By: Grusendorf, Oliveira, Escobar, Gattis, H.B. No. 316
et al.
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a child's failure to attend school.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 25.091, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (a-1) to
read as follows:
(a) A peace officer serving as an attendance officer has the
following powers and duties concerning enforcement of compulsory
school attendance requirements:
(1) to investigate each case of a violation of
compulsory school attendance requirements referred to the peace
officer;
(2) to enforce compulsory school attendance
requirements by:
(A) referring a student to a juvenile court or
filing a complaint against a student in a district, county,
justice, or municipal court if the student has unexcused absences
for the amount of time specified under Section 25.094 or under
Section 51.03(b)(2), Family Code; and
(B) filing a complaint in a county, justice, or
municipal court against a parent who violates Section 25.093;
(3) to serve court-ordered legal process;
(4) to review school attendance records for compliance
by each student investigated by the officer;
(5) to maintain an investigative record on each
compulsory school attendance requirement violation and related
court action and, at the request of a court, the board of trustees
of a school district, or the commissioner, to provide a record to
the individual or entity requesting the record;
(6) to make a home visit or otherwise contact the
parent of a student who is in violation of compulsory school
attendance requirements, except that a peace officer may not enter
a residence without the permission of the parent of a student
required under this subchapter to attend school or of the tenant or
owner of the residence except to lawfully serve court-ordered legal
process on the parent; and
(7) to take a student into custody with the permission
of the student's parent or in obedience to a court-ordered legal
process.
(a-1) A peace officer who is not serving as an attendance
officer has the following powers concerning enforcement of
compulsory school attendance requirements:
(1) to enforce compulsory school attendance
requirements by:
(A) referring a student to a juvenile court or
filing a complaint against a student in a district, county,
justice, or municipal court if the student has unexcused absences
for the amount of time specified under Section 25.094 or under
Section 51.03(b)(2), Family Code; and
(B) filing a complaint in a county, justice, or
municipal court against a parent who violates Section 25.093;
(2) to serve court-ordered legal process;
(3) to make a home visit or otherwise contact the
parent of a student who is in violation of compulsory school
attendance requirements, except that a peace officer may not enter
a residence without the permission of the parent of a student
required under this subchapter to attend school or of the tenant or
owner of the residence except to lawfully serve court-ordered legal
process on the parent; and
(4) to take a student into custody with the permission
of the student's parent or in obedience to a court-ordered legal
process.
(b) An attendance officer employed by a school district who
is not commissioned as a peace officer has the following powers and
duties with respect to enforcement of compulsory school attendance
requirements:
(1) to investigate each case of a violation of the
compulsory school attendance requirements referred to the
attendance officer;
(2) to enforce compulsory school attendance
requirements by:
(A) referring a student to a juvenile court or
filing a complaint against a student in a district, county,
justice, or municipal court if the student has unexcused absences
for the amount of time specified under Section 25.094 or under
Section 51.03(b)(2), Family Code; and
(B) filing a complaint in a county, justice, or
municipal court against a parent who violates Section 25.093;
(3) to monitor school attendance compliance by each
student investigated by the officer;
(4) to maintain an investigative record on each
compulsory school attendance requirement violation and related
court action and, at the request of a court, the board of trustees
of a school district, or the commissioner, to provide a record to
the individual or entity requesting the record;
(5) to make a home visit or otherwise contact the
parent of a student who is in violation of compulsory school
attendance requirements, except that the attendance officer may not
enter a residence without permission of the parent or of the owner
or tenant of the residence;
(6) at the request of a parent, to escort a student
from any location to a school campus to ensure the student's
compliance with compulsory school attendance requirements; and
(7) if the attendance officer has or is informed of a
court-ordered legal process directing that a student be taken into
custody and the school district employing the officer does not
employ its own police department, to contact the sheriff,
constable, or any peace officer to request that the student be taken
into custody and processed according to the legal process.
SECTION 2. Section 25.093(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) If a warning is issued as required by Section 25.095(b)
[25.095(a)], the parent with criminal negligence fails to require
the child to attend school as required by law, and the child has
absences for the amount of time specified under Section 25.094, the
parent commits an offense.
SECTION 3. Section 25.094, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (b), (c), (d), and (d-1) and adding
Subsection (e-1) to read as follows:
(a) An individual commits an offense if the individual:
(1) is required to attend school under Section 25.085;
and
(2) fails to attend school on seven [10] or more days
or parts of days within a three-month [six-month] period in the same
school year or on three or more days or parts of days within a
four-week period.
