Amend HB 171 (Senate committee report) by adding the
following appropriately numbered SECTIONS to the bill and
renumbering subsequent SECTIONS of the bill accordingly:
SECTION ____. Subchapter A, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 37.0012 to read as follows:
Sec. 37.0012. DESIGNATION OF CAMPUS DISCIPLINE OFFICER. (a)
A person at each campus must be designated to serve as the campus
discipline officer. The person designated may be the principal of
the campus or any other campus administrator selected by the
principal.
(b) The campus discipline officer is primarily responsible
for maintaining student discipline and the implementation of this
subchapter.
(c) The specific duties of the campus discipline officer may
be established by campus or district policy. Unless otherwise
provided by campus or district policy:
(1) a duty imposed on a campus principal or other
campus administrator under this subchapter shall be performed by
the campus discipline officer; and
(2) a power granted to a campus principal or other
campus administrator under this subchapter may be exercised by the
campus discipline officer.
(d) The campus discipline officer shall promptly notify a
student's parent or guardian as provided by this subsection if
under this subchapter the student is placed into in-school or
out-of-school suspension, placed in a disciplinary alternative
education program, expelled, or placed in a juvenile justice
alternative education program or is taken into custody by a law
enforcement officer. A campus discipline officer must comply with
this subsection by:
(1) promptly contacting the parent or guardian by
telephone or in person; and
(2) making a good faith effort to provide written
notice of the disciplinary action to the student, on the day the
action is taken, for delivery to the student's parent or guardian.
(e) If a parent or guardian entitled to notice under
Subsection (d) has not been reached by telephone or in person by 5
p.m. of the first business day after the day the disciplinary action
is taken, a campus discipline officer shall mail written notice of
the action to the parent or guardian at the parent's or guardian's
last known address.
(f) If a campus discipline officer is unable or not
available to promptly provide notice under Subsection (d), the
principal or other designee shall provide the notice.
(g) This section does not create any liability for or cause
of action against a school district or a school district's officers
or employees.
SECTION ____. Section 37.002(a), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) A teacher may send a student to the campus discipline
officer's [principal's] office to maintain effective discipline in
the classroom. The campus discipline officer [principal] shall
respond by employing appropriate discipline management techniques
consistent with the student code of conduct adopted under Section
37.001 that can reasonably be expected to improve the student's
behavior before returning the student to the classroom.
SECTION ____. Section 37.009(a), 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 37.001(a)(2) or 37.006, the campus
discipline officer [principal] or other appropriate administrator
shall schedule a conference among the campus discipline officer
[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 campus discipline officer, after consideration of
the factors under Section 37.001(a)(4), [principal] shall order the
placement of the student 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 campus discipline officer [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. If the period of the placement is inconsistent with
the guidelines included in the student code of conduct under
Section 37.001(a)(5), the order must give notice of the
inconsistency. The period of the placement may not exceed one year
unless, after a review, the district determines that[:
[(1)] the student is a threat to the safety of other
students or to district employees[; or
[(2) extended placement is in the best interest of the
student].