Relating to establishing policies regarding the timely issuance of emergency notifications at public institutions of higher education.

Contracts

• Vendor MSAs: Review Master Services Agreements with Emergency Mass Notification System (EMNS) providers (e.g., Rave, Everbridge). If THECB rules mandate specific dissemination speeds (e.g., "delivery to 90% of campus within 5 minutes"), your current SLA must be amended to guarantee this performance.
• Employment Agreements: Revise job descriptions for Campus Safety Directors and Public Information Officers. Contracts must explicitly grant these roles the unilateral authority to issue alerts without seeking higher administrative approval, protecting them from disciplinary action for bypassing the chain of command during emergencies.

Hiring/Training

• Unified Command Training: Eliminate silos between Campus Police and Student Affairs. Joint training is required to ensure that the "confirmation of threat" immediately triggers the "issuance of notification" without bureaucratic delay.
• Liaison Appointment: Designate a senior compliance officer immediately to participate in the THECB consultation process to influence the forthcoming rules.

Reporting & Record-Keeping

• Audit Trails: Configure EMNS software to automatically log three critical timestamps: (1) Time threat reported, (2) Time threat confirmed, and (3) Time alert disseminated.
• Gap Analysis: You must document the justification for any time lag between confirmation and dissemination. These logs will be discoverable in future litigation.

Fees & Costs

• Budget Impact: While the state anticipates no significant fiscal impact, institutions should budget for potential software integration costs if current systems cannot meet new speed or reporting standards.
• Liability Insurance: Consult risk managers to ensure Educators Legal Liability policies cover "negligent notification" claims, as this law establishes a clearer standard of care for state civil suits.