H.B. No. 633
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the commission and duties of school district peace
1-3 officers.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 21.483, Education Code, is amended to
1-6 read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 21.483. SCHOOL DISTRICT PEACE OFFICERS <CAMPUS SECURITY
1-8 PERSONNEL>. (a) The board of trustees of any school district may
1-9 employ and commission peace officers <campus security personnel>
1-10 for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this subchapter.
1-11 The jurisdiction of a peace officer commissioned under this section
1-12 shall be determined by the board of trustees and may include all
1-13 territory in the boundaries of the school district and all
1-14 property, real and personal, outside the boundaries of the district
1-15 that is owned, leased, or rented by or otherwise under the control
1-16 of the school district and the board of trustees that employ the
1-17 peace officer.
1-18 (b) In a peace officer's jurisdiction, a peace officer
1-19 commissioned under this section:
1-20 (1) has the powers, privileges, and immunities of
1-21 peace officers;
1-22 (2) may enforce all laws, including municipal
1-23 ordinances, county ordinances, and state laws; and
1-24 (3) may, in accordance with Chapter 52, Family Code,
2-1 take a juvenile into custody.
2-2 (c) A school district peace officer may provide assistance
2-3 to another law enforcement agency. A school district may contract
2-4 with a political subdivision for the jurisdiction of a school
2-5 district peace officer to include all territory in the jurisdiction
2-6 of the political subdivision.
2-7 (d) A school district peace officer shall perform
2-8 administrative and law enforcement duties for the school district
2-9 as determined by the board of trustees of the school district.
2-10 These duties must include protecting:
2-11 (1) the safety and welfare of any person in the
2-12 jurisdiction of the peace officer; and
2-13 (2) the property, real and personal, of the school
2-14 district.
2-15 (e) The board of trustees of the district shall determine
2-16 the scope of the on-duty and off-duty law enforcement activities of
2-17 school district peace officers. A school district must authorize
2-18 in writing any off-duty law enforcement activities performed by a
2-19 school district peace officer.
2-20 (f) A school district police department and the law
2-21 enforcement agencies with which it has overlapping jurisdiction
2-22 shall enter into a memorandum of understanding that outlines
2-23 reasonable communication and coordination efforts among the
2-24 department and the agencies.
2-25 (g) <and if the board of trustees authorizes any officer to
2-26 bear arms then they must commission them as peace officers. Any
2-27 officer commissioned under this section is vested with all the
3-1 powers, privileges, and immunities of peace officers while on the
3-2 property under the control and jurisdiction of the district or
3-3 otherwise in the performance of his duties.> Any officer assigned
3-4 to duty and commissioned shall take and file the oath required of
3-5 peace officers, and shall execute and file a good and sufficient
3-6 bond in the sum of $1,000, payable to the board of trustees, with
3-7 two or more good and sufficient sureties, conditioned that he will
3-8 fairly, impartially, and faithfully perform all the duties that may
3-9 be required of him by law. The bond may be sued on from time to
3-10 time in the name of any person injured until the whole amount of
3-11 the bond is recovered. Any peace officer commissioned under this
3-12 section must meet all minimum standards for peace officers
3-13 established by the Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards
3-14 and Education <within one year of his commission, or his commission
3-15 shall automatically expire>.
3-16 (h) In this section, "political subdivision" means a county,
3-17 municipality, special district, school district, junior college
3-18 district, or other legally constituted political subdivision of the
3-19 state.
3-20 SECTION 2. Section 52.01(a), Family Code, is amended to read
3-21 as follows:
3-22 (a) A child may be taken into custody:
3-23 (1) pursuant to an order of the juvenile court under
3-24 the provisions of this subtitle;
3-25 (2) pursuant to the laws of arrest;
3-26 (3) by a law-enforcement officer, including a school
3-27 district peace officer commissioned under Section 21.483, Education
4-1 Code, if there are reasonable grounds to believe that the child has
4-2 engaged in delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a need for
4-3 supervision; or
4-4 (4) by a probation officer if there are reasonable
4-5 grounds to believe that the child has violated a condition of
4-6 probation imposed by the juvenile court.
4-7 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
4-8 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-9 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-10 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-11 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
4-12 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
4-13 passage, and it is so enacted.