By Wentworth S.B. No. 263
74R1402 ESH-F
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to truancy.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Section 4.25(a), Education Code, as amended by
1-5 Chapters 347, 358, and 930, Acts of the 73rd Legislature, Regular
1-6 Session, 1993, is 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 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 the parent or
1-21 person standing in parental relation <him> in the county court, in
1-22 the justice court of the <his resident> precinct in which the
1-23 parent or person standing in parental relation resides, or in the
1-24 municipal court of the municipality in which the parent or person
2-1 standing in parental relation <he> resides or in any municipality
2-2 or justice of the peace precinct in which the school district is
2-3 located. The attendance officer shall file a complaint under this
2-4 section in the court to which the <parent's> child has been
2-5 referred for engaging in conduct described in Section 51.03(b)(2),
2-6 Family Code, if a referral has been made for the child. In
2-7 addition, if the child has unexcused voluntary absences for the
2-8 amount of time specified under Section 51.03(b)(2), Family Code,
2-9 the attendance officer shall refer the child to the county juvenile
2-10 probation department for action as conduct indicating a need for
2-11 supervision under that section. A court in which a complaint is
2-12 filed under this subsection shall give preference to a hearing on
2-13 the complaint over other cases before the court. An offense under
2-14 this section is a Class C misdemeanor <punishable by a fine of not
2-15 less than $10 nor more than $50 for the first offense, not less
2-16 than $20 nor more than $100 for the second offense, and not less
2-17 than $50 nor more than $200 for a subsequent offense>. Each day
2-18 the child remains out of school after the warning has been given or
2-19 the child ordered to school by the juvenile court may constitute a
2-20 separate offense. Two or more offenses under this section may be
2-21 consolidated and prosecuted in a single action. If the court
2-22 probates the sentence, the court may require the defendant to
2-23 render personal services to a charitable or educational institution
2-24 as a condition of probation.
2-25 SECTION 2. Section 4.251, Education Code, is amended to read
2-26 as follows:
2-27 Sec. 4.251. Failure to Attend School. (a) A child commits
3-1 an offense if the child:
3-2 (1) is required to attend school under Section 21.032
3-3 of this code; and
3-4 (2) fails to attend school for 10 or more days or
3-5 parts of days in a six-month period or three or more days or parts
3-6 of days in a four-week period without an excuse as provided by
3-7 Section 21.035 of this code.
3-8 (b) An offense under this section may be prosecuted in the
3-9 justice court for the precinct in which the child resides or in
3-10 which the school is located.
3-11 (c) On a finding by the justice court that the child has
3-12 committed an offense under Subsection (a), the court may enter an
3-13 order that includes one or more of the requirements listed in
3-14 Section 54.021(d), Family Code.
3-15 (d) If the justice court finds that a child has violated an
3-16 order issued under Subsection (c), the court shall transfer the
3-17 complaint against the child, together with all pleadings and
3-18 orders, to a juvenile court for the county in which the child
3-19 resides. The juvenile court shall conduct an adjudication hearing
3-20 as provided by Section 54.03, Family Code. The adjudication
3-21 hearing shall be de novo.
3-22 (e) Pursuant to an order of the justice court, a peace
3-23 officer may take a child into custody if there are reasonable
3-24 grounds to believe that the child has committed an offense under
3-25 this section. A peace officer taking a child into custody under
3-26 this subsection shall:
3-27 (1) promptly notify the child's parent, guardian, or
4-1 custodian of the officer's action and the reason for that action;
4-2 and
4-3 (2) without unnecessary delay:
4-4 (A) release the child to the child's parent,
4-5 guardian, or custodian or to another responsible adult, if the
4-6 person promises to bring the child to the justice court as
4-7 requested by the court; or
4-8 (B) bring the child to the justice of the peace
4-9 of the court having jurisdiction over the child.
4-10 (f) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
4-11 (g) <(d)> Any person convicted of not more than one
4-12 violation under this section while a minor, on attaining the age of
4-13 18 years, may apply to the court in which he was convicted to have
4-14 the conviction expunged.
4-15 (h) <(e)> The application shall contain the applicant's
4-16 sworn statement that he was not convicted of any violation of this
4-17 section while a minor other than the one he seeks to have expunged.
4-18 (i) <(f)> If the court finds that the applicant was not
4-19 convicted of any other violation of this section while he was a
4-20 minor, the court shall order the conviction, together with all
4-21 complaints, verdicts, sentences, and other documents relating to
4-22 the offense, to be expunged from the applicant's record. After
4-23 entry of the order, the applicant shall be released from all
4-24 disabilities resulting from the conviction, and the conviction may
4-25 not be shown or made known for any purpose.
4-26 SECTION 3. (a) The change in law made by Section 1 of this
4-27 Act applies only to an offense under Section 4.25, Education Code,
5-1 committed on or after the effective date of this Act. For the
5-2 purposes of this section, an offense is committed before the
5-3 effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs
5-4 before the effective date.
5-5 (b) An offense under Section 4.25, Education Code, committed
5-6 before the effective date of this Act is covered by the law in
5-7 effect when the offense was committed, and the former law is
5-8 continued in effect for that purpose.
5-9 SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
5-10 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
5-11 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
5-12 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
5-13 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
5-14 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.