Bill: SB 996, 84(R) - 2015
Committee
Senate Education
Vote Recommendation
| Vote Recommendation |
Economic Freedom |
Property Rights |
Personal Responsibility |
Limited Government |
Individual Liberty |
| Yes |
Neutral |
Neutral |
Positive |
Neutral |
Neutral |
Author(s)
Van Taylor
Bill Caption
Relating to notifying a parent or guardian whether an employee of a school is appointed school marshal and the confidentiality of information submitted to or collected by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement in connection with a certification for appointment as school marshal.
Fiscal Notes
No significant fiscal implication to State or local government.
Bill Analysis
SB 996 would amend code to clarify that any information concerning school marshal programs would be confidential and not subject to disclosure. The bill would require the school or open enrollment charter school to provide written notice to a parent or guardian who inquires to the school in writing to ask if the school has an active school marshal.
Vote Recommendation Notes
This bill affirms the principle of personal responsibility. If a parent or guardian of a child in the school district wants to know if the school has a school marshal, they will be allowed to inquire and receive an answer. This bill prohibits the list of schools participating in the school marshal program from being accessed under Freedom of Information requests, which could be detrimental to the safety of children. If a bad actor wishes to do harm, he or she will know which schools have a school marshal and which ones do not if this information was allowed to be published in the news. For these reasons, we support SB 996.
