By Telford                                            H.B. No. 1188
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to the rights of a public school teacher who is assaulted
 1-3     during the performance of the teacher's regular duties.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1. Section 22.003, Education Code, is amended by
 1-6     amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (c) to read as
 1-7     follows:
 1-8           (b)  In addition to all other days of leave provided by this
 1-9     section or by the school district, an employee of a school district
1-10     who is physically assaulted during the performance of the
1-11     employee's regular duties is entitled to the number of days of
1-12     leave necessary to recuperate from all physical injuries sustained
1-13     as a result of the assault.  At the request of an employee, the
1-14     school district must immediately assign an employee to assault
1-15     leave and, on investigation of the claim, may change the assault
1-16     leave status and charge the leave against the employee's accrued
1-17     personal leave or against an employee's pay if insufficient accrued
1-18     personal leave is available.  Days of leave taken under this
1-19     subsection may not be deducted from accrued personal leave.  Except
1-20     as otherwise provided by this subsection, the [The] period provided
1-21     by this subsection may not extend more than two years beyond the
1-22     date of the assault.  An employee who does not take the two full
1-23     years of assault leave may, before the fifth anniversary of the
1-24     date of the assault, take the portion of that period not previously
 2-1     taken, not to exceed one year, if two physicians certify that
 2-2     additional recovery time is medically necessary due to a
 2-3     complication or another injury resulting from the assault.
 2-4     Notwithstanding any other law, assault leave policy benefits due to
 2-5     an employee shall be coordinated with temporary income benefits due
 2-6     from workers' compensation so that the employee's total
 2-7     compensation from temporary income benefits and assault leave
 2-8     policy benefits equals 100 percent of the employee's weekly rate of
 2-9     pay.
2-10           (c)  For purposes of Subsection (b), an employee of a school
2-11     district is physically assaulted if the person engaging in the
2-12     conduct causing injury to the employee:
2-13                 (1)  could be prosecuted for assault; or
2-14                 (2)  could not be prosecuted for assault only because
2-15     the person's age or mental capacity makes the person a
2-16     nonresponsible person for purposes of criminal liability.
2-17           SECTION 2.  The change in law made by Section 22.003(b),
2-18     Education Code, as amended by this Act, applies only to a public
2-19     school employee assaulted during the 2001-2002 school year or
2-20     later.  An assault of an employee before the 2001-2002 school year
2-21     is governed by the law in effect at the time the assault occurs,
2-22     and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
2-23           SECTION 3.  This Act applies beginning with the 2001-2002
2-24     school year.
2-25           SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
2-26     a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
2-27     provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
 3-1     Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
 3-2     Act takes effect September 1, 2001.