NEEDS FISCAL NOTE (seems to me to be a virtue signaling bill as it would be really expensive and time consuming to screen)

Proposes amendments to R.S. 17:416.3 concerning the search and screening of public school students for weapons.

Key Provisions of HB 225:

1.    Mandatory Weapon Screenings Upon Entry:

• Local school boards may require students to undergo security screenings upon initial entry onto a school campus during the school day to detect weapons.
• Screening methods may include:
• Passing through a metal detector or similar weapon detection system.
• Manual searches or electronic scans of personal effects, such as backpacks and lunch bags.

2.    Liability Protection:

• The absence of a screening does not impose liability on the school board.
• Screenings conducted upon initial entry are not considered searches of individual persons.

3.    Searches During School Activities:

• During the school day or during extracurricular and co-curricular activities on campus, authorized personnel (teachers, principals, school security guards, administrators) may search a student or their personal effects if there are reasonable grounds to suspect a violation of law, school rules, or school board policies.
• Such searches must be conducted in a manner reasonably related to the purpose and not excessively intrusive, considering the student's age, sex, and the nature of the suspected offense.

4.    Random Searches:

• Random searches using metal detectors of students or their personal effects are permitted at any time, provided they are conducted without deliberate physical contact with the student.

5.    Policy Adoption Requirement:

• Each parish and city school board is required to adopt a policy consistent with these provisions to ensure reasonable search and seizure practices by public school personnel.

6.    Reporting Seized Items:

• Any confiscation of firearms, bombs, knives, or other implements that can be used as weapons, or controlled dangerous substances, must be reported to appropriate law enforcement officials by the principal or designated administrator.
• The principal or designated administrator may also report the confiscation of other items at their discretion.

Should do a replacement/substitute amendment gutting the bill and replacing it with text requiring armed teachers/training. Louisiana does allow substitute or replacement amendments in its legislative process.

These are often referred to as "substitute bills" or "amendments by substitution." Here's how it works in general:

• A substitute bill can be introduced to replace the original bill entirely if substantial changes are needed. This often happens in committee, where members decide it's more efficient to rewrite the bill rather than amend it piece by piece.
• Floor amendments can also function as replacements. An amendment may strike through all the original language of a bill and insert new text, effectively replacing the bill’s content while keeping its bill number.
• These replacement amendments must still go through the normal legislative process—approval by committee, passage in both chambers, and the governor’s signature.

The Louisiana House and Senate Rules allow for these kinds of amendments, and the legislative documents will often note when an amendment “proposes to replace the bill in its entirety.”