SB 450

2026 Regular Session  ENROLLED
  ACT No. 901
 SENATE BILL NO. 450
 BY SENATOR EDMONDS AND REPRESENTATIVES EDMONSTON, MARTINEZ,
  OWEN, ST. BLANC AND TAYLOR
1AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact R.S. 17:409.3(A) and (C), R.S. 29:726.6(B)(2), and R.S. 44:4.1(B)(9)
3and to enact R.S. 17:409.3(D) and (E) and 416.16.2, relative to school safety; to
4provide for mandatory reporting of certain threats of violence or terrorism; to
5provide for physical security school assessments of certain elementary and secondary
6schools; to provide with respect to public schools, charter schools, and nonpublic
7schools; to provide for options of consideration; to provide for confidentiality; to
8provide for limitation of liability; to provide with respect to the admissibility of
9certain evidence; to provide with respect to grant programs for security measures;
10to provide with respect to confidentiality of certain public records; to provide for
11definitions; and to provide for related matters.
12 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
13Section 1. R.S. 17:409.3(A) and (C) are hereby amended and reenacted and R.S.
14 17:409.3(D) and (E) and 416.16.2 are hereby enacted to read as follows:
15§409.3. Mandatory reporting of threats of violence or threats of terrorism
16A.(1) Any administrator, teacher, counselor, bus operator, or other school
17employee, whether full-time or part-time, who learns of a threat of violence or threat
18of terrorism, whether through oral communication, written communication, or
19electronic communication, shall immediately report the threat to a local law
20enforcement agency and, if the employee is not the school administrator, to the
21school administrator.
22(2) A local law enforcement agency that receives a threat report pursuant
23to this Section, shall report the threat to the Louisiana Fusion Center within
24seven calendar days of receiving the threat. The report to the fusion center shall
25not include personally identifiable information for any student or for any
26person who reported the threat to law enforcement. The report to the fusion
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1center shall only include information relative to the date of the threat, the type
2of threat reported, whether the threat was substantiated, and whether any
3arrests were made relative to the threat.
4(3) The fusion center shall use the threat reports to collect data and
5analytics of threats of violence and terrorism for future preparedness.
6*        *      *
7C.(1) No person shall have a cause of action against any person for any action
8taken or statement made in adherence with the requirement for reporting as provided
9in this Subpart. However, the immunity from liability provided in this Subsection
10shall not apply to any action or statement if the action or statement was maliciously,
11willfully, and deliberately intended to cause harm to, harass, or otherwise deceive
12law enforcement or school officials.
13(2) No person shall have a cause of action against any local law
14enforcement agency for not reporting the threat to the fusion center within
15seven calendar days of receiving the threat.
16D. As used in this Section, "Louisiana Fusion Center" or "fusion center"
17means the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, office of state police,
18Louisiana State Analytical and Fusion Exchange.
19E. The reports made to a law enforcement agency or the fusion center
20as described in Subsection A of this Section shall constitute records containing
21security procedures, investigative techniques, threat or vulnerability
22assessments collected or obtained in the prevention of terrorist-related activity
23or internal security information for purposes of R.S. 44:3(A)(3).
24*        *      *
25§416.16.2. Physical security school assessments; reports
26A.(1) Each public elementary and secondary school in each city, parish,
27and other local public school district may obtain a physical security school
28assessment upon a request made to the fusion center.
29(2) No assessment of a school may be conducted more than once every
30three years at each elementary or secondary public school, according to a
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1schedule approved by the fusion center.
2(3) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the fusion
3center shall be required to conduct physical security school assessments only
4within the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available for this
5purpose and only to the extent that personnel and resources are available for
6this purpose.
7(4) A nonpublic school or charter school may obtain a physical security
8school assessment upon a request made to the fusion center.
9(5) The state Department of Education shall post on its website
10information regarding the availability of physical security school assessments.
11(6) The fusion center may include in its schedule of assessments available
12time slots for which requested assessments may be conducted at nonpublic
13schools or charter schools.
14(7) The assessment by the fusion center shall be conducted at no costs to
15the school, the school district, or the school's governing authority.
16B. For purposes of this Section, the following terms shall have the
17following meanings:
18(1) "Fusion center" shall have the same meaning as defined in R.S.
1917:409.3.
20(2) "Options for consideration" means nonbinding upgrades that are
21identified during a physical security school assessment that are intended to
22assist school officials in evaluating potential actions to enhance campus safety
23and security.
24(3) "Physical security school assessment" or "assessment" means a site
25visit conducted by the fusion center and any report based upon such visit that
26is produced for the purpose of identifying safety or security vulnerabilities at
27an elementary or secondary school in order to identify ways to enhance the
28school's safety and security. The written report of the assessment shall include
29options for consideration.
30C. The assessments shall include but not be limited to the following:
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1(1) Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED)
2principles.
3(2) Best practices from local, state, and federal partners in the
4assessment process.
5D. Upon completion of the assessment, the fusion center shall provide a
6written report of its findings and options for consideration to the school's
7emergency response coordinator and the principal. The findings in the written
8report shall be aligned with state building codes and any safety rules adopted
9by the state fire marshal in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act.
