Tex. Education Code § 26.009 — TX Code / Code ed / Chapter 26 / Section 26.009
§ 26.009. CONSENT REQUIRED FOR CERTAIN ACTIVITIES.
Status: in_force

(a) An employee or contractor of a school district must obtain the written consent of a child's parent in the manner required by Subsection (a-2) before the employee or contractor may:

(1) conduct a psychological or psychiatric examination or test, or psychological or psychiatric treatment, unless the examination, test, or treatment is required under Section 38.004 or state or federal law regarding requirements for special education;

(2) subject to Subsection (b), make or authorize the making of a videotape of a child or record or authorize the recording of a child's voice;

(3) unless authorized by other law:

(A) disclose a child's health or medical information to any person other than the child's parent; or

(B) collect, use, store, or disclose to any person other than the child's parent a child's biometric identifiers; or

(4) subject to Subsection (a-3), provide health care services or medication or conduct a medical procedure.

(a-1) For purposes of Subsection (a):

(1) "Biometric identifier" means a blood sample, hair sample, skin sample, DNA sample, body scan, retina or iris scan, fingerprint, voiceprint, or record of hand or face geometry.

(2) "Psychological or psychiatric examination or test" means a method designed to elicit information regarding an attitude, habit, trait, opinion, belief, feeling, or mental disorder or a condition thought to lead to a mental disorder, regardless of the manner in which the method is presented or characterized, including a method that is presented or characterized as a survey, check-in, or screening or is embedded in an academic lesson.

(3) "Psychological or psychiatric treatment" means the planned, systematic use of a method or technique that is designed to affect behavioral, emotional, or attitudinal characteristics of an individual or group.

(a-2) Written consent for a parent's child to participate in a district activity described by Subsection (a) must be signed by the parent and returned to the district. A child may not participate in the activity unless the district receives the parent's signed written consent to that activity.

(a-3) For the purpose of obtaining written consent for actions described by Subsection (a)(4) that are determined by a school district to be routine care provided by a person who is authorized by the district to provide physical or mental health-related services, the district may obtain consent at the beginning of the school year or at the time of the child's enrollment in the district. Unless otherwise provided by a child's parent, written consent obtained in accordance with this subsection is effective until the end of the school year in which the consent was obtained.

(b) An employee or contractor of a school district is not required to obtain the consent of a child's parent before the employee or contractor may make a videotape of a child or authorize the recording of a child's voice if the videotape or voice recording is to be used only for:

(1) purposes of safety, including the maintenance of order and discipline in common areas of the school or on school buses;

(2) a purpose related to a cocurricular or extracurricular activity;

(3) a purpose related to regular classroom instruction;

(4) media coverage of the school; or

(5) a purpose related to the promotion of student safety under Section 29.022.

(c) Before the first instructional day of each school year, a school district shall provide to the parent of each student enrolled in the district written notice of any actions the district may take involving the authorized collection, use, or storage of information as described by Subsection (a)(3). The notice must:

(1) include a plain language explanation for the district's collection, use, or storage of the child's information and the district's legal authority to engage in that collection, use, or storage; and

(2) be signed by the parent and returned to the district.

(d) A school district shall take disciplinary action against an employee responsible for allowing a child to participate in an activity described by Subsection (a)(4) if the district did not obtain a parent's consent for the child's participation in that activity.

(e) A school district shall retain the written informed consent of a child's parent obtained under this section as part of the child's education records.

(f) Nothing in this section may be construed to:

(1) require an employee or contractor of a school district to obtain the written consent of a child's parent before verbally asking the child about the child's general well-being; or

(2) affect the duty to report child abuse or neglect under Chapter 261, Family Code, or an investigation of a report of abuse or neglect under that chapter.