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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the penalty for a parent who fails to require a child to |
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attend school. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 25.093, Education Code, is amended by |
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adding Subsections (b-1) and (c-1) and amending Subsections (c) and |
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(d) to read as follows: |
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(b-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (b), if the parent has |
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previously been convicted under this section at least twice during |
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the same school year for conduct relating to the same child, the |
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attendance officer or other appropriate school official may file a |
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complaint against the parent in the constitutional or statutory |
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county court of the county in which the parent resides or in which |
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the school is located. |
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(c) An offense under Subsection (a) is a Class C |
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misdemeanor, except that an offense is a Class B misdemeanor if: |
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(1) the person has previously been convicted under |
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this section at least twice during the same school year for conduct |
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relating to the same child and assessed the maximum fine permitted |
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under Section 12.23, Penal Code, at least once; and |
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(2) none of the child's absences on which the offense |
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is based or on which the previous convictions were based were |
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attributed to the child on the basis of the child's tardy arrival on |
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a school day. |
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(c-1) Each day the child remains out of school may |
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constitute a separate offense. Two or more offenses under |
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Subsection (a) may be consolidated and prosecuted in a single |
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action. If the court orders deferred disposition under Article |
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45.051, Code of Criminal Procedure, the court may require the |
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defendant to provide personal services to a charitable or |
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educational institution as a condition of the deferral. |
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(d) A fine collected under this section shall be deposited |
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as follows: |
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(1) one-half shall be deposited to the credit of the |
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operating fund of, as applicable: |
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(A) the school district in which the child |
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attends school; |
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(B) the open-enrollment charter school the child |
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attends; or |
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(C) the juvenile justice alternative education |
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program that the child has been ordered to attend; and |
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(2) one-half shall be deposited to the credit of: |
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(A) the general fund of the county, if the |
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complaint is filed in the justice court or the constitutional or |
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statutory county court; or |
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(B) the general fund of the municipality, if the |
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complaint is filed in municipal court. |
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SECTION 2. Section 25.093, Education Code, as amended by |
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this Act, applies only to an offense committed on or after the |
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effective date of this Act. An offense committed before the |
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effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect at the |
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time the offense is committed, and the former law is continued in |
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effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense |
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is committed before the effective date of this Act if any element of |
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the offense is committed before the effective date. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2007. |