(b) An offense under this section may be prosecuted in:
(1) the constitutional county court of the county in
which the individual resides or in which the school is located, if
the county has a population of two million or more;
(2) a justice court of any precinct in the county in
which the individual resides or in which the school is located; [or]
(3) a municipal court in the municipality in which the
individual resides or in which the school is located; or
(4) a district court for the county in which the
student resides or in which the school is located.
(c) On a finding by the district, county, justice, or
municipal court that the individual has committed an offense under
Subsection (a) or on a finding by a juvenile court in a county with a
population of less than 100,000 that the individual has engaged in
conduct that violates Subsection (a), the court may enter an order
that includes one or more of the requirements listed in Article
45.054, Code of Criminal Procedure[, as added by Chapter 1514, Acts
of the 77th Legislature, Regular Session, 2001].
(d) If the district, county, justice, or municipal court
believes that a child has violated an order issued under Subsection
(c), the court may proceed as authorized by Article 45.050, Code of
Criminal Procedure.
(d-1) Pursuant to an order of the district, county, justice,
or municipal court based on an affidavit showing probable cause to
believe that an individual has committed an offense under this
section, a peace officer may take the individual into custody. A
peace officer taking an individual into custody under this
subsection shall:
(1) promptly notify the individual's parent, guardian,
or custodian of the officer's action and the reason for that action;
and
(2) without unnecessary delay:
(A) release the individual to the individual's
parent, guardian, or custodian or to another responsible adult, if
the person promises to bring the individual to the district,
county, justice, or municipal court as requested by the court; or
(B) bring the individual to a district, county,
justice, or municipal court with venue over the offense.
(e-1) Each day of a violation under this section may
constitute a separate offense.
SECTION 4. Section 25.095, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (b-1) to
read as follows:
(a) A school district or open-enrollment charter school
shall notify a student's parent in writing at the beginning of the
school year that if the student is absent from school on seven [10]
or more days or parts of days within a three-month [six-month]
period in the same school year or on three or more days or parts of
days within a four-week period:
(1) the student's parent is subject to prosecution
under Section 25.093; and
(2) the student is subject to prosecution under
Section 25.094 or to referral to a juvenile court in a county with a
population of less than 100,000 for conduct that violates that
section.
(b) A school district shall notify a student's parent by
telephone and in writing if the student has been absent from school,
without excuse under Section 25.087, on three days or parts of days
within a four-week period. The notice must:
(1) inform the parent that:
(A) it is the parent's duty to monitor the
student's school attendance and require the student to attend
school; and
(B) the parent is subject to prosecution under
Section 25.093; and
(2) require the parent to attend in person or by
telephone [request] a conference between school officials and the
parent to:
(A) discuss the absences;
(B) develop a plan specifically for the student
for improving the student's school attendance; and
(C) review the legal consequences of a student's
continuing unexcused absences.
(b-1) In addition to providing notice to a student's parent
under Subsection (b), the school district shall notify a counselor
at the student's school, or in the student's school district if the
student's school does not have a counselor, if a student has been
absent from school, without excuse under Section 25.087, on three
or more days or parts of days within a four-week period. To the
extent practicable, on receiving the notification, the counselor
shall perform an assessment of the student, including the student's
academic progress, to use in developing the plan required under
Subsection (b)(2)(B).
SECTION 5. Sections 25.0951(a) and (b), Education Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) If a student fails to attend school without excuse on
seven [10] or more days or parts of days within a three-month
[six-month] period in the same school year, a school district
shall, not later than the 15th school day after the date of the
student's last absence:
(1) file a complaint against the student or the
student's parent or both in a district, county, justice, or
municipal court for an offense under Section 25.093 or 25.094, as
appropriate, or refer the student to a juvenile court in a county
with a population of less than 100,000 for conduct that violates
Section 25.094; or
(2) refer the student to a juvenile court for conduct
indicating a need for supervision under Section 51.03(b)(2), Family
Code.
