the law at the time it was written. The law changes frequently and is subject to various interpretations by different courts. Future changes in the law may make some information in this handout inaccurate.
The handout is not intended to and does not replace an attorney’s advice or assistance based on your particular situation.
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