AUSTIN – The Senate unanimously approved an emergency measure Monday that seeks to protect residents of Texas' state schools for the mentally disabled from mistreatment. Meanwhile, state officials confirmed abuse may have been captured on the cellphone cameras of employees at the Corpus Christi State School.

Corpus Christi police declined to comment on the investigation. But Stephanie Goodman, spokeswoman with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, said it involves "images and videos taken with cellphones" and could include "multiple employees on different dates."

The measure the Senate passed Monday – the first approved by either the House or Senate this legislative session – would establish an independent ombudsman to perform audits and investigate injuries and deaths, and to oversee an abuse and neglect telephone hotline. The bill would also install security cameras across Texas' 13 institutions for the disabled, and require fingerprinting, background checks and random drug testing of all state school employees.

"The abuse and neglect that has occurred in our state schools is inexcusable," said Sen. Jane Nelson, the Flower Mound Republican who authored the bill. "These are people with serious disabilities. They need our protection."

The bill is a response to growing concerns about the safety and conditions inside the state schools, highlighted in Dallas Morning News articles over two years and a recent U.S. Department of Justice report on civil rights violations inside the facilities. It is modeled after a sweeping bill to clean up the scandal-plagued Texas Youth Commission two years ago.

But it does not address the debate over whether to shutter some of the state schools in favor of more community-based care, which could be tacked on by other legislation. Nor does the bill, which comes with a $15 million price tag, boost employee salaries or funding for training – a concern for some. Senators writing a preliminary draft of the state budget have included a boost of $55.6 million for the system.