HBA-JRA H.B. 704 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 704 By: Shields Public Education 3/25/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, a student who assaults an employee or volunteer of a school district is placed in an alternative education program. H.B. 704 authorizes a school district to expel a student if the student assaults a district employee or volunteer and prohibits the student from being returned to a teacher's class without the teacher's consent. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 37.002, Education Code, as follows: (d) Makes a conforming change. (e) Requires that a teacher remove from class and send to the principal for placement in an alternative education program or for expulsion, a student who engages in conduct described under Section 37.007 (Expulsion for Serious Offenses), and prohibits the student from being returned to that teacher's class without the teacher's consent. SECTION 2. Amends Section 37.007(b), Education Code, to include among the list of actions for which a student may be expelled, engaging in conduct that contains the elements of assault under Section 22.01(a)(1), Penal Code (Assault), against any employee, officer or volunteer of a school district while on school property or while attending a school-sponsored or school-related activity on or off of school property. SECTION 3. Amends Section 37.009(a), Education Code, to provide that the teacher who removed the student from class does not have to attend the conference among the principal or other appropriate administrator, parent or guardian of the student, and the student, if the teacher was the victim of the student's offense. SECTION 4. Makes application of this Act prospective to the 1999-2000 school year. SECTION 5. Emergency clause. Effective date: upon passage.