(b) If a student fails to attend school without excuse on
three or more days or parts of days within a four-week period but
does not fail to attend school for the time described by Subsection
(a), the school district may, not later than the 15th school day
after the date of the student's last absence:
(1) file a complaint against the student or the
student's parent or both in a district, county, justice, or
municipal court for an offense under Section 25.093 or 25.094, as
appropriate, or refer the student to a juvenile court in a county
with a population of less than 100,000 for conduct that violates
Section 25.094; or
(2) refer the student to a juvenile court for conduct
indicating a need for supervision under Section 51.03(b)(2), Family
Code.
SECTION 6. Section 51.03(b), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) Conduct indicating a need for supervision is:
(1) subject to Subsection (f), conduct, other than a
traffic offense, that violates:
(A) the penal laws of this state of the grade of
misdemeanor that are punishable by fine only; or
(B) the penal ordinances of any political
subdivision of this state;
(2) the absence of a child on seven [10] or more days
or parts of days within a three-month [six-month] period in the same
school year or on three or more days or parts of days within a
four-week period from school;
(3) the voluntary absence of a child from the child's
home without the consent of the child's parent or guardian for a
substantial length of time or without intent to return;
(4) conduct prohibited by city ordinance or by state
law involving the inhalation of the fumes or vapors of paint and
other protective coatings or glue and other adhesives and the
volatile chemicals itemized in Section 484.002, Health and Safety
Code;
(5) an act that violates a school district's
previously communicated written standards of student conduct for
which the child has been expelled under Section 37.007(c),
Education Code; or
(6) conduct that violates a reasonable and lawful
order of a court entered under Section 264.305.
SECTION 7. Section 51.08, Family Code, is amended by adding
Subsection (e) to read as follows:
(e) A juvenile court may not refuse to accept the transfer
of a case brought under Section 25.094, Education Code, for a child
described by Subsection (b)(1) if a prosecuting attorney for the
court determines under Section 53.012 that the case is legally
sufficient under Section 53.01 for adjudication in juvenile court.
SECTION 8. The heading to Section 54.021, Family Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 54.021. DISTRICT, COUNTY, JUSTICE, OR MUNICIPAL COURT:
TRUANCY.
SECTION 9. Sections 54.021(a), (b), and (c), Family Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(a) The juvenile court may waive its exclusive original
jurisdiction and transfer a child to the constitutional county
court, if the county has a population of two million or more, or to
an appropriate district, justice, or municipal court, with the
permission of the district, county, justice, or municipal court,
for disposition in the manner provided by Subsection (b) if the
child is alleged to have engaged in conduct described in Section
51.03(b)(2). A waiver of jurisdiction under this subsection may be
for an individual case or for all cases in which a child is alleged
to have engaged in conduct described in Section 51.03(b)(2). The
waiver of a juvenile court's exclusive original jurisdiction for
all cases in which a child is alleged to have engaged in conduct
described in Section 51.03(b)(2) is effective for a period of one
year.
(b) A district, county, justice, or municipal court may
exercise jurisdiction over a person alleged to have engaged in
conduct indicating a need for supervision by engaging in conduct
described in Section 51.03(b)(2) in a case where:
(1) the juvenile court has waived its original
jurisdiction under this section; and
(2) a complaint is filed by the appropriate authority
in the district, county, justice, or municipal court charging an
offense under Section 25.094, Education Code.
(c) A proceeding in a district, county, justice, or
municipal court on a complaint charging an offense under Section
25.094, Education Code, is governed by Chapter 45, Code of Criminal
Procedure.
SECTION 10. Sections 54.04(o) and (u), Family Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(o) In a disposition under this title:
(1) a status offender may not, under any
circumstances, be committed to the Texas Youth Commission for
engaging in conduct that would not, under state or local law, be a
crime if committed by an adult;
(2) a status offender may not, under any circumstances
other than as provided under Subsection (n), be placed in a
post-adjudication secure correctional facility; and
(3) a child adjudicated for contempt of a district,
county, justice, or municipal court order may not, under any
circumstances, be placed in a post-adjudication secure
correctional facility or committed to the Texas Youth Commission
for that conduct.
(u) For the purposes of disposition under Subsection
(d)(2), delinquent conduct that violates a penal law of this state
of the grade of felony or misdemeanor does not include conduct that
violates a lawful order of a district, county, municipal, justice,
or juvenile court under circumstances that would constitute
contempt of that court.
