Floor Packet Page No. 98
      Amend CSSB 4 by inserting the following new SECTIONS,
appropriately numbered, and by renumbering SECTIONS of the bill
accordingly:
      SECTION ____.  Section 25.087(a), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
      (a)  A child required to attend school may be excused for
temporary absence resulting from any cause acceptable to the
teacher, principal, or superintendent of the school in which the
child is enrolled.  A teacher, principal, or superintendent may not
excuse an absence under this subsection resulting from the
voluntary absence of a child from the child's home that is without
the consent of the child's parent or guardian and is for a
substantial length of time or without intent to return.
      SECTION ____.  Subchapter C, Chapter 25, Education Code, is
amended by adding Sections 25.0911 and 25.0912 to read as follows:
      Sec. 25.0911.  SERVICE OF LEGAL PROCESS.  A school district
administrator, school administrator, or constable designated in
writing by an attendance officer may serve legal process under the
same circumstances and in the same manner as an attendance officer
under Section 25.091.
      Sec. 25.0912.  TRUANCY REDUCTION PROGRAM.  (a)  A school
district shall establish a program to reduce truancy at a district
campus if the student attendance rate at the campus is below 94
percent for at least two consecutive months.
      (b)  A district required to establish a program under this
section shall:
            (1)  operate the program at least until the monthly
student attendance rate at the campus is at or above 94 percent;
            (2)  designate one or more district employees as
truancy caseworkers; and
            (3)  require the employee or employees designated under
Subdivision (2) to:
                  (A)  promptly notify parents of students who are
absent from school without excuse;
                  (B)  work cooperatively with parents and students
to improve student attendance;
                  (C)  closely monitor the school attendance of
students with a history of unexcused absences; and
                  (D)  refer students with a history of unexcused
absences and the parents of those students to any appropriate
programs or services available to address the underlying causes of
the failure to attend school.
      SECTION ____.  Section 25.093, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
      Sec. 25.093.  THWARTING COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE LAW.  (a)  If
any parent of a child required to attend school fails to require
the child to attend school as required by law, the school
attendance officer shall warn the parent <in writing> that
attendance is immediately required.  A warning for purposes of this
subsection may be an actual warning or a warning in writing that:
            (1)  is sent by:
                  (A)  registered or certified mail with return
receipt requested;
                  (B)  telegram with report of delivery requested;
or
                  (C)  first class mail if the letter was returned
unopened with markings indicating that the address is incorrect and
that there is no current forwarding order; and
            (2)  is addressed to the parent at the parent's address
shown on school records.
      (b)  A warning given in accordance with Subsections (a)(1)
and (2) is presumed to have been received not later than the fifth
day after the date the warning was sent.
      (c)  If, after a warning under Subsection (a), the parent
with criminal negligence fails to require the child to attend
school as required by law and the child has unexcused voluntary
absences for the amount of time specified under Section
51.03(b)(2), Family Code, the parent commits an offense.
      (d) <(c)>  The attendance officer shall file a complaint
against the parent in the county court, in a justice court in the
county in which the parent resides or in which the school is
located, or in a municipal court of the municipality in which the
parent resides or in which the school is located.  The attendance
officer shall file a complaint under this section in the court to
which the parent's child has been referred for engaging in conduct
described in Section 51.03(b)(2), Family Code, if a referral has
been made for the child.  If a referral has not been made, the
attendance officer shall refer the child to the county juvenile
probation department for action as engaging in conduct indicating a
need for supervision under that section.
      (e) <(d)>  A court in which a complaint is filed under this
section shall give preference to a hearing on the complaint over
other cases before the court.
      (f) <(e)>  An offense under this section is a Class C
misdemeanor.  Each day the child remains out of school after the
warning has been given or the child has been ordered to attend
school by the juvenile court may constitute a separate offense.
Two or more offenses under this section may be consolidated and
prosecuted in a single action.  If the court probates the sentence,
the court may require the defendant to render personal services to
a charitable or educational institution as a condition of
probation.
      (g) <(f)>  A fine collected under this section shall be
deposited as follows:
            (1)  one-half shall be deposited to the credit of the
operating fund of the school district in which the child attends
school; and
            (2)  one-half shall be deposited to the credit of:
                  (A)  the general fund of the county, if the
complaint is filed in the county court or justice court; or
                  (B)  the general fund of the municipality, if the
complaint is filed in municipal court.
      (h) <(g)>  At the trial of any person charged with violating
this section, the attendance records of the child may be presented
in court by any authorized employee of the school district.
      (i) <(h)>  The court in which a conviction for an offense
under this section occurs may order the defendant to attend a class
for parents of students with unexcused absences that provides
instruction designed to assist those parents in identifying
problems that contribute to the students' unexcused absences and in
developing strategies for resolving those problems if the school
district in which the person resides offers such a class.
      (j) <(i)>  In this section, "parent" includes a person
standing in parental relation.
      SECTION ____.  The sections of this Act amending Sections
25.087(a) and 25.093, Education Code, and adding Sections 25.0911
and 25.0912, Education Code, apply beginning with the 2000-2001
school year.