By: Earley H.B. No. 994
73R4638 ESH-F
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the enforcement of the compulsory school attendance
1-3 law.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Sections 4.25(a) and (b), Education Code, are
1-6 amended to read as follows:
1-7 (a) If any parent or person standing in parental relation to
1-8 a child, within the compulsory school attendance ages and not
1-9 lawfully exempt or properly excused from school attendance, fails
1-10 to require such child to attend school for such periods as required
1-11 by law, it shall be the duty of the proper attendance officer to
1-12 warn, in writing, the parent or person standing in parental
1-13 relation that attendance must be immediately required. If after
1-14 this warning the parent or person standing in parental relation
1-15 intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or with criminal negligence
1-16 fails to require the child to attend school as required by law, the
1-17 parent or person standing in parental relation commits an offense.
1-18 The attendance officer shall file a complaint against him in the
1-19 county court, in the justice court of his resident precinct, or in
1-20 the municipal court of the municipality in which he resides or in
1-21 the municipality or justice of the peace precinct in which the
1-22 school is located. In addition, if the child has been voluntarily
1-23 absent from school for 10 or more days or parts of days within a
1-24 six-month period or three or more days or parts of days within a
2-1 four-week period without the consent of his parents, the attendance
2-2 officer shall refer the child to the county juvenile probation
2-3 department for action as conduct indicating a need for supervision
2-4 under Section 51.03(b), Family Code. A court in which a complaint
2-5 is filed under this subsection shall give preference to a hearing
2-6 on the complaint over other cases before the court. An offense
2-7 under this section is punishable by a fine of not less than $10
2-8 <$5> nor more than $50 <$25> for the first offense, not less than
2-9 $20 <$10> nor more than $100 <$50> for the second offense, and not
2-10 less than $50 <$25> nor more than $200 <$100> for a subsequent
2-11 offense. Each day the child remains out of school after the
2-12 warning has been given or the child ordered to school by the
2-13 juvenile court may constitute a separate offense. If the court
2-14 probates the sentence, the court may require the defendant to
2-15 render personal services to a charitable or educational institution
2-16 as a condition of probation.
2-17 (b) A fine collected under this section shall be deposited
2-18 as follows:
2-19 (1) one-half shall be deposited to the credit of the
2-20 operating fund of the school district in which the child attends
2-21 school; and
2-22 (2) one-half shall be deposited to the credit of:
2-23 (A) the general fund of the county, if the
2-24 complaint is filed in the county court or justice court; or
2-25 (B) the general fund of the municipality, if the
2-26 complaint is filed in municipal court <It is a defense to
2-27 prosecution under Subsection (a) of this section that the parent or
3-1 person standing in parental relation to the child is unable to
3-2 compel the child to attend school>.
3-3 SECTION 2. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies
3-4 only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this
3-5 Act. For the purposes of this section, an offense is committed
3-6 before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense
3-7 occurs before the effective date.
3-8 (b) An offense committed before the effective date of this
3-9 Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,
3-10 and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
3-11 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1993.
3-12 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
3-13 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-14 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-15 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-16 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.