By Nelson S.B. No. 746
74R5950 KKA-F
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to parental rights concerning children attending public
1-3 schools; providing criminal penalties.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Chapter 21, Education Code, is amended by adding
1-6 Subchapter W to read as follows:
1-7 SUBCHAPTER W. PARENTAL RIGHTS
1-8 Sec. 21.801. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
1-9 (1) "Emancipated minor" means a minor who is or has
1-10 been married or has had the disabilities of minority removed for
1-11 general purposes.
1-12 (2) "Guardian" means a person who, under court order,
1-13 is charged with the duty of care of a child.
1-14 (3) "Minor" means a person under 18 years of age.
1-15 (4) "Parent" means a natural parent, adoptive parent,
1-16 or stepparent married to the natural or adoptive parent of a child,
1-17 but does not include a person as to whom the parent-child
1-18 relationship has been terminated or the spouse of such a person.
1-19 (5) "Working day" means a weekday other than a holiday
1-20 recognized by state or federal law.
1-21 Sec. 21.802. EMANCIPATED MINOR ENTITLED TO EXERCISE RIGHTS.
1-22 (a) A parent or guardian of a student may exercise the rights
1-23 given and is entitled to receive the notices required by this
1-24 subchapter only in connection with a student who is a minor.
2-1 (b) An emancipated minor or student who is not a minor may
2-2 exercise the rights given and is entitled to receive the notices
2-3 required by this subchapter on the person's own behalf.
2-4 Sec. 21.803. PARENTAL BILL OF RIGHTS. (a) A parent or
2-5 guardian of a student enrolled in a school district has the right
2-6 to:
2-7 (1) observe any class or school activity that the
2-8 student attends, as provided by Section 21.805;
2-9 (2) meet with the student's teacher or principal on
2-10 request;
2-11 (3) volunteer time or donate money for the improvement
2-12 of district facilities or programs;
2-13 (4) review the curriculum and instructional materials,
2-14 as provided by Section 21.804;
2-15 (5) have a safe school environment for the student;
2-16 (6) be notified if the student is absent from school
2-17 without permission;
2-18 (7) be informed of appropriate school personnel to
2-19 contact regarding problems with the student;
2-20 (8) view the student's school records;
2-21 (9) establish a parent organization at the school the
2-22 student attends;
2-23 (10) be represented in meetings with the district
2-24 required by Section 21.930;
2-25 (11) elect representatives to serve on the school
2-26 committee required by Section 21.931;
2-27 (12) prohibit the district from making a videotape of
3-1 the student or recording the student's voice;
3-2 (13) receive the results of the student's performance
3-3 on standardized tests and statewide tests; and
3-4 (14) receive information on student performance on
3-5 standardized tests and statewide tests for the grade level in which
3-6 the student is enrolled and the school that the student attends.
3-7 (b) A school district shall distribute a copy of the
3-8 parental bill of rights annually to the parent or guardian of each
3-9 student enrolled in the district with the district's campus report
3-10 card required by Section 35.043.
3-11 (c) A school district may adopt policies as required to
3-12 implement Subsection (a).
3-13 Sec. 21.804. ACCESS TO INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS. (a) A
3-14 parent or guardian of a student enrolled in a school district or an
3-15 adult resident of a school district may, after written request to
3-16 the district, inspect all curriculum and instructional materials
3-17 used in the district, including teachers' manuals, films, tapes,
3-18 computer programs, laser discs, other supplemental instructional
3-19 materials, tests, test keys, and test objectives.
3-20 (b) A school district shall arrange for review of the
3-21 curriculum and instructional materials not later than the fifth
3-22 working day after the district receives a person's written request
3-23 for review. The person must review the curriculum and
3-24 instructional materials at the school and may not remove any
3-25 materials from the school. A district is not required by this
3-26 section to allow review of a test or related materials before the
3-27 test is administered.
4-1 Sec. 21.805. OBSERVATION OF SCHOOL ACTIVITIES. (a) A
4-2 parent or guardian of a student enrolled in a school district may,
4-3 on request, attend and observe any class, assembly, counseling
4-4 session, administration of health care, or other school activity in
4-5 which the student is engaged. A parent or guardian is not required
4-6 to provide advance notice to the district of the person's request.
4-7 (b) Attendance and observation under this section must be
4-8 orderly and not disruptive.
