By Hill, Shields H.B. No. 681
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to truancy; providing a penalty.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Section 54.021, Family Code, is amended by
1-5 amending Subsections (a), (b), and (d) and adding Subsections (e),
1-6 (f), (g), and (h) to read as follows:
1-7 (a) The juvenile court may waive its exclusive original
1-8 jurisdiction and transfer a child to an appropriate justice court,
1-9 with the permission of the justice court, for disposition in the
1-10 manner provided by Subsection (b) of this section if the child is
1-11 alleged to have engaged in conduct described in Section 51.03(b)(2)
1-12 of this code. A waiver of jurisdiction under this subsection may
1-13 be for an individual case or for all cases in which a child is
1-14 alleged to have engaged in conduct described in Section 51.03(b)(2)
1-15 of this code. The waiver of a juvenile court's exclusive original
1-16 jurisdiction for all cases in which a child is alleged to have
1-17 engaged in conduct described in Section 51.03(b)(2) of this code is
1-18 effective for a period of one year.
1-19 (b) A justice court may exercise jurisdiction over a child
1-20 alleged to have engaged in conduct indicating a need for
1-21 supervision by engaging in conduct described in Section 51.03(b)(2)
1-22 in a case where the juvenile court has waived its original
1-23 jurisdiction under this section. A justice court may exercise
1-24 jurisdiction under this section without regard to whether the
2-1 justice of the peace for the court is a licensed attorney or the
2-2 hearing for a case is before a jury consisting of six persons.
2-3 (d) On a finding by the justice court that the child has
2-4 engaged in truant conduct and that the conduct is of a recurrent
2-5 nature, the court may enter an order that includes one or more of
2-6 the following provisions requiring that:
2-7 (1) the child attend a preparatory class for the high
2-8 school equivalency examination provided under Section 11.35,
2-9 Education Code, if the court determines that the child is too old
2-10 to do well in a formal classroom environment;
2-11 (2) the child attend a special program that the court
2-12 determines to be in the best interests of the child, including an
2-13 alcohol and drug abuse program;
2-14 (3) the child and the child's parents, managing
2-15 conservator, or guardian attend a class for students at risk of
2-16 dropping out of school designed for both the child and the child's
2-17 parents, managing conservator, or guardian;
2-18 (4) the child complete reasonable community service
2-19 requirements; <or>
2-20 (5) the child's driver's license be suspended in the
2-21 manner provided by Section 54.042 of this code;
2-22 (6) the child attend school without unexcused
2-23 absences; or
2-24 (7) the child participate in a tutorial program
2-25 provided by the school attended by the child in the academic
2-26 subjects in which the child is enrolled for a total number of hours
2-27 ordered by the court.
3-1 (e) An order under Subsection (d) of this section is
3-2 enforceable in the justice court by contempt.
3-3 (f) A school attendance officer may refer a child alleged to
3-4 have engaged in conduct described in Section 51.03(b)(2) of this
3-5 code to the justice court in the precinct where the child resides
3-6 if the juvenile court having exclusive original jurisdiction has
3-7 waived its jurisdiction as provided by Subsection (a) of this
3-8 section for all cases involving conduct described by Section
3-9 51.03(b)(2) of this code.
3-10 (g) A court having jurisdiction under this section shall
3-11 endorse on the summons issued to the parent, guardian, or custodian
3-12 of the child who is the subject of the hearing an order directing
3-13 the parent, guardian, or custodian to appear personally at the
3-14 hearing and directing the person having custody of the child to
3-15 bring the child to the hearing.
3-16 (h) A person commits an offense if the person is a parent,
3-17 guardian, or custodian who fails to attend a hearing under this
3-18 section after receiving notice under Subsection (g) of this section
3-19 that the person's attendance was required. An offense under this
3-20 subsection is a Class C misdemeanor.
3-21 SECTION 2. Section 4.25(a), Education Code, is amended to
3-22 read as follows:
3-23 (a) If any parent or person standing in parental relation to
3-24 a child, within the compulsory school attendance ages and not
3-25 lawfully exempt or properly excused from school attendance, fails
3-26 to require such child to attend school for such periods as required
3-27 by law, it shall be the duty of the proper attendance officer to
4-1 warn, in writing, the parent or person standing in parental
4-2 relation that attendance must be immediately required. If after
4-3 this warning the parent or person standing in parental relation
4-4 intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or with criminal negligence
4-5 fails to require the child to attend school as required by law, the
4-6 parent or person standing in parental relation commits an offense.
