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Behavioral Health | Crisis Plans | Drills | Medical | Other | Panic Buttons | School Resource Officers | Student Discipline | Suicide Prevention | Surveillance Cameras | Transportation | Violence | Visitor/Volunteer Management | Weapons
Behavioral Health
R.S. 17:271.1 and R.S. 17:3996 (B)
To enact R.S. 17:271.1 and 3996(B), relative to curricula; to require the provision of mental health instruction to public school students; to provide relative to content of the instruction; to provide for incorporation of the instruction into an existing required course; to provide relative to the mental health component of the state content standards for health education.
Sponsor: Representative Royce Duplessis
Current Status: Signed by Governor – Act 650
Effective Date: 8/1/2022
Exemptions from compulsory attendance; Required mental health instruction; Youth suicide prevention programs; Establishment of substance abuse programs; Trauma-informed mental health screening; Registration of health centers in schools
Sponsor: C. Denise Marcelle
Current Status: Signed by Governor – Act 318
Effective Date: 8/1/2023
Requests the state Department of Education, Department of Children and Family Services, and Louisiana Department of Health to collaborate to increase mental health counseling in public schools.
Sponsor: Representative Laurie Schlegel
Provides relative to behavioral health services for students.
Sponsor: Representative Dustin Miller
Current Status: Signed by Governor - Act 745
Effective Date: 6/19/2024
Requires city, parish and other local public school boards to adopt and implement a program to facilitate behavior health intervention and referral for treatment.
Sponsor: Senator Beth Mizell
Current Status: Signed by Governor - Act 324
Effective Date: 8/1/2024
Crisis Plans
Requires school crisis management and response plans, including requirements relative to their preparation, content, review, revision, and rehearsal.
Sponsor: Senator Barry Milligan
Current Status: Signed by the Governor – Act 334
Effective Date: 6/13/2024
Drills
Requires a safety drill within the first 30 days of the school year, to include an active shooter scenario; requires at least one additional drill during high traffic or transition points in the school day.
Sponsor: Senator Barry Milligan
Current Status: Signed by the Governor – Act 334
Effective Date: 6/13/2024
To urge and request each public school principal to conduct a safety drill quarterly that specifically addresses the scenario of an active shooter on campus. Accomplished easily through Louisiana Panic Button
LA State Fire Marshall Interpretive Memorandum 2018-02
Fire Alarms and Operations in Educational Occupancies
Allows for Fire Drills to be scheduled in advance and shared with staff/authorized persons
https://www.lasfm.org/media/fimnzw4v/im_2018-02.pdf
LA State Fire Marshall Interpretive Memorandum 2020-01 – RESCINDED
Emergency Egress Drill Procedures during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Stay in place Fire Drills no longer authorized; required number of drills; drills shall be conducted on the fire alarm system
https://www.lasfm.org/media/agdpu1rm/im_2020-01_rescindedx2.pdf
Medical
To urge and request the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, through the state Department of Education, to develop and implement a traumatic injury response program to ensure that each city, parish, or other local public school in the state is prepared to respond to a traumatic injury emergency.
Sponsor: Senator Barry Milligan
Current Status: Sent to the Secretary of State
Effective Date: 6/4/2020
Requires an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) at all education institutions and at school sponsored athletic events; specifies AED/CPR training requirements; requires development and implementation of a cardiac emergency response plan.
Sponsor: Senator Cleo Fields
Current Status: Signed by the Governor – Act 234
R.S. 17:4403
Provides relative to the provision of cardiac health information to student athletes and their parents.
Sponsor: Representative Mike Johnson
Current Status: Signed by the Governor - Act 421
Effective Date: 8/1/2024
R.S. 17:436.1
Provides relative to the administration of medication at school.
Sponsor: Representative Paula Davis
Current Status: Signed by the Governor - Act 378
Effective Date: 8/1/2024
R.S. 40:1142
Provides relative to stock emergency medications.
Sponsor: Representative Paula Davis
Current Status: Signed by the Governor - Act 657
Effective Date: 8/1/2024
R.S. 17:440.3
Requires CPR/AED training for coaches in Louisiana.
Sponsor: Senator William "Bill" Wheat, Jr.
Current Status: Signed by the Governor - Act 95
Effective Date: 8/1/2024
Other
LA HB 895 Act 641 (2018): We Must Save Our Children Act
To enact Part XII of Chapter 1 of Title 17 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, to be comprised of R.S. 17:409, and R.S. 17:3399.16, relative to instruction in school safety in public schools and public postsecondary education institutions; to require school officials and campus security officers to provide information to students regarding potential threats to school safety exhibited through online content; to provide for elements to be included in such information; to provide a process for students to report online content deemed potentially dangerous; to provide for confidentiality of personal information about students who report such matters; and to provide for related matters.
To amend and reenact R.S. 44:3.1 and 4(40) and to enact R.S. 17:410.1 and R.S. 44:1(A)(2)(c), relative to public school buildings and facilities; to exempt from public records for interior blueprints and floor plans of public school buildings and facilities from certain provisions of the public records law; and to provide for related matters.
To urge and request the state Department of Education to study school safety issues and submit a written report of findings and conclusions, including any recommendations for related legislation, to the House Committee on Education not later than sixty days prior to the beginning of the 2023 Regular Session of the Legislature. Click here to see the 218 Report for additional details.
School facilities preservation, Capital Improvement Fund, and System-wide needs program
Effective Date: 8/1/2023
Protect Teachers Act
Effective Date: 8/1/2023
Louisiana State Board of Private Security Examiners; to provide for legislative intent; to provide for definitions; to provide for limitations to the access and use of certain criminal history record information; to provide for the standards and procedures for certain criminal history records.
