By Goodman H.B. No. 2742
76R8889 ESH-F
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the expulsion of public school students and the
1-3 operation of juvenile justice alternative education programs.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 25.086(a), Education Code, is amended to
1-6 read as follows:
1-7 (a) A child is exempt from the requirements of compulsory
1-8 school attendance if the child:
1-9 (1) attends a private or parochial school that
1-10 includes in its course a study of good citizenship;
1-11 (2) is eligible to participate in a school district's
1-12 special education program under Section 29.003 and cannot be
1-13 appropriately served by the resident district;
1-14 (3) has a physical or mental condition of a temporary
1-15 and remediable nature that makes the child's attendance infeasible
1-16 and holds a certificate from a qualified physician specifying the
1-17 temporary condition, indicating the treatment prescribed to remedy
1-18 the temporary condition, and covering the anticipated period of the
1-19 child's absence from school for the purpose of receiving and
1-20 recuperating from that remedial treatment;
1-21 (4) is expelled in accordance with the requirements of
1-22 law in a school district that does not participate in a [mandatory]
1-23 juvenile justice alternative education program under Section
1-24 37.011;
2-1 (5) is at least 17 years of age and:
2-2 (A) is attending a course of instruction to
2-3 prepare for the high school equivalency examination, and:
2-4 (i) has the permission of the child's
2-5 parent or guardian to attend the course;
2-6 (ii) is required by court order to attend
2-7 the course;
2-8 (iii) has established a residence separate
2-9 and apart from the child's parent, guardian, or other person having
2-10 lawful control of the child; or
2-11 (iv) is homeless as defined by 42 U.S.C.
2-12 Section 11302; or
2-13 (B) has received a high school diploma or high
2-14 school equivalency certificate;
2-15 (6) is at least 16 years of age and is attending a
2-16 course of instruction to prepare for the high school equivalency
2-17 examination, if the child is recommended to take the course of
2-18 instruction by a public agency that has supervision or custody of
2-19 the child under a court order;
2-20 (7) is enrolled in the Texas Academy of Mathematics
2-21 and Science;
2-22 (8) is enrolled in the Texas Academy of Leadership in
2-23 the Humanities; or
2-24 (9) is specifically exempted under another law.
2-25 SECTION 2. Sections 37.007(a) and (c), Education Code, are
2-26 amended to read as follows:
2-27 (a) A student shall be expelled from a school if the
3-1 student, on school property or while attending a school-sponsored
3-2 or school-related activity on or off of school property:
3-3 (1) uses, exhibits, or possesses:
3-4 (A) a firearm as defined by Section 46.01(3),
3-5 Penal Code;
3-6 (B) an illegal knife as defined by Section
3-7 46.01(6), Penal Code, or by local policy;
3-8 (C) a club as defined by Section 46.01(1), Penal
3-9 Code; or
3-10 (D) a weapon listed as a prohibited weapon under
3-11 Section 46.05, Penal Code;
3-12 (2) engages in conduct that contains the elements of
3-13 the offense of:
3-14 (A) aggravated assault under Section 22.02,
3-15 Penal Code, sexual assault under Section 22.011, Penal Code, or
3-16 aggravated sexual assault under Section 22.021, Penal Code;
3-17 (B) arson under Section 28.02, Penal Code;
3-18 (C) murder under Section 19.02, Penal Code,
3-19 capital murder under Section 19.03, Penal Code, or criminal
3-20 attempt, under Section 15.01, Penal Code, to commit murder or
3-21 capital murder;
3-22 (D) indecency with a child under Section 21.11,
3-23 Penal Code; [or]
3-24 (E) aggravated kidnapping under Section 20.04,
3-25 Penal Code; or
3-26 (F) aggravated robbery under Section 29.03,
3-27 Penal Code; or
4-1 (3) engages in conduct specified by Section
4-2 37.006(a)(3) or (4), if the conduct is punishable as a felony.
4-3 (c) A student may be expelled if the student, while placed
4-4 in an alternative education program for disciplinary reasons,
4-5 continues to engage in serious or persistent misbehavior that
4-6 violates the district's student code of conduct. A student may be
4-7 expelled under this subsection for conduct that does not occur on
4-8 school property or while attending a school-sponsored or
4-9 school-related activity only if:
4-10 (1) the student receives deferred prosecution under
4-11 Section 53.03, Family Code, for conduct defined as a felony offense
4-12 under Title 5, Penal Code;
4-13 (2) a court or jury finds under Section 54.03, Family
4-14 Code, that the student has engaged in delinquent conduct for
4-15 conduct defined as a felony offense under Title 5, Penal Code;
4-16 (3) a court or jury convicts the student of a felony
4-17 offense under Title 5, Penal Code; or
4-18 (4) the superintendent or superintendent's designee
4-19 has a reasonable belief that the student has engaged in conduct
4-20 defined as a felony offense under Title 5, Penal Code.