10E.(1) No school shall be required to implement or complete the options
11for consideration included in the assessment provided by the fusion center in its
12findings.
13(2) A school that concurs with the fusion center's findings and options for
14consideration may apply for grants under R.S. 29:726.6 to help defray the cost
15of any security enhancements identified in the written report of the physical
16security school assessment.
17F. Physical security school assessments and all related reports, findings,
18options for consideration, and any communications connected therewith, shall
19constitute records containing security procedures, threat or vulnerability
20assessments collected or obtained in the prevention of terrorist-related activity
21or internal security information for purposes of R.S. 44:3(A)(3).
22G.(1) The findings or options for consideration contained in a physical
23security school assessment are advisory only and shall not create a legal duty or
24standard of care. However, nothing in this Subsection is intended to prohibit the
25use of a physical security school assessment as a defense as authorized in
26Subsection J of this Section.
27(2) No cause of action shall arise and no liability shall be imposed upon
28any school, school district, charter school, nonpublic school, school governing
29authority, the Louisiana Fusion Center, or any employee of the school, school
30district, charter school, nonpublic school, school governing authority, or the
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1fusion center for any act or omission relating to a school's decision to obtain,
2accept, reject, modify, delay, or decline to implement any finding, option for
3consideration contained in, or related to, a physical security school assessment.
4H. The reports, findings, conclusions, or any portion of a physical
5security school assessment, including any options for consideration or other
6provision of the assessment or any communication related thereto, shall be
7deemed a confidential and privileged communication and shall not be:
8(1) Subject to discovery, subpoena, or other compelled production in any
9civil action or administrative proceeding.
10(2) Admitted into evidence by the petitioner or intervener to establish a
11standard of care, duty, or breach thereof in any civil action or administrative
12proceeding. However, nothing in this Subsection is intended to prohibit the use
13of a physical security school assessment as a defense as authorized in Subsection
14J of this Section.
15I. The immunity and confidentiality protections afforded by this Section
16shall apply regardless of whether a school elects to seek, adopt, or decline any
17provisions contained in a physical security school assessment or any option for
18consideration.
19J.(1)(a) Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, only the
20school, school board, or school governing authority may offer into evidence the
21physical security school assessment for the purposes of establishing a defense
22against a cause of action for negligence or a breach of duty in a civil proceeding.
23The school, school board, or school governing authority may introduce the
24assessment in a summary proceeding or an ordinary civil proceeding.
25(b) If the cause of action against the school is alleging an unsafe condition
26on school property, a school, school board, or governing authority may elect to
27introduce into evidence only that portion of the physical security school
28assessment that is a defense against the alleged unsafe condition.
29(2) A school's substantial compliance with the findings, options for
30consideration, or standards identified in the assessment shall create a rebuttable
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1presumption that the school property was not unreasonably dangerous and that
2the school exercised reasonable care with respect to the school's physical
3security and safety.
4(3) Evidence of actions taken by the school in reliance on, or in response
5to, such assessment shall be admissible as a defense for the purpose of
6demonstrating due diligence, reasonable care, and the absence of negligence.
7K. Nothing in this Section shall be construed to impose a higher duty of
8care upon a school, school board, or school governing authority than that which
9is otherwise provided by law, nor be construed to create an independent cause
10of action.
11Section 2. R.S. 29:726.6(B)(2) is hereby amended and reenacted to read as follows:
12§726.6. Fund and grant program for security measures; eligible applicants
13*       *       *
14B.  *       *       *
15(2) Eligible schools include public elementary or secondary schools in a city,
16parish, or other local public school district or other political subdivision and
17nonpublic schools approved by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary
18Education pursuant to R.S. 17:11. Grant funding shall be prioritized for schools
19seeking funds to implement any of the findings or options for consideration
20identified in the written reports of physical security school assessments,
21pursuant to R.S. 17:416.16.2.
22*       *       *
23Section 3. R.S. 44:4.1(B)(9) is hereby amended and reenacted to read as follows:
24§4.1. Exceptions
25*       *       *
26B. The legislature further recognizes that there exist exceptions, exemptions,
27and limitations to the laws pertaining to public records throughout the revised
28statutes and codes of this state. Therefore, the following exceptions, exemptions, and
29limitations are hereby continued in effect by incorporation into this Chapter by
30citation:
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1*       *       *
2(9) R.S. 17:7.2, 46, 47, 81.9, 391.4, 407.28, 407.47, 407.65, 409.3, 416.16.1,
3416.16.2, 500.2, 1175, 1202, 1237, 1252, 1948, 1989.7, 2047, 2048.31, 3099, 3100.8,
43136, 3137, 3138.12, 3390, 3703, 3773, 3884
5*       *       *
6Section 4. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to require any public school district
7 to build or renovate any school building in violation of Article III, Section 12 of the
8 Constitution of Louisiana which prohibits the enactment of local and special laws that
9 require the repair or building of parish or city schoolhouses or the raising of money for such
10 purposes.
  PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
  SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
  GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
 APPROVED:
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