By: West S.B. No. 811
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1-1 relating to the offense of a parent's failure to require a child to
1-2 attend school.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Subsection (a), Section 4.25, Education Code, is
1-5 amended to read as follows:
1-6 (a) If any parent or person standing in parental relation to
1-7 a child<,> within the compulsory school attendance ages and not
1-8 lawfully exempt or properly excused from school attendance<,> fails
1-9 to require such child to attend school for such periods as required
1-10 by law, it shall be the duty of the proper attendance officer to
1-11 warn, in writing, the parent or person standing in parental
1-12 relation that attendance must be immediately required. If after
1-13 this warning the parent or person standing in parental relation
1-14 intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or with criminal negligence
1-15 fails to require the child to attend school as required by law and
1-16 the child has unexcused voluntary absences for the amount of time
1-17 specified under Section 51.03(b)(2), Family Code, the parent or
1-18 person standing in parental relation commits an offense. The
1-19 attendance officer shall file a complaint against him in the county
1-20 court, in the justice court of his resident precinct, or in the
1-21 municipal court of the municipality in which he resides or in the
1-22 municipality or justice of the peace precinct in which the school
1-23 is located. In addition, if the child has unexcused voluntary
1-24 absences for the amount of time specified under Section
2-1 51.03(b)(2), Family Code <been voluntarily absent from school for
2-2 10 or more days or parts of days within a six-month period or three
2-3 or more days or parts of days within a four-week period without the
2-4 consent of his parents>, the attendance officer shall refer the
2-5 child to the county juvenile probation department for action as
2-6 conduct indicating a need for supervision under that section
2-7 <Section 51.03(b), Family Code>. A court in which a complaint is
2-8 filed under this subsection shall give preference to a hearing on
2-9 the complaint over other cases before the court. An offense under
2-10 this section is punishable by a fine of not less than $5 nor more
2-11 than $25 for the first offense, not less than $10 nor more than $50
2-12 for the second offense, and not less than $25 nor more than $100
2-13 for a subsequent offense. Each day the child remains out of school
2-14 after the warning has been given or the child ordered to school by
2-15 the juvenile court may constitute a separate offense. If the court
2-16 probates the sentence, the court may require the defendant to
2-17 render personal services to a charitable or educational institution
2-18 as a condition of probation.
2-19 SECTION 2. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies
2-20 only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this
2-21 Act. For purposes of this section, an offense is committed before
2-22 the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs
2-23 before the effective date.
2-24 (b) An offense committed before the effective date of this
2-25 Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,
2-26 and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
2-27 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1993.
3-1 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
3-2 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-3 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-4 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-5 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.