By: Hefner (Senate Sponsor - Hughes)	H.B. No. 1788
	(In the Senate - Received from the House April 20, 2021;
	May 10, 2021, read first time and referred to Committee on
	Education; May 19, 2021, reported favorably by the following vote:
	Yeas 7, Nays 4; May 19, 2021, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to immunity from liability of public and private schools
	and security personnel employed by those schools for certain
	actions of security personnel.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Subchapter C, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
	amended by adding Section 37.087 to read as follows:
	Sec. 37.087.  IMMUNITY FROM LIABILITY. (a) In this section:
	(1)  "Retired peace officer" has the meaning assigned
	by Section 1701.3161, Occupations Code.
	(2)  "Security personnel" includes:
	(A)  a school district peace officer;
	(B)  a school marshal;
	(C)  a school resource officer; and
	(D)  a retired peace officer who:
	(i)  has been hired by a school district,
	open-enrollment charter school, or private school to provide
	security services; or
	(ii)  volunteers to provide security
	services to the school district, open-enrollment charter school, or
	private school.
	(b)  A school district, open-enrollment charter school, or
	private school is immune from liability for any damages resulting
	from any reasonable action taken by security personnel to maintain
	the safety of the school campus, including action relating to
	possession or use of a firearm.
	(c)  A school district, open-enrollment charter school, or
	private school is immune from liability as provided by Subsection
	(b) for any damages resulting from any reasonable action taken by a
	school district, open-enrollment charter school, or private school
	employee who has written permission from the board of trustees of
	the school district or the governing body of the open-enrollment
	charter school or the private school to carry a firearm on campus.
	(d)  Any security personnel employed by a school district,
	open-enrollment charter school, or private school is immune from
	liability for any damages resulting from any reasonable action
	taken by the security personnel to maintain the safety of the school
	campus, including action relating to possession or use of a
	firearm.
	(e)  The statutory immunity provided by this section is in
	addition to and does not preempt the common law doctrine of official
	and governmental immunity. To the extent that another statute
	provides greater immunity to a school district, open-enrollment
	charter school, or private school than this section, that statute
	prevails.
	SECTION 2.  This Act applies beginning with the 2021-2022
	school year.
	SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
	Act takes effect September 1, 2021.
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