4-9 Sec. 21.806. REMOVAL FROM SCHOOL ACTIVITY. (a) The parent
4-10 or guardian of a student enrolled in a school district may, on
4-11 written request to the district, remove the student from any class,
4-12 counseling session, or other instructional activity conducted by
4-13 the district that the parent or guardian finds objectionable based
4-14 on religious, ethical, or moral grounds.
4-15 (b) The school district must comply with the request of a
4-16 student's parent or guardian under this section immediately in a
4-17 manner that does not create an embarrassing or demeaning situation
4-18 for the student.
4-19 Sec. 21.807. IN-HOME VISITS. (a) A school district may not
4-20 conduct home visits or in-home parenting training at the home of a
4-21 student enrolled in the district without the written informed
4-22 consent of the parent or guardian of the student. Consent under
4-23 this section is not valid if it is obtained later than four weeks
4-24 before or earlier than four weeks after the birth of a child to the
4-25 parent or guardian.
4-26 (b) The consent required by Subsection (a) must contain:
4-27 (1) a clear description of the program provided by the
5-1 school district, including the activities and information
5-2 presented;
5-3 (2) the number of anticipated home visits;
5-4 (3) a notice that a record will be maintained
5-5 concerning the home visits and that the record may be available in
5-6 court proceedings;
5-7 (4) if applicable, a notice that personnel conducting
5-8 the home visits or parenting training are required to report any
5-9 instances of suspected child neglect or abuse to the Department of
5-10 Protective and Regulatory Services or other appropriate entity; and
5-11 (5) any other information necessary to provide the
5-12 parent or guardian with a clear understanding of the program and
5-13 its implications and risks.
5-14 (c) Consent provided under Subsection (a) may be revoked for
5-15 any reason at any time.
5-16 (d) A parent or guardian may review any records kept by a
5-17 school district relating to home visits to the person or in-home
5-18 parenting training provided to the person. A parent or guardian
5-19 may provide written statements or materials to the district for
5-20 inclusion in its records if the person considers the district's
5-21 records to be inaccurate.
5-22 (e) Notwithstanding Section 21.912, a parent or guardian may
5-23 bring suit against a person for knowing or reckless inclusion of
5-24 defamatory or derogatory information in school district records of
5-25 home visits or in-home parenting training.
5-26 Sec. 21.808. INTERFERENCE WITH PARENT-CHILD COMMUNICATION.
5-27 (a) An employee of a school district or any person acting under
6-1 the direction of an employee of a school district may not instruct
6-2 or encourage a student to withhold information from the student's
6-3 parent or guardian about any instruction the student received or
6-4 any conversation or activity in which the student was involved.
6-5 (b) A school district may not use instructional materials
6-6 that encourage a student to withhold any information from the
6-7 student's parent or guardian.
6-8 Sec. 21.809. CRIMINAL PENALTY. A person who knowingly
6-9 violates this subchapter commits an offense. An offense under this
6-10 section is a Class A misdemeanor.
6-11 Sec. 21.810. CIVIL REMEDY. (a) A school district is liable
6-12 to a parent or guardian of a student enrolled in the district, an
6-13 adult enrolled in the district, or an adult resident of the
6-14 district for damages resulting from the district's violation of
6-15 this subchapter, including reasonable attorney's fees incurred in
6-16 bringing suit against the district.
6-17 (b) A suit under this chapter may be brought in the county
6-18 in which the plaintiff resides.
6-19 SECTION 2. Section 21.930, Education Code, is amended to
6-20 read as follows:
6-21 Sec. 21.930. District-Level Decision Process. (a) The
6-22 board of trustees of each school district shall adopt a policy to
6-23 involve the professional staff and parents of the district in
6-24 establishing and reviewing the district's educational goals,
6-25 objectives, and major district-wide classroom instructional
6-26 programs.
6-27 (b) The board shall establish a procedure under which
7-1 meetings are held regularly with representative professional staff
7-2 and parents and the board or board designee.
7-3 (c) The board shall adopt a procedure, consistent with
7-4 Section 21.904(a) of this code, for the professional staff within
7-5 the district to nominate and elect the representatives who will
7-6 meet with the board or the board designee as required under the
7-7 provisions of this section. Two-thirds of the elected
7-8 representatives must be classroom teachers. The remaining
7-9 representatives shall be campus-based staff.
7-10 (d) The district's policy shall require that parents of
7-11 students enrolled in the district be selected to participate in
7-12 meetings with the board or the board designee as required by this
7-13 section. Parents shall compose at least 25 percent of the total
7-14 membership of a group formed under this section and shall be
7-15 selected for one-year terms by the district's parent-teacher
7-16 organization or organizations.