Effective Date: 8/1/2023
Organ donor curriculum
Effective Date: 8/1/2023
Creates the Louisiana Foundational Integrated Research System for Transformation (LA FIRST); LA FIRST shall be developed and maintained by the Board of Regents at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette within the Kathleen Babineaux Blanco Public Policy Center
Requests the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to study the advisability and feasibility of requiring metal detection devices in public schools.
Sponsor: Representative Ed Larvadain III
Provides relative to mandatory reporters of child abuse.
Sponsor: Representative Kim Carver
Current Status: Signed by the Governor - Act 216
R.S. 17:239
Provides relative to the unauthorized possession of electronic telecommunication devices at school.
Sponsor: Senator Beth Mizell
Current Status: Signed by the Governor - Act 313
Effective Date: 5/28/2024
Panic Buttons
To urge and request the state Department of Education to investigate the feasibility and cost of installing silent alarms in all elementary and secondary school classrooms in Louisiana. “WHEREAS, relying solely on personal notification for emergencies can limit a school's ability to reach law enforcement; and WHEREAS, a silent alarm greatly reduces the time gap between someone recognizing a threat and receiving help and would allow school personnel to push a button, thereby alerting authorities of an emergency situation and aiding law enforcement to respond more quickly;” (RAVE Panic Button)
School Resource Officers
Requires a public school system that has entered into an agreement with a local law enforcement agency to provide for school resource officers to annually report to the state Department of Education the total number of school resource officers provided to the system.
Student Discipline
To amend and reenact R.S. 17:3911(B)(1)(i) and (l) and 3912(A) and (B) and to enact R.S. 17:416.19(D) and 3911(B)(1)(m), relative to information on school safety and discipline; to require the collection and reporting of certain information relative to school safety and discipline; and to provide for related matters.
To amend and reenact R.S. 17:416 and 3996(B)(40), relative to student discipline; to provide for a comprehensive revision of student discipline laws; to provide relative to student codes of conduct, the use of and procedures for expulsion, damages to property, possession of weapons and drugs, and conferences with parents; to require certain reporting by the state Department of Education.
R.S. 17:416.1 (B) and R.S.17:416.22
Corporal punishment prohibited without parental consent.
Corporal Punishment Incidence Checklist
Sponsor: Representative Stephanie Hilferty
Current Status: Signed by the Governor - Act 268
Effective Date: 8/1/2023
Provides relative to student discipline.
Sponsor: Representative Joe Stagni
Current Status: Signed by Governor - Act 400
Effective Date: 8/1/2024
Suicide Prevention
To amend and reenact R.S. 17:282.4(C)(introductory paragraph) and 437.1 and to enact R.S. 17:282.4(F) and 3996(B)(54), relative to suicide prevention in schools; to provide for training for school employees, to provide relative to services provided to students; to provide relative to student identification cards; to provide for programs and policies; and to provide for related matters. 9-8-8, Vialink Teen Textline, Anonymous Reporting, etc.
To amend and reenact R.S. 17:282.4(C)(1)(introductory paragraph) and (c) and 286(A) and to enact R.S. 17:282.4(G) and (H), relative to suicide prevention and violence in schools; to require training on related topics for certain students; to provide for requirements of the state Department of Education; to require formation of student organizations; LYAC recommendations?
Requires every public and approved nonpublic secondary school to print "988" on the back of all school IDs.
Sponsor: Senator Regina Ashford Barrow
Current Status: Signed by the Governor - Act 331
Effective Date: 7/1/2024
Surveillance Cameras
R.S. 17:1948
Policies for cameras in certain classrooms
Sponsor: Senator Franklin J. Foil
Current Status: Signed by the Governor – Act 588
Effective Date: 6/17/2022
School surveillance and security video footage exemption; limited retention and viewing policies
Sponsor: Representative Ken Brass
Current Status: Signed by the Governor – Act 301
Effective Date: 6/13/2023
Transportation
Safety policy for K-5 carpool and bus lines. Students remain a safe distance from the pick up area and wait for vehicles to come to a complete stop. b. A student being dropped off remain in a passenger restraint until the vehicle in which he is a passenger comes to a complete stop. c. School administrators post signage regarding the policy. d. A student in grades kindergarten through five be accompanied by a school employee.
Effective Date: 8/1/2023
Violence
LA HB 898: Act 716 (2018) Louisiana School and Student Safety Act
To enact Part XII of Chapter 1 of Title 17 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, to be comprised of R.S. 17:409.1 through 409.6, and R.S. 17:3996(B)(45), relative to school safety; to provide for resources and reporting procedures; to provide for definitions; to require the reporting of any threats of violence to appropriate law enforcement; to provide for mandatory mental health evaluations; to provide for safety measures; and to provide for related matters.
School safety reporting for threats of violence
Effective Date: 8/1/23
Visitor/Volunteer Management
R.S. 14:91.2
Unlawful presence of a sex offender
Louisiana State Police List of Sexual Offenses and Offender Tiers
https://www.lsp.org/community-outreach/sex-offender-registry/offenses/
R.S. 17:416.10
Visitor authorization for public elementary or secondary school grounds
Authorizes school boards to provide for chaplains to serve in public schools as employees or on a volunteer basis.
Sponsor: Representative Beryl Amedee
Current Status: Signed by the Governor - Act 688
Provides relative to the employment or acceptance of volunteer chaplains in public schools.
Sponsor: Senator Mark Abraham
Current Status: Signed by the Governor - Act 293
Weapons
To amend and reenact R.S. 14:95.2(C)(4) and to enact R.S. 14:95.2(C)(9), relative to concealed handgun permits; to provide relative to the carrying of a concealed handgun within one thousand feet of school property; to provide an exception to the crime which prohibits the carrying of a firearm on school property by certain concealed handgun permit holders; and to provide for related matters.