4-21 SECTION 3. Section 37.011, Education Code, is amended by
4-22 amending Subsections (a), (f), (i), (k), and (l) and adding
4-23 Subsections (r) and (s) to read as follows:
4-24 (a) The juvenile board of a county with a population greater
4-25 than 125,000 shall develop a juvenile justice alternative education
4-26 program, subject to the approval of the Texas Juvenile Probation
4-27 Commission. The juvenile board of a county with a population of
5-1 125,000 or less may develop a juvenile justice alternative
5-2 education program. A juvenile justice alternative education
5-3 program that is located in a county with a population of 125,000 or
5-4 less and that does not receive state-appropriated funds for
5-5 juvenile justice alternative education programs:
5-6 (1) is not required to be approved by the Texas
5-7 Juvenile Probation Commission; and
5-8 (2) is not subject to Subsection (c), (d), (f), or
5-9 (g).
5-10 (f) A juvenile justice alternative education program must
5-11 operate at least[:]
5-12 [(1)] seven hours per day[;] and
5-13 [(2)] 180 days per year. The Texas Juvenile Probation
5-14 Commission may approve the instruction of students for fewer than
5-15 the number of days required under this subsection if disaster,
5-16 flood, extreme weather conditions, fuel curtailment, or another
5-17 calamity causes the closing of schools or if the juvenile justice
5-18 alternative education program has adopted the school calendar of a
5-19 school district in the county and the days of instruction in that
5-20 district are fewer than 180 because of a waiver granted by the
5-21 commissioner.
5-22 (i) A student transferred to a juvenile justice alternative
5-23 education program must participate in the program for the full
5-24 period ordered by the juvenile court unless the student's school
5-25 district agrees to accept the student before the date ordered by
5-26 the juvenile court. The juvenile court may not order a period of
5-27 transfer under this section that exceeds the term of any probation
6-1 ordered by the juvenile court. A student may not be placed into
6-2 the juvenile justice alternative education program for a period of
6-3 fewer than 90 school days.
6-4 (k) Each school district in a county with a population
6-5 greater than 125,000 and the county juvenile board shall annually
6-6 enter into a joint memorandum of understanding that:
6-7 (1) outlines the responsibilities of the juvenile
6-8 board concerning the establishment and operation of a juvenile
6-9 justice alternative education program under this section;
6-10 (2) defines the amount and conditions on payments from
6-11 the school district to the juvenile board for students of the
6-12 school district served in the juvenile justice alternative
6-13 education program whose placement was not made on the basis of an
6-14 expulsion under Section 37.007(a), (d), or (e);
6-15 (3) identifies those categories of conduct that the
6-16 school district has defined in its student code of conduct as
6-17 constituting serious or persistent misbehavior for which a student
6-18 may be placed in the juvenile justice alternative education
6-19 program;
6-20 (4) identifies and requires a timely placement and
6-21 specifies a term of placement for expelled students for whom the
6-22 school district has received a notice under Section 52.041(d),
6-23 Family Code;
6-24 (5) establishes services for the transitioning of
6-25 expelled students to the school district prior to the completion of
6-26 the student's placement in the juvenile justice alternative
6-27 education program;
7-1 (6) subject to Subsection (r), establishes a plan that
7-2 provides transportation services for students placed in the
7-3 juvenile justice alternative education program;
7-4 (7) establishes the circumstances and conditions under
7-5 which a juvenile may be allowed to remain in the juvenile justice
7-6 alternative education program setting once the juvenile is no
7-7 longer under juvenile court jurisdiction; and
7-8 (8) subject to Subsection (s), establishes a plan to
7-9 address special education services required by law.
7-10 (l) The school district shall be responsible for providing
7-11 an immediate educational program to students who engage in behavior
7-12 resulting in expulsion under Section 37.007(b), (c), and (f) but
7-13 who are not eligible for admission into the juvenile justice
7-14 alternative education program in accordance with the memorandum of
7-15 understanding required under this section. The school district may
7-16 provide the program or the school district may contract with a
7-17 county juvenile board that agrees to provide the program, a private
7-18 provider, or one or more other school districts to provide the
7-19 program. The memorandum of understanding shall address the
7-20 circumstances under which such students who continue to engage in
7-21 serious or persistent misbehavior shall be admitted into the
7-22 juvenile justice alternative education program.
