By Dutton H.B. No. 2104
77R4968 CAS-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the placement of a public school student in an
1-3 alternative education program.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 37.009, Education Code, is amended to read
1-6 as follows:
1-7 Sec. 37.009. CONFERENCE; HEARING; REVIEW. (a) If [Not later
1-8 than the third class day after the day on which] a student is
1-9 removed from class by the teacher under Section 37.002(b) or (d) or
1-10 by the school principal or other appropriate administrator under
1-11 Section 37.006, unless the principal does not intend to place the
1-12 student in an alternative education program or intends to place the
1-13 student in an alternative education program for fewer than three
1-14 consecutive school days, as soon as practicable after the student's
1-15 removal, the principal or the principal's designee shall notify the
1-16 superintendent of the school district or the superintendent's
1-17 designee of the student's removal. The superintendent or the
1-18 superintendent's designee [the principal or other appropriate
1-19 administrator] shall schedule a conference among the board of
1-20 trustees of the district or the board's designee, as provided by
1-21 policy of the board, the principal or other appropriate
1-22 administrator of the student's school, a parent or guardian of the
1-23 student, the teacher removing the student from class, if any, and
1-24 the student. The conference must be held not later than the third
2-1 school day after the day the student was removed from class. At
2-2 the conference, the student is entitled to written or oral notice
2-3 of the reasons for the removal, an explanation of the basis for the
2-4 removal, and an opportunity to respond to the reasons for the
2-5 removal. The student may not be returned to the regular classroom
2-6 pending the conference. Following the conference, and whether the
2-7 student, the student's parent or guardian, or the student's teacher
2-8 [or not each requested person] is in attendance after valid
2-9 attempts to require the person's attendance, the board or the
2-10 board's designee [principal] shall order the placement of the
2-11 student as provided by Section 37.002 or 37.006, as applicable, for
2-12 a period consistent with the student code of conduct.
2-13 [(b) If a student's placement in an alternative education
2-14 program is to extend beyond the end of the next grading period, a
2-15 student's parent or guardian is entitled to notice of and an
2-16 opportunity to participate in a proceeding before the board of
2-17 trustees of the school district or the board's designee, as
2-18 provided by policy of the board of trustees of the district.] Any
2-19 decision of the board or the board's designee under this subsection
2-20 is final and may not be appealed.
2-21 (b) [(c)] Before it may place a student in an alternative
2-22 education program for a period that extends beyond the end of the
2-23 school year, the board or the board's designee must determine that:
2-24 (1) the student's presence in the regular classroom
2-25 program or at the student's regular campus presents a danger of
2-26 physical harm to the student or to another individual; or
2-27 (2) the student has engaged in serious or persistent
3-1 misbehavior that violates the district's student code of conduct.
3-2 (c) [(d)] The board or the board's designee shall set a term
3-3 for a student's placement in an alternative education program under
3-4 Section 37.002 or 37.006.
3-5 (d) [(e)] A student placed in an alternative education
3-6 program under Section 37.002 or 37.006 shall be provided a review
3-7 of the student's status, including a review of the student's
3-8 academic status, by the board's designee at intervals not to exceed
3-9 120 days. In the case of a high school student, the board's
3-10 designee, with the student's parent or guardian, shall review the
3-11 student's progress towards meeting high school graduation
3-12 requirements and shall establish a specific graduation plan for the
3-13 student. The district is not required under this subsection to
3-14 provide in the district's alternative education program a course
3-15 not specified under Section 37.008(a). At the review, the student
3-16 or the student's parent or guardian must be given the opportunity
3-17 to present arguments for the student's return to the regular
3-18 classroom or campus. The student may not be returned to the
3-19 classroom of the teacher who removed the student without that
3-20 teacher's consent. The teacher may not be coerced to consent.
3-21 (e) [(f)] Before a student may be expelled under Section
3-22 37.007, the board or the board's designee must provide the student
3-23 a hearing at which the student is afforded appropriate due process
3-24 as required by the federal constitution and which the student's
3-25 parent or guardian is invited, in writing, to attend. At the
3-26 hearing, the student is entitled to be represented by the student's
3-27 parent or guardian or another adult who can provide guidance to the
4-1 student and who is not an employee of the school district. If the
4-2 school district makes a good-faith effort to inform the student and
4-3 the student's parent or guardian of the time and place of the
4-4 hearing, the district may hold the hearing regardless of whether
4-5 the student, the student's parent or guardian, or another adult
4-6 representing the student attends. If the decision to expel a
4-7 student is made by the board's designee, the decision may be
4-8 appealed to the board. The decision of the board may be appealed
4-9 by trial de novo to a district court of the county in which the
4-10 school district's central administrative office is located.
4-11 (f) [(g)] The board or the board's designee shall deliver to
4-12 the student and the student's parent or guardian a copy of the
4-13 order placing the student in an alternative education program under
4-14 Section 37.002 or 37.006 or expelling the student under Section
4-15 37.007.
4-16 (g) [(h)] After a school district notifies the parents or
4-17 guardians of a student that the student has been expelled, the
4-18 parent or guardian shall provide adequate supervision of the
4-19 student during the period of expulsion.
4-20 SECTION 2. Section 37.010(a), Education Code, is amended to
4-21 read as follows:
4-22 (a) Not later than the second business day after the date a
4-23 conference or hearing is held under Section 37.009, the board of
4-24 trustees of a school district or the board's designee shall deliver
4-25 a copy of the order placing a student in an alternative education
4-26 program under Section 37.006 or expelling a student under Section
4-27 37.007 and any information required under Section 52.04, Family
5-1 Code, to the authorized officer of the juvenile court in the county
5-2 in which the student resides. In a county that operates a program
5-3 under Section 37.011, an expelled student shall to the extent
5-4 provided by law or by the memorandum of understanding immediately
5-5 attend the educational program from the date of expulsion;
5-6 provided, however, that in a county with a population greater than
5-7 125,000 every expelled student who is not detained or receiving
5-8 treatment under an order of the juvenile court must be enrolled in
5-9 an educational program.
5-10 SECTION 3. This Act applies beginning with the 2001-2002
5-11 school year.
5-12 SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
5-13 a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
5-14 provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
5-15 Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
5-16 Act takes effect September 1, 2001.