By: Janek S.B. No. 1548
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to public school student discipline.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subsection (a), Section 37.001, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(a) The board of trustees of an independent school district
shall, with the advice of its district-level committee established
under Section 11.251, adopt a student code of conduct for the
district. The student code of conduct must be posted and
prominently displayed at each school campus or made available for
review at the office of the campus principal. In addition to
establishing standards for student conduct, the student code of
conduct must:
(1) specify the circumstances, in accordance with this
subchapter, under which a student may be removed from a classroom,
campus, or alternative education program;
(2) specify conditions that authorize or require a
principal or other appropriate administrator to transfer a student
to an alternative education program; and
(3) outline conditions under which a student may be
suspended as provided by Section 37.005 or expelled as provided by
Section 37.007.
SECTION 2. Section 37.0021, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) through (d) and adding Subsection (g) to
read as follows:
(a) It is the policy of this state to treat with dignity and
respect all students, including students with disabilities who
receive special education services under Subchapter A, Chapter 29
[with dignity and respect]. A student with a disability who
receives special education services under Subchapter A, Chapter 29,
may not be confined in a locked box, locked closet, or other
specially designed locked space as either a discipline management
practice or a behavior management technique.
(b) In this section:
(1) "Restraint" means the use of physical force or a
mechanical device to significantly restrict the free movement of
all or a portion of a student's body.
(2) "Seclusion" means a behavior management technique
in which a student is confined in a locked box, locked closet, or
locked room that:
(A) is designed solely to seclude a person; and
(B) contains less than 50 square feet of space.
(3) "Time-out" means a behavior management technique
in which, to provide a student with an opportunity to regain
self-control, the student is separated from other students for a
limited period in a setting:
(A) that is not locked; and
(B) from which the exit [student] is not
physically blocked by furniture, a closed door held shut from the
outside, or another inanimate object [prevented from leaving].
(c) A school district employee or volunteer or an
independent contractor of a district may not place a student in
seclusion. This subsection does not apply to the use of seclusion
in a court-ordered placement, other than a placement in an
educational program of a school district, or in a placement or
facility to which the following law, rules, or regulations apply:
(1) the Children's Health Act of 2000, Pub. L. No.
106-310, any subsequent amendments to that Act, any regulations
adopted under that Act, or any subsequent amendments to those
regulations;
(2) 40 T.A.C. Sections 720.1001-720.1013; or
(3) 25 T.A.C. Section 412.308(e).
(d) The commissioner by rule shall adopt procedures for the
use of restraint and time-out by a school district employee or
volunteer or an independent contractor of a district in the case of
a student with a disability receiving special education services
under Subchapter A, Chapter 29. A procedure adopted under this
subsection must:
(1) be consistent with:
(A) professionally accepted practices and
standards of student discipline and techniques for behavior
management; and
(B) relevant health and safety standards; and
(2) identify any discipline management practice or
behavior management technique that requires a district employee or
volunteer or an independent contractor of a district to be trained
before using that practice or technique.
(g) This section and any rules or procedures adopted under
this section do not apply to:
(1) a peace officer while performing law enforcement
duties;
(2) juvenile probation, detention, or corrections
personnel; or
(3) an educational services provider with whom a
student is placed by a judicial authority, unless the services are
provided in an educational program of a school district.
SECTION 3. Section 37.003, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) The committee's placement determination regarding a
student with a disability who receives special education services
under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, is subject to the requirements of
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Section
1400 et seq.) and federal regulations, state statutes, and agency
requirements necessary to carry out federal law or regulations or
state law relating to special education.
SECTION 4. Subsection (a), Section 37.005, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(a) The principal or other appropriate administrator may
suspend a student who engages in conduct identified in the student
code of conduct adopted under Section 37.001 as conduct for which a
student may be suspended [for which the student may be placed in an
alternative education program under this subchapter].
SECTION 5. Subsections (b), (c), (d), and (l), Section
37.006, Education Code, are amended to read as follows:
(b) Except as provided by Section 37.007(d), a student shall
be removed from class and placed in an alternative education
program under Section 37.008 if the student engages in conduct on or
off of school property that contains the elements of the offense of
retaliation under Section 36.06, Penal Code, against any school
employee.