7-23 (r) Unless otherwise agreed in the memorandum of
7-24 understanding required by Subsection (k), the school district with
7-25 the greatest student enrollment in the county in which the juvenile
7-26 justice alternative education program operates is responsible for
7-27 providing transportation to all students to and from the juvenile
8-1 justice alternative education program. If a student in the
8-2 juvenile justice alternative education program was expelled from a
8-3 district other than the district providing transportation, the
8-4 district from which the student was expelled shall pay to the
8-5 district providing transportation an amount equal to the per
8-6 day/per student transportation allotment the district receives
8-7 multiplied by the number of days the student attends the juvenile
8-8 justice alternative education program.
8-9 (s) Unless otherwise agreed in the memorandum of
8-10 understanding required by Subsection (k), the school district from
8-11 which a student in the juvenile justice alternative education
8-12 program who is eligible for special education services is expelled
8-13 is responsible for all costs associated with the provision of the
8-14 special education curriculum or related services as defined by
8-15 Section 29.002 as required by the student's individualized
8-16 education program. For purposes of federal law, a juvenile justice
8-17 alternative education program is not a local education agency.
8-18 SECTION 4. Section 37.012, Education Code, is amended to
8-19 read as follows:
8-20 Sec. 37.012. FUNDING OF JUVENILE JUSTICE ALTERNATIVE
8-21 EDUCATION PROGRAMS. (a) The Texas Juvenile Probation Commission
8-22 shall provide funding for a student expelled on the basis of
8-23 Section 37.007(a), (d), or (e) in an amount determined in
8-24 accordance with the General Appropriations Act. For the juvenile
8-25 board responsible for operating the juvenile justice alternative
8-26 education program to receive funding for an expelled student under
8-27 this subsection, the school district from which the student was
9-1 expelled must document and provide to the juvenile board
9-2 information that shows that:
9-3 (1) the school district expelled the student for
9-4 conduct for which expulsion is mandatory under Section 37.007(a),
9-5 (d), or (e);
9-6 (2) the school district notified and filed an offense
9-7 report with the school district police department, if any, and the
9-8 appropriate local law enforcement agency regarding the alleged
9-9 conduct that was the basis for the expulsion; and
9-10 (3) the local law enforcement agency:
9-11 (A) found that there was probable cause to
9-12 believe that the student engaged in conduct constituting an offense
9-13 for which expulsion is mandatory under Section 37.007(a), (d), or
9-14 (e); and
9-15 (B) as appropriate, made a formal referral of
9-16 the case to the juvenile court or forwarded the case to the
9-17 prosecutor responsible for handling such cases.
9-18 (b) The school district from which a student was expelled on
9-19 the basis of Section 37.007(a), (d), or (e) shall provide funding
9-20 to the juvenile board for the portion of the school year for which
9-21 the juvenile justice alternative education program provides
9-22 educational services in an amount determined by the memorandum of
9-23 understanding under Section 37.011(k)(2) if the local law
9-24 enforcement agency to which the alleged conduct that was the basis
9-25 for expulsion is reported does not:
9-26 (1) find that there was probable cause to believe that
9-27 the student engaged in conduct constituting an offense for which
10-1 expulsion is mandatory under Section 37.007(a), (d), or (e); and
10-2 (2) make a formal referral of the case to the juvenile
10-3 court or forward the case to the prosecutor.
10-4 (c) Subject to Section 37.011(n), the school district from
10-5 which a student was [in which a student is enrolled on the date the
10-6 student is] expelled on a basis other than Section 37.007(a), (d),
10-7 or (e) shall, if the student is served by the juvenile justice
10-8 alternative education program, provide funding to the juvenile
10-9 board for the portion of the school year for which the juvenile
10-10 justice alternative education program provides educational services
10-11 in an amount determined by the memorandum of understanding under
10-12 Section 37.011(k)(2).
10-13 (d) [(b)] Funds received under this section must be expended
10-14 on juvenile justice alternative education programs.
10-15 (e) [(c)] The Office of State-Federal Relations shall assist
10-16 a local juvenile probation department in identifying additional
10-17 state or federal funds to assist local juvenile probation
10-18 departments conducting educational or job training programs within
10-19 juvenile justice alternative education programs.
10-20 SECTION 5. This Act applies beginning with the 1999-2000
10-21 school year.
10-22 SECTION 6. The importance of this legislation and the
10-23 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
10-24 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
10-25 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
10-26 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
10-27 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
11-1 passage, and it is so enacted.