1-1  By:  Hill, Shields (Senate Sponsor - Wentworth)        H.B. No. 681
    1-2        (In the Senate - Received from the House April 1, 1993;
    1-3  April 5, 1993, read first time and referred to Committee on
    1-4  Jurisprudence; April 20, 1993, reported favorably by the following
    1-5  vote:  Yeas 5, Nays 0; April 20, 1993, sent to printer.)
    1-6                            COMMITTEE VOTE
    1-7                          Yea     Nay      PNV      Absent 
    1-8        Henderson          x                               
    1-9        Harris of Tarrant  x                               
   1-10        Brown              x                               
   1-11        Harris of Dallas   x                               
   1-12        Luna               x                               
   1-13        Parker                                         x   
   1-14        West                                x              
   1-15                         A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
   1-16                                AN ACT
   1-17  relating to truancy; providing a penalty.
   1-18        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
   1-19        SECTION 1.  Section 54.021, Family Code, is amended by
   1-20  amending Subsections (a), (b), and (d) and adding Subsections (e),
   1-21  (f), (g), and (h) to read as follows:
   1-22        (a)  The juvenile court may waive its exclusive original
   1-23  jurisdiction and transfer a child to an appropriate justice court,
   1-24  with the permission of the justice court, for disposition in the
   1-25  manner provided by Subsection (b) of this section if the child is
   1-26  alleged to have engaged in conduct described in Section 51.03(b)(2)
   1-27  of this code.  A waiver of jurisdiction under this subsection may
   1-28  be for an individual case or for all cases in which a child is
   1-29  alleged to have engaged in conduct described in Section 51.03(b)(2)
   1-30  of this code.  The waiver of a juvenile court's exclusive original
   1-31  jurisdiction for all cases in which a child is alleged to have
   1-32  engaged in conduct described in Section 51.03(b)(2) of this code is
   1-33  effective for a period of one year.
   1-34        (b)  A justice court may exercise jurisdiction over a child
   1-35  alleged to have engaged in conduct indicating a need for
   1-36  supervision by engaging in conduct described in Section 51.03(b)(2)
   1-37  in a case where the juvenile court has waived its original
   1-38  jurisdiction under this section.  A justice court may exercise
   1-39  jurisdiction under this section without regard to whether the
   1-40  justice of the peace for the court is a licensed attorney or the
   1-41  hearing for a case is before a jury consisting of six persons.
   1-42        (d)  On a finding by the justice court that the child has
   1-43  engaged in truant conduct and that the conduct is of a recurrent
   1-44  nature, the court may enter an order that includes one or more of
   1-45  the following provisions requiring that:
   1-46              (1)  the child attend a preparatory class for the high
   1-47  school equivalency examination provided under Section 11.35,
   1-48  Education Code, if the court determines that the child is too old
   1-49  to do well in a formal classroom environment;
   1-50              (2)  the child attend a special program that the court
   1-51  determines to be in the best interests of the child, including an
   1-52  alcohol and drug abuse program;
   1-53              (3)  the child and the child's parents, managing
   1-54  conservator, or guardian attend a class for students at risk of
   1-55  dropping out of school designed for both the child and the child's
   1-56  parents, managing conservator, or guardian;
   1-57              (4)  the child complete reasonable community service
   1-58  requirements; <or>
   1-59              (5)  the child's driver's license be suspended in the
   1-60  manner provided by Section 54.042 of this code;
   1-61              (6)  the child attend school without unexcused
   1-62  absences; or
   1-63              (7)  the child participate in a tutorial program
   1-64  provided by the school attended by the child in the academic
   1-65  subjects in which the child is enrolled for a total number of hours
   1-66  ordered by the court.
   1-67        (e)  An order under Subsection (d) of this section is
   1-68  enforceable in the justice court by contempt.
    2-1        (f)  A school attendance officer may refer a child alleged to
    2-2  have engaged in conduct described in Section 51.03(b)(2) of this
    2-3  code to the justice court in the precinct where the child resides
    2-4  if the juvenile court having exclusive original jurisdiction has
    2-5  waived its jurisdiction as provided by Subsection (a) of this
    2-6  section for all cases involving conduct described by Section
    2-7  51.03(b)(2) of this code.
    2-8        (g)  A court having jurisdiction under this section shall
    2-9  endorse on the summons issued to the parent, guardian, or custodian
   2-10  of the child who is the subject of the hearing an order directing
   2-11  the parent, guardian, or custodian to appear personally at the
   2-12  hearing and directing the person having custody of the child to
   2-13  bring the child to the hearing.
   2-14        (h)  A person commits an offense if the person is a parent,
   2-15  guardian, or custodian who fails to attend a hearing under this
   2-16  section after receiving notice under Subsection (g) of this section
   2-17  that the person's attendance was required.  An offense under this
   2-18  subsection is a Class C misdemeanor.
   2-19        SECTION 2.  Section 4.25(a), Education Code, is amended to
   2-20  read as follows:
   2-21        (a)  If any parent or person standing in parental relation to
   2-22  a child, within the compulsory school attendance ages and not
   2-23  lawfully exempt or properly excused from school attendance, fails
   2-24  to require such child to attend school for such periods as required
   2-25  by law, it shall be the duty of the proper attendance officer to
   2-26  warn, in writing, the parent or person standing in parental
   2-27  relation that attendance must be immediately required.  If after
   2-28  this warning the parent or person standing in parental relation
   2-29  intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or with criminal negligence
   2-30  fails to require the child to attend school as required by law, the
   2-31  parent or person standing in parental relation commits an offense.