(c) In addition to Subsections [Subsection] (a) and (b), a
student shall be removed from class and placed in an alternative
education program under Section 37.008 based on conduct occurring
off campus and while the student is not in attendance at a
school-sponsored or school-related activity if:
(1) the student receives deferred prosecution under
Section 53.03, Family Code, for conduct defined as a felony offense
in Title 5, Penal Code;
(2) a court or jury finds that the student has engaged
in delinquent conduct under Section 54.03, Family Code, for conduct
defined as a felony offense in Title 5, Penal Code; or
(3) the superintendent or the superintendent's
designee has a reasonable belief that the student has engaged in a
conduct defined as a felony offense in Title 5, Penal Code.
(d) In addition to Subsections [Subsection] (a), (b), and
(c), a student may be removed from class and placed in an
alternative education program under Section 37.008 based on conduct
occurring off campus and while the student is not in attendance at a
school-sponsored or school-related activity if:
(1) the superintendent or the superintendent's
designee has a reasonable belief that the student has engaged in
conduct defined as a felony offense other than those defined in
Title 5, Penal Code; and
(2) the continued presence of the student in the
regular classroom threatens the safety of other students or
teachers or will be detrimental to the educational process.
(l) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, other
than Section 37.007(e)(2), a student who is younger than six years
of age may not be removed from class and placed in an alternative
education program.
SECTION 6. Subsections (a), (b), and (g), Section 37.007,
Education Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) A student shall be expelled from a school if the
student, on school property or while attending a school-sponsored
or school-related activity on or off of school property:
(1) uses, exhibits, or possesses:
(A) a firearm as defined by Section 46.01(3),
Penal Code;
(B) an illegal knife as defined by Section
46.01(6), Penal Code, or by local policy;
(C) a club as defined by Section 46.01(1), Penal
Code; or
(D) a weapon listed as a prohibited weapon under
Section 46.05, Penal Code;
(2) engages in conduct that contains the elements of
the offense of:
(A) aggravated assault under Section 22.02,
Penal Code, sexual assault under Section 22.011, Penal Code, or
aggravated sexual assault under Section 22.021, Penal Code;
(B) arson under Section 28.02, Penal Code;
(C) murder under Section 19.02, Penal Code,
capital murder under Section 19.03, Penal Code, or criminal
attempt, under Section 15.01, Penal Code, to commit murder or
capital murder;
(D) indecency with a child under Section 21.11,
Penal Code; [or]
(E) aggravated kidnapping under Section 20.04,
Penal Code;
(F) aggravated robbery under Section 29.03,
Penal Code;
(G) manslaughter under Section 19.04, Penal
Code; or
(H) criminally negligent homicide under Section
19.05, Penal Code; or
(3) engages in conduct specified by Section
37.006(a)(2)(C) or (D), if the conduct is punishable as a felony.
(b) A student may be expelled if the student:
(1) engages in conduct involving a public school that
contains the elements of the offense of false alarm or report under
Section 42.06, Penal Code, or terroristic threat under Section
22.07, Penal Code; [or]
(2) while on or within 300 feet of school property, as
measured from any point on the school's real property boundary
line, or while attending a school-sponsored or school-related
activity on or off of school property:
(A) sells, gives, or delivers to another person
or possesses, uses, or is under the influence of any amount of:
(i) marihuana or a controlled substance, as
defined by Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, or by 21 U.S.C.
Section 801 et seq.;
(ii) a dangerous drug, as defined by
Chapter 483, Health and Safety Code; or
(iii) an alcoholic beverage, as defined by
Section 1.04, Alcoholic Beverage Code;
(B) engages in conduct that contains the elements
of an offense relating to an abusable volatile chemical [glue or
aerosol paint] under Sections 485.031 through 485.034 [485.035],
Health and Safety Code[, or relating to volatile chemicals under
Chapter 484, Health and Safety Code]; [or]
(C) engages in conduct that contains the elements
of an offense under Section 22.01(a)(1), Penal Code, against a
school district employee or a volunteer as defined by Section
22.053; or
(D) engages in conduct that contains the elements
of the offense of deadly conduct under Section 22.05, Penal Code; or
(3) subject to Subsection (d), while within 300 feet
of school property, as measured from any point on the school's real
property boundary line:
(A) engages in conduct specified by Subsection
(a); or
(B) possesses a firearm, as defined by 18 U.S.C.
Section 921.
(g) A school district shall inform each teacher who has
regular contact with a student through a classroom assignment of
the conduct of a student who has engaged in any violation listed in
this section. A teacher shall keep the information received in this
subsection confidential. The State Board for Educator
Certification may revoke or suspend the certification of a teacher
who intentionally violates this subsection.
