By:  Van de Putte                                     S.B. No. 1525
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to disruption of the conduct of a public school class or
 1-3     other public school activity; providing a penalty.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 37.124, Education Code, is amended to
 1-6     read as follows:
 1-7           Sec. 37.124.  DISRUPTION OF CLASSES.  (a)  A person commits
 1-8     an offense if the person, on school property or on public property
 1-9     within 500 feet of school property, alone or in concert with
1-10     others, intentionally disrupts the conduct of a class [classes] or
1-11     other school activity [activities].
1-12           (b)  An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor
1-13     unless it is shown on the trial of the offense that the person has
1-14     previously been convicted under this section, in which case the
1-15     offense is a Class B misdemeanor.
1-16           (c)  In this section:
1-17                 (1)  "Disrupting the conduct of a class [classes] or
1-18     other school activity [activities]" includes:
1-19                       (A)  emitting noise of an intensity that prevents
1-20     or hinders the conduct of the class or other school activity
1-21     [classroom instruction];
1-22                       (B)  enticing or attempting to entice a student
1-23     away from a class or other school activity that the student is
1-24     required to attend;
1-25                       (C)  preventing or attempting to prevent a
 2-1     student from attending a class or other school activity that the
 2-2     student is required to attend; [and]
 2-3                       (D)  entering a classroom or other school
 2-4     property without the consent of either the principal or the teacher
 2-5     and, through either acts of misconduct or the use of loud or
 2-6     profane language, disrupting a class or other school activity; and
 2-7                       (E)  preventing or hindering entry to or
 2-8     departure from school property during the period beginning two
 2-9     hours before the beginning of classes for the school day and ending
2-10     two hours after the conclusion of classes for the school day,
2-11     except that this paragraph does not prevent the legitimate exercise
2-12     of the rights of free speech or assembly guaranteed under the
2-13     constitutions of this state and the United States [activities].
2-14                 (2)  "Public property" includes a street, highway,
2-15     alley, public park, or sidewalk.
2-16                 (3)  "School activity" includes a school-sponsored
2-17     activity held before or after the school day.
2-18                 (4)  "School property" includes a public school campus
2-19     or school grounds on which a public school is located and any
2-20     grounds or buildings used by a school for an assembly or other
2-21     school-sponsored activity.
2-22           SECTION 2.  (a)  The change in law made by this Act applies
2-23     only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this
2-24     Act.  For purposes of this section, an offense is committed before
2-25     the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs
2-26     before that date.
 3-1           (b)  An offense committed before the effective date of this
 3-2     Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,
 3-3     and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
 3-4           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.