   2-32  The attendance officer shall file a complaint against him in the
   2-33  county court, in the justice court of his resident precinct, or in
   2-34  the municipal court of the municipality in which he resides or in
   2-35  the municipality or justice of the peace precinct in which the
   2-36  school is located.  In addition, if the child has been voluntarily
   2-37  absent from school for 10 or more days or parts of days within a
   2-38  six-month period or three or more days or parts of days within a
   2-39  four-week period without the consent of his parents, the attendance
   2-40  officer shall refer the child to the county juvenile probation
   2-41  department for action as conduct indicating a need for supervision
   2-42  under Section 51.03(b), Family Code.  A court in which a complaint
   2-43  is filed under this subsection shall give preference to a hearing
   2-44  on the complaint over other cases before the court.  An offense
   2-45  under this section is a Class C misdemeanor <punishable by a fine
   2-46  of not less than $5 nor more than $25 for the first offense, not
   2-47  less than $10 nor more than $50 for the second offense, and not
   2-48  less than $25 nor more than $100 for a subsequent offense>.  Each
   2-49  day the child remains out of school after the warning has been
   2-50  given or the child ordered to school by the juvenile court may
   2-51  constitute a separate offense.  If the court probates the sentence,
   2-52  the court may require the defendant to render personal services to
   2-53  a charitable or educational institution as a condition of
   2-54  probation.
   2-55        SECTION 3.  Subchapter A, Chapter 4, Education Code, is
   2-56  amended by adding Section 4.251 to read as follows:
   2-57        Sec. 4.251.  FAILURE TO ATTEND SCHOOL.  (a)  A child commits
   2-58  an offense if the child:
   2-59              (1)  is required to attend school under Section 21.032
   2-60  of this code; and
   2-61              (2)  during six consecutive months in a school year,
   2-62  fails to attend school for five or more days without an excuse as
   2-63  provided by Section 21.035 of this code.
   2-64        (b)  An offense under this section may be prosecuted in the
   2-65  justice court for the precinct in which the child resides or in
   2-66  which the school is located.
   2-67        (c)  An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
   2-68        SECTION 4.  Section 21.035(g), Education Code, is amended to
   2-69  read as follows:
   2-70        (g)  The absences of a student who returns to school as a
    3-1  result of a prosecution under Section 4.25 or 4.251 of this code or
    3-2  by order of a court may be excused if the student:
    3-3              (1)  returns to school and attends class regularly and
    3-4  to the satisfaction of the district;
    3-5              (2)  satisfactorily completes assignments for the
    3-6  period of the absence within a reasonable time determined by the
    3-7  district; and
    3-8              (3)  passes an examination at the completion of the
    3-9  class.
   3-10        SECTION 5.  Section 21.039(a), Education Code, is amended to
   3-11  read as follows:
   3-12        (a)  A school attendance officer shall have the following
   3-13  powers and duties:
   3-14              (1)  to investigate all cases of unexcused absences
   3-15  from school;
   3-16              (2)  to administer oaths and to serve legal process;
   3-17              (3)  to enforce the provisions of the compulsory
   3-18  attendance law;
   3-19              (4)  to keep records of all cases of any kind
   3-20  investigated by him in the discharge of his duties;
   3-21              (5)  to make all reports of his work required of him by
   3-22  the commissioner of education; and
   3-23              (6)  to refer to a juvenile court or to a justice court
   3-24  if the juvenile court has waived jurisdiction as provided by
   3-25  Section 54.021(a), Family Code, any truant pupil who has unexcused
   3-26  voluntary absences for the amount of time specified under Section
   3-27  51.03(b)(2), Family Code, or to file a complaint against any
   3-28  recalcitrant person having parental control as provided in Section
   3-29  4.25 of this code, or to file a complaint against a pupil for a
   3-30  violation of Section 4.251 of this code.
   3-31        SECTION 6.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1993.
   3-32        SECTION 7.  (a)  The change in law made by this Act applies
   3-33  only if the final absence that makes Section 51.03(b)(2), Family
   3-34  Code, applicable to a child's conduct occurs on or after the
   3-35  effective date of this Act.
   3-36        (b)  The change in law made by this Act applies only to an
   3-37  offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.  For
   3-38  the purposes of this section, an offense is committed before the
   3-39  effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs
   3-40  before the effective date.
   3-41        (c)  An offense committed before the effective date of this
   3-42  Act is covered by the law in effect at the time the offense was
   3-43  committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that
   3-44  purpose.
   3-45        SECTION 8.  The importance of this legislation and the
   3-46  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
   3-47  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
   3-48  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
   3-49  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
   3-50                               * * * * *
   3-51                                                         Austin,
   3-52  Texas
   3-53                                                         April 20, 1993
   3-54  Hon. Bob Bullock
   3-55  President of the Senate
   3-56  Sir:
   3-57  We, your Committee on Jurisprudence to which was referred H.B.
   3-58  No. 681, have had the same under consideration, and I am instructed
   3-59  to report it back to the Senate with the recommendation that it do
   3-60  pass and be printed.
   3-61                                                         Henderson,
   3-62  Chairman
   3-63                               * * * * *
   3-64                               WITNESSES
   3-65                                                  FOR   AGAINST  ON
   3-66                                                  FOR   AGAINST  ON
   3-67  ___________________________________________________________________
   3-68  ___________________________________________________________________
   3-69  Name:  John H. Williams                          x
   3-70  Representing:  JP & Cnstbl Assoc.
    4-1  City:  Robstown
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    4-3  Name:  Judge Bill Freeman                        x
    4-4  Representing:  JP & Cnstbl Assoc.
    4-5  City:  Gainesville
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    4-7  Name:  Mike Cantrell                             x
    4-8  Representing:
    4-9  City:  Garland
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   4-11  Name:  Keith Baker                               x
   4-12  Representing:  Bexar County
   4-13  City:  San Antonio
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