SECTION 11. Section 264.304(c), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(c) The court shall determine that the child is an at-risk
child if the court finds that the child has engaged in the following
conduct:
(1) conduct, other than a traffic offense and except
as provided by Subsection (d), that violates:
(A) the penal laws of this state; or
(B) the penal ordinances of any political
subdivision of this state;
(2) the unexcused voluntary absence of the child on
seven [10] or more days or parts of days within a three-month
[six-month] period or three or more days or parts of days within a
four-week period from school without the consent of the child's
parent, managing conservator, or guardian;
(3) the voluntary absence of the child from the child's
home without the consent of the child's parent, managing
conservator, or guardian for a substantial length of time or
without intent to return;
(4) conduct that violates the laws of this state
prohibiting driving while intoxicated or under the influence of
intoxicating liquor (first or second offense) or driving while
under the influence of any narcotic drug or of any other drug to a
degree that renders the child incapable of safely driving a vehicle
(first or second offense); or
(5) conduct that evidences a clear and substantial
intent to engage in any behavior described by Subdivisions (1)-(4).
SECTION 12. Article 45.054(a), Code of Criminal Procedure,
is amended to read as follows:
(a) On a finding by a district, county, justice, or
municipal court that an individual has committed an offense under
Section 25.094, Education Code, the court has jurisdiction to enter
an order that includes one or more of the following provisions
requiring that:
(1) the individual:
(A) attend school without unexcused absences;
(B) attend a preparatory class for the high
school equivalency examination administered under Section 7.111,
Education Code, if the court determines that the individual is too
old to do well in a formal classroom environment; or
(C) if the individual is at least 16 years of age,
take the high school equivalency examination administered under
Section 7.111, Education Code;
(2) the individual attend a special program that the
court determines to be in the best interest of the individual,
including:
(A) an alcohol and drug abuse program;
(B) a rehabilitation program;
(C) a counseling program, including
self-improvement counseling;
(D) a program that provides training in
self-esteem and leadership;
(E) a work and job skills training program;
(F) a program that provides training in
parenting, including parental responsibility;
(G) a program that provides training in manners;
(H) a program that provides training in violence
avoidance;
(I) a program that provides sensitivity
training; and
(J) a program that provides training in advocacy
and mentoring;
(3) the individual and the individual's parent attend
a class for students at risk of dropping out of school designed for
both the individual and the individual's parent;
(4) the individual complete reasonable community
service requirements; or
(5) for the total number of hours ordered by the court,
the individual participate in a tutorial program covering the
academic subjects in which the student is enrolled provided by the
school the individual attends.
SECTION 13. Article 45.057(c), Code of Criminal Procedure,
is amended to read as follows:
(c) The justice or municipal court may order the parent,
managing conservator, or guardian of a child required to attend a
program under Subsection (b) to pay an amount not greater than $350
[$100] to pay for the costs of the program.
SECTION 14. Section 103.022, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 103.022. MISCELLANEOUS FEES AND COSTS. The following
fees and costs shall be paid or collected as follows:
(1) fee for use of an interpreter in civil cases (Sec.
21.051, Civil Practice and Remedies Code) . . . $3;
(2) fee for custodian of a record compelled by a court
to produce or certify the record (Sec. 22.004, Civil Practice and
Remedies Code) . . . $1;
(3) cost for use of certified copy of the record of
names of all trustees appointed by any state organization of a
religious congregation in this state (Sec. 126.012, Civil Practice
and Remedies Code) . . . $1.50;
(4) filing of a restitution lien (Art. 42.22, Code of
Criminal Procedure) . . . $5;
(5) issuance and service of a warrant of arrest for
certain offenses if prescribed by the municipality (Art. 45.203,
Code of Criminal Procedure) . . . not to exceed $25;
(6) filing a certified copy of a judicial finding of
fact and conclusion of law if charged by the secretary of state
(Sec. 51.905, Government Code) . . . $15;
(7) costs of determining and sending information
concerning the identity of the court with continuing, exclusive
jurisdiction if charged by the bureau of vital statistics (Sec.