7-17 (e) <(d)> This section does not prohibit the board from
7-18 conducting meetings with teachers, parents, or groups of teachers
7-19 or parents other than the meetings described by this section.
7-20 (f) <(e)> Nothing in this section shall be construed to
7-21 limit or affect the power of a local school board of trustees to
7-22 manage and govern the public free schools of this state.
7-23 (g) <(f)> Nothing in this section shall be construed as
7-24 creating a new cause of action or as requiring collective
7-25 bargaining.
7-26 (h) <(g)> Each district shall annually report to the Central
7-27 Education Agency the involvement of the district's professional
8-1 staff and parents in district-level decisions under the policy and
8-2 procedures adopted under this section. The agency shall compile
8-3 the district reports into a single report and present that report
8-4 annually to the legislature.
8-5 (i) <(h)> The professional staff and parents selected
8-6 <elected> under this section shall hold at least one public meeting
8-7 per year. The required meeting shall be held after receipt of the
8-8 annual district performance report from the Central Education
8-9 Agency for the purpose of discussing the performance of the
8-10 district and the district performance objectives.
8-11 (j) In this section, "parent" includes a person standing in
8-12 parental relation to a student.
8-13 SECTION 3. Section 21.931(c), Education Code, is amended to
8-14 read as follows:
8-15 (c) A school committee established under this section shall
8-16 include community representatives and parents of students enrolled
8-17 at the school. The community representatives may include business
8-18 representatives. Parents or persons standing in parental relation
8-19 shall compose at least 25 percent of the committee and shall be
8-20 selected for one-year terms by the parent-teacher organization at
8-21 the school.
8-22 SECTION 4. Section 35.030(a), Education Code, is amended to
8-23 read as follows:
8-24 (a) In adopting academic skills assessment instruments under
8-25 this subchapter, the State Board of Education or a local school
8-26 district shall ensure the security of the instruments and tests in
8-27 their preparation, administration, and grading. Meetings or
9-1 portions of meetings held by the State Board of Education or a
9-2 local school district at which individual assessment instruments or
9-3 assessment instrument items are discussed or adopted are not open
9-4 to the public under Chapter 551, Government Code <271, Acts of the
9-5 60th Legislature, Regular Session, 1967 (Article 6252-17, Vernon's
9-6 Texas Civil Statutes)>, and the assessment instruments or
9-7 assessment instrument items are confidential, except as provided by
9-8 Section 35.0301.
9-9 SECTION 5. Subchapter B, Chapter 35, Education Code, as
9-10 added by Chapter 347, Acts of the 73rd Legislature, Regular
9-11 Session, 1993, is amended by adding Section 35.0301 to read as
9-12 follows:
9-13 Sec. 35.0301. PARENTAL ACCESS. (a) The parent of a student
9-14 to whom an assessment instrument is administered under this
9-15 subchapter is entitled to review the assessment instrument after
9-16 the test has been administered but before the test is scheduled to
9-17 be graded or, if the test will not be graded in the district,
9-18 before the test is scheduled to be sent away for grading.
9-19 (b) After reviewing an assessment instrument under
9-20 Subsection (a), if the parent finds that any question on the
9-21 assessment instrument is not performance-based or academic in
9-22 nature and proves that fact to the satisfaction of the board of
9-23 trustees of the district at a hearing held for that purpose, the
9-24 parent may choose to have the student's assessment instrument
9-25 withheld from grading.
9-26 (c) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules necessary
9-27 to implement this section.
10-1 SECTION 6. Section 552.122, Government Code, is amended to
10-2 conform to Section 8.30, Chapter 347, Acts of the 73rd Legislature,
10-3 Regular Session, 1993, to read as follows:
10-4 Sec. 552.122. Exception: Curriculum Objectives and Test
10-5 Items. (a) Except as provided by Sections 21.804 and 35.0301,
10-6 Education Code, a <A curriculum objective or> test item developed
10-7 by an educational institution that is funded wholly or in part by
10-8 state revenue is excepted from the requirements of Section 552.021.
10-9 (b) Except as provided by Sections 21.804 and 35.0301,
10-10 Education Code, a <A> test item developed by a licensing agency or
10-11 governmental body is excepted from the requirements of Section
10-12 552.021.
10-13 SECTION 7. This Act applies beginning with the 1995-1996
10-14 school year.
10-15 SECTION 8. The importance of this legislation and the
10-16 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
10-17 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
10-18 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
10-19 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
10-20 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
10-21 passage, and it is so enacted.