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79R4835 KKA-F

By:  Madden                                                       H.B. No. 1302



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the penalty for a parent who fails to require a child to 
attend school.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 25.093, Education Code, is amended by 
amending Subsections (b), (c), and (d) and adding Subsection (b-1) 
to read as follows:
	(b)  Except as provided by Subsection (b-1), the [The] 
attendance officer or other appropriate school official shall file 
a complaint against the parent in:
		(1)  the constitutional county court of the county in 
which the parent 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 parent resides or in which the school is located;  or
		(3)  a municipal court of the municipality in which the 
parent resides or in which the school is located.
	(b-1)  If the parent has previously been convicted under this 
section at least twice, the attendance officer or other appropriate 
school official shall file a complaint against the parent in the 
constitutional or statutory county court of the county in which the 
parent resides or in which the school is located.
	(c)  An offense under Subsection (a) is a Class C 
misdemeanor, unless the person has previously been convicted under 
this section at least twice, in which case the offense is a Class B 
misdemeanor.  Each day the child remains out of school may 
constitute a separate offense.  Two or more offenses under 
Subsection (a) may be consolidated and prosecuted in a single 
action.  If the court orders deferred disposition under Article 
45.051, Code of Criminal Procedure, the court may require the 
defendant to provide personal services to a charitable or 
educational institution as a condition of the deferral.
	(d)  A fine collected under this section shall be deposited 
as follows:      
		(1)  one-half shall be deposited to the credit of the 
operating fund of, as applicable:
			(A)  the school district in which the child 
attends school;                
			(B)  the open-enrollment charter school the child 
attends; or              
			(C)  the juvenile justice alternative education 
program that the child has been ordered to attend; and
		(2)  one-half shall be deposited to the credit of:                            
			(A)  the general fund of the county, if the 
complaint is filed in the justice court or the constitutional or 
statutory county court;  or
			(B)  the general fund of the municipality, if the 
complaint is filed in municipal court.
	SECTION 2.  Section 25.093, Education Code, as amended by 
this Act, applies only to an offense committed on or after the 
effective date of this Act.  An offense committed before the 
effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect at the 
time the offense is committed, and the former law is continued in 
effect for that purpose.  For purposes of this section, an offense 
is committed before the effective date of this Act if any element of 
the offense is committed before the effective date.
	SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.