108.006, Family Code) . . . reasonable fee;
(8) initial operations fee paid to domestic relations
office on filing of a suit affecting the parent-child relationship,
if authorized by the administering entity (Sec. 203.005, Family
Code) . . . not to exceed $15;
(9) initial child support service fee paid to domestic
relations office in certain counties on filing of a suit affecting
the parent-child relationship, if authorized by the administering
entity (Sec. 203.005, Family Code) . . . not to exceed $36;
(10) service fee for services of a domestic relations
office, if authorized by the administering entity (Sec. 203.005,
Family Code) . . . not to exceed $3 per month;
(11) fee from a Title IV-D agency for each item of
process to each individual on whom service is required, including
service by certified or registered mail (Sec. 231.202, Family
Code) . . . the amount that a sheriff or constable may charge for
serving process under Section 118.131, Local Government Code;
(12) a copy of records of spousal or child support and
fees administered in Dallas County if authorized by the local
administrative judge (Sec. 152.0634, Human Resources Code) . . .
not to exceed $2 per page;
(13) collecting, disbursing, or monitoring spousal or
child support payments in Dallas County (Sec. 152.0635, Human
Resources Code) . . . not to exceed $3 per month;
(14) fee for adoption, family, and home study
investigations in an adoption in Dallas County (Sec. 152.0635,
Human Resources Code) . . . not to exceed $250;
(15) certain transactions with respect to a suit for
spousal support or a suit affecting the parent-child relationship
in Harris County, if authorized by the county commissioners court
(Sec. 152.1074, Human Resources Code) . . . not to exceed $2 per
transaction;
(16) child support service fee in Nueces County, if
authorized by the county commissioners court (Sec. 152.1844, Human
Resources Code) . . . not to exceed $5 per month;
(17) services by the offices of the sheriff and
constables (Sec. 118.131, Local Government Code) . . . amount set
by county commissioners court;
(18) cost paid by each surety posting the bail bond for
an offense other than a misdemeanor punishable by fine only under
Chapter 17, Code of Criminal Procedure, for the felony prosecutor
supplement fund and the fair defense account (Sec. 41.258,
Government Code) . . . $15, provided the cost does not exceed $30
for all bail bonds posted at that time for an individual and the
cost is not required on the posting of a personal or cash bond;
(19) appraiser's fee as court costs for determining
the fair value of ownership interests of owners who have perfected
their rights (Sec. 10.365, Business Organizations Code) . . . a
reasonable fee; [and]
(20) to participate in a court proceeding in this
state, a nonresident attorney fee for civil legal services to the
indigent (Sec. 82.0361, Government Code) . . . $250 except as
waived or reduced under supreme court rules for representing an
indigent person; and
(21) costs of participating in a program on order of a
justice or municipal court (Art. 45.057, Code of Criminal
Procedure) . . . not to exceed $350.
SECTION 15. Sections 29.0821(b) and (c), Education Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(b) To enable a school district to provide additional
instructional days for a program under this section, with the
approval of the commissioner, a school district may[:
[(1) provide a number of days of instruction during
the regular school year that is not more than 10 days fewer than the
number required under Section 25.081(a); and
[(2)] use for instructional purposes not more than
five days that would otherwise be used for staff development or
teacher preparation.
(c) Notwithstanding any reduction [in the number of
instructional days in the regular school year or] in the number of
staff development days, each educator employed under a 10-month
contract must provide the minimum days of service required under
Section 21.401.
SECTION 16. Section 25.081(a), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) Except as authorized under Subsection (b) of this
section or[,] Section 25.084, [or Section 29.0821,] for each school
year each school district must operate so that the district
provides for at least 180 days of instruction for students.
SECTION 17. Section 42.005(a), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) In this chapter, average daily attendance is[:
[(1)] the quotient of the sum of attendance for each
day of the minimum number of days of instruction as described under
Section 25.081(a) divided by the minimum number of days of
instruction[; or
[(2) for a district that operates under a flexible
year program under Section 29.0821, the quotient of the sum of
attendance for each actual day of instruction as permitted by
Section 29.0821(b)(1) divided by the number of actual days of
instruction as permitted by Section 29.0821(b)(1)].
SECTION 18. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of
this section, the change in law made by this Act applies only to an
offense committed on or after September 1, 2005. An offense
committed before September 1, 2005, is covered by the law in effect
when the offense was committed, and the former law is continued in
effect for that purpose. For the purposes of this subsection, an
offense was committed before September 1, 2005, if any element of
the offense occurred before that date.
(b) Section 51.08, Family Code, as amended by this Act,
applies only to the transfer of a case to juvenile court that occurs
on or after the effective date of this Act. A transfer that occurs
before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in
effect when the transfer occurred, and the former law is continued
in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 19. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.