Relating to discipline management and access to telehealth mental health services in public schools.

Contracts

• District of Innovation Plans: Immediate Action Required. Any DOI plan currently exempting the district from Texas Education Code Chapter 37 (Discipline) is statutorily void regarding those exemptions. You must amend your local innovation plan to remove these exemptions immediately.
• Charter Management Agreements: Review contracts with Charter Management Organizations (CMOs). The Board cannot delegate ultimate responsibility for academic/financial performance; contracts must reflect non-delegable oversight.
• Virtual Learning Vendors: Contracts for virtual instruction platforms used for expulsion purposes must be amended to ensure they support the new attendance tracking and teacher professional development requirements.

Hiring/Training

• Principal Training: Campus administrators must be retrained immediately. They no longer possess the authority to unilaterally return a student to a teacher's class following a removal for unruly behavior without the teacher's consent or a Placement Review Committee order.
• Designated Staff: You must designate a non-instructional employee to create "Return to Class Plans." Principals cannot force the removing teacher to draft this document.
• Virtual Expulsion Staff: Teachers assigned to the new Virtual Expulsion Program must complete specific professional development regarding virtual instruction to remain eligible for funding.

Reporting & Record-Keeping

• Return to Class Plan: A new mandatory document required before a student returns to a removing teacher's room.
• ISS Review Logs: Administrators must document a review of every student in In-School Suspension (ISS) every 10 school days.
• TCHATT Consent: Shift from passive notification to affirmative written consent. You cannot share records with or refer students to the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium without this new specific form.
• Vaping Intake: Intake forms must track "First" vs. "Subsequent" offenses. First offense allows ISS (min. 10 days) or DAEP; subsequent offense mandates DAEP.

Fees & Costs

• Virtual Expulsion Funding: Foundation School Program (FSP) funding is now available for virtual expulsion, *provided* the district can confirm daily attendance. Failure to validate attendance methods will result in funding clawbacks.
• Legal Defense: Expect increased legal costs regarding teacher employment disputes. The law grants teachers immunity from termination for good-faith disciplinary reporting, creating a new defense against adverse employment actions.