4-7 The attendance officer shall file a complaint against him in the
4-8 county court, in the justice court of his resident precinct, or in
4-9 the municipal court of the municipality in which he resides or in
4-10 the municipality or justice of the peace precinct in which the
4-11 school is located. In addition, if the child has been voluntarily
4-12 absent from school for 10 or more days or parts of days within a
4-13 six-month period or three or more days or parts of days within a
4-14 four-week period without the consent of his parents, the attendance
4-15 officer shall refer the child to the county juvenile probation
4-16 department for action as conduct indicating a need for supervision
4-17 under Section 51.03(b), Family Code. A court in which a complaint
4-18 is filed under this subsection shall give preference to a hearing
4-19 on the complaint over other cases before the court. An offense
4-20 under this section is a Class C misdemeanor <punishable by a fine
4-21 of not less than $5 nor more than $25 for the first offense, not
4-22 less than $10 nor more than $50 for the second offense, and not
4-23 less than $25 nor more than $100 for a subsequent offense>. Each
4-24 day the child remains out of school after the warning has been
4-25 given or the child ordered to school by the juvenile court may
4-26 constitute a separate offense. If the court probates the sentence,
4-27 the court may require the defendant to render personal services to
5-1 a charitable or educational institution as a condition of
5-2 probation.
5-3 SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 4, Education Code, is
5-4 amended by adding Section 4.251 to read as follows:
5-5 Sec. 4.251. FAILURE TO ATTEND SCHOOL. (a) A child commits
5-6 an offense if the child:
5-7 (1) is required to attend school under Section 21.032
5-8 of this code; and
5-9 (2) during six consecutive months in a school year,
5-10 fails to attend school for five or more days without an excuse as
5-11 provided by Section 21.035 of this code.
5-12 (b) An offense under this section may be prosecuted in the
5-13 justice court for the precinct in which the child resides or in
5-14 which the school is located.
5-15 (c) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
5-16 SECTION 4. Section 21.035(g), Education Code, is amended to
5-17 read as follows:
5-18 (g) The absences of a student who returns to school as a
5-19 result of a prosecution under Section 4.25 or 4.251 of this code or
5-20 by order of a court may be excused if the student:
5-21 (1) returns to school and attends class regularly and
5-22 to the satisfaction of the district;
5-23 (2) satisfactorily completes assignments for the
5-24 period of the absence within a reasonable time determined by the
5-25 district; and
5-26 (3) passes an examination at the completion of the
5-27 class.
6-1 SECTION 5. Section 21.039(a), Education Code, is amended to
6-2 read as follows:
6-3 (a) A school attendance officer shall have the following
6-4 powers and duties:
6-5 (1) to investigate all cases of unexcused absences
6-6 from school;
6-7 (2) to administer oaths and to serve legal process;
6-8 (3) to enforce the provisions of the compulsory
6-9 attendance law;
6-10 (4) to keep records of all cases of any kind
6-11 investigated by him in the discharge of his duties;
6-12 (5) to make all reports of his work required of him by
6-13 the commissioner of education; and
6-14 (6) to refer to a juvenile court or to a justice court
6-15 if the juvenile court has waived jurisdiction as provided by
6-16 Section 54.021(a), Family Code, any truant pupil who has unexcused
6-17 voluntary absences for the amount of time specified under Section
6-18 51.03(b)(2), Family Code, or to file a complaint against any
6-19 recalcitrant person having parental control as provided in Section
6-20 4.25 of this code, or to file a complaint against a pupil for a
6-21 violation of Section 4.251 of this code.
6-22 SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 1993.
6-23 SECTION 7. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies
6-24 only if the final absence that makes Section 51.03(b)(2), Family
6-25 Code, applicable to a child's conduct occurs on or after the
6-26 effective date of this Act.
6-27 (b) The change in law made by this Act applies only to an
7-1 offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. For
7-2 the purposes of this section, an offense is committed before the
7-3 effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs
7-4 before the effective date.
7-5 (c) An offense committed before the effective date of this
7-6 Act is covered by the law in effect at the time the offense was
7-7 committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that
7-8 purpose.
7-9 SECTION 8. The importance of this legislation and the
7-10 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
7-11 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
7-12 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
7-13 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.