By: Johnson H.B. No. 2337
73R795 JMM-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the offense of a parent's failure to require a child to
1-3 attend school.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 4.25(a), Education Code, is amended to
1-6 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 and
1-17 the child has unexcused voluntary absences for the amount of time
1-18 specified under Section 51.03(b)(2), Family Code, the parent or
1-19 person standing in parental relation commits an offense. The
1-20 attendance officer shall file a complaint against him in the county
1-21 court, in the justice court of his resident precinct, or in the
1-22 municipal court of the municipality in which he resides or in the
1-23 municipality or justice of the peace precinct in which the school
1-24 is located. In addition, if the child has unexcused voluntary
2-1 absences for the amount of time specified under Section
2-2 51.03(b)(2), Family Code <been voluntarily absent from school for
2-3 10 or more days or parts of days within a six-month period or three
2-4 or more days or parts of days within a four-week period without the
2-5 consent of his parents>, the attendance officer shall refer the
2-6 child to the county juvenile probation department for action as
2-7 conduct indicating a need for supervision under that section
2-8 <Section 51.03(b), Family Code>. A court in which a complaint is
2-9 filed under this subsection shall give preference to a hearing on
2-10 the complaint over other cases before the court. An offense under
2-11 this section is punishable by a fine of not less than $5 nor more
2-12 than $25 for the first offense, not less than $10 nor more than $50
2-13 for the second offense, and not less than $25 nor more than $100
2-14 for a subsequent offense. Each day the child remains out of school
2-15 after the warning has been given or the child ordered to school by
2-16 the juvenile court may constitute a separate offense. If the court
2-17 probates the sentence, the court may require the defendant to
2-18 render personal services to a charitable or educational institution
2-19 as a condition of probation.
2-20 SECTION 2. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies
2-21 only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this
2-22 Act. For purposes of this section, an offense is committed before
2-23 the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs
2-24 before the effective date.
2-25 (b) An offense committed before the effective date of this
2-26 Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,
2-27 and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
3-1 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1993.
3-2 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
3-3 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-4 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-5 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-6 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.