SECTION 7. Subsection (a), Section 37.009, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(a) Not later than the third class day after the day on which
a student is removed from class by the teacher under Section
37.002(b) or (d) or by the school principal or other appropriate
administrator under Section 37.006, the principal or other
appropriate administrator shall schedule a conference among the
principal or other appropriate administrator, a parent or guardian
of the student, the teacher removing the student from class, if any,
and the student. At the conference, the student is entitled to
written or oral notice of the reasons for the removal, an
explanation of the basis for the removal, and an opportunity to
respond to the reasons for the removal. The student may not be
returned to the regular classroom pending the conference.
Following the conference, and whether or not each requested person
is in attendance after valid attempts to require the person's
attendance, the principal shall order the placement of the student
as provided by Section 37.002 or 37.006, as applicable, for a period
consistent with the student code of conduct. If school district
policy allows a student to appeal to the board of trustees or the
board's designee a decision of the principal or other appropriate
administrator, other than an expulsion under Section 37.007, the
decision of the board or the board's designee is final and may not
be appealed.
SECTION 8. Subchapter A, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 37.0091 to read as follows:
Sec. 37.0091. NOTICE TO NONCUSTODIAL PARENT. (a) A
noncustodial parent may request in writing that a school district
or school, for the remainder of the school year in which the request
is received, provide that parent with a copy of any written
notification relating to student misconduct under Section 37.006 or
37.007 that is generally provided by the district or school to a
student's parent or guardian.
(b) A school district or school may not unreasonably deny a
request authorized by Subsection (a).
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, a
school district or school shall comply with any applicable court
order of which the district or school has knowledge.
SECTION 9. Section 37.011, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (b-1) to read as
follows:
(b) If a student admitted into the public schools of a
school district under Section 25.001(b) is expelled from school
under Section 37.007(a), (d), or (e), the juvenile court, the
juvenile board, or the juvenile board's designee, as appropriate,
shall:
(1) if the student is placed on probation under
Section 54.04, Family Code, order the student to attend the
juvenile justice alternative education program in the county in
which the student resides from the date of disposition as a
condition of probation, unless the child is placed in a
post-adjudication treatment facility;
(2) if the student is placed on deferred prosecution
under Section 53.03, Family Code, by the court, prosecutor, or
probation department, require the student to immediately attend the
juvenile justice alternative education program in the county in
which the student resides for a period not to exceed six months as a
condition of the deferred prosecution; [and]
(3) in determining the conditions of the deferred
prosecution or court-ordered probation, consider the length of the
school district's expulsion order for the student; and
(4) provide timely educational services to the student
in the juvenile justice alternative education program in the county
in which the student resides, regardless of the student's age or
whether the juvenile court has jurisdiction over the student.
(b-1) Subsection (b)(4) does not require that educational
services be provided to a student who is not entitled to admission
into the public schools of a school district under Section
25.001(b).
SECTION 10. Subsection (a), Section 37.015, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(a) The principal of a public or private primary or
secondary school, or a person designated by the principal under
Subsection (d), shall notify any school district police department
and the police department of the municipality in which the school is
located or, if the school is not in a municipality, the sheriff of
the county in which the school is located if the principal has
reasonable grounds to believe that any of the following activities
occur in school, on school property, or at a school-sponsored or
school-related activity on or off school property, whether or not
the activity is investigated by school security officers:
(1) conduct that may constitute an offense listed
under Section 508.149, Government Code;
(2) deadly conduct under Section 22.05, Penal Code;
(3) a terroristic threat under Section 22.07, Penal
Code;
(4) the use, sale, or possession of a controlled
substance, drug paraphernalia, or marihuana under Chapter 481,
Health and Safety Code;
(5) the possession of any of the weapons or devices
listed under Sections 46.01(1)-(14) or Section 46.01(16), Penal
Code; [or]
(6) conduct that may constitute a criminal offense
under Section 71.02, Penal Code; or
(7) conduct that may constitute a criminal offense for
which a student may be expelled under Section 37.007(a), (d), or
(e).
SECTION 11. Subsection (b), Section 37.001, Education Code,
is repealed.
SECTION 12. This Act applies beginning with the 2003-2004
school year.
SECTION 13. This Act takes effect immediately if it
receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2003.