82R9554 AJZ/KKA-D

By: Madden H.B. No. 1907

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to notification requirements concerning offenses committed by students and school district discretion over admission or placement of certain students.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Article 15.27, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended by amending Subsections (a), (a-1), (b), (c), and (g) and adding Subsections (k) and (l) to read as follows:

(a) A law enforcement agency that arrests any person or refers a child to the office or official designated by the juvenile board who the agency believes is enrolled as a student in a public primary or secondary school, for an offense listed in Subsection (h), shall attempt to ascertain whether the person is so enrolled. If the law enforcement agency ascertains that the individual is enrolled as a student in a public primary or secondary school, the head of the agency or a person designated by the head of the agency shall orally notify the superintendent or a person designated by the superintendent in the school district in which the student is enrolled of that arrest or referral within 24 hours after the arrest or referral is made, or before [on] the next school day, whichever is earlier. If the law enforcement agency cannot ascertain whether the individual is enrolled as a student, the head of the agency or a person designated by the head of the agency shall orally notify the superintendent or a person designated by the superintendent in the school district in which the student is believed to be enrolled of that arrest or detention within 24 hours after the arrest or detention, or before [on] the next school day, whichever is earlier. If the individual is a student, the superintendent or the superintendent's designee shall promptly notify all instructional and support personnel who have responsibility for supervision of the student. All personnel shall keep the information received in this subsection confidential. The State Board for Educator Certification may revoke or suspend the certification of personnel who intentionally violate this subsection. Within seven days after the date the oral notice is given, the head of the law enforcement agency or the person designated by the head of the agency shall mail written notification, marked "PERSONAL and CONFIDENTIAL" on the mailing envelope, to the superintendent or the person designated by the superintendent. The written notification must include the facts contained in the oral notification, the name of the person who was orally notified, and the date and time of the oral notification. Both the oral and written notice shall contain sufficient details of the arrest or referral and the acts allegedly committed by the student to enable the superintendent or the superintendent's designee to determine whether there is a reasonable belief that the student has engaged in conduct defined as a felony offense by the Penal Code. The information contained in the notice shall [may] be considered by the superintendent or the superintendent's designee in making such a determination.

(a-1) The superintendent or a person designated by the superintendent in the school district shall [may] send to a school district employee having direct supervisory responsibility over the student the information contained in the confidential notice under Subsection (a) [if the superintendent or the person designated by the superintendent determines that the employee needs the information for educational purposes or for the protection of the person informed or others].

(b) On conviction, deferred prosecution, or deferred adjudication or an adjudication of delinquent conduct of an individual enrolled as a student in a public primary or secondary school, for an offense or for any conduct listed in Subsection (h) of this article, the office of the prosecuting attorney acting in the case shall orally notify the superintendent or a person designated by the superintendent in the school district in which the student is enrolled of the conviction or adjudication and whether the student is required to register as a sex offender under Chapter 62. Oral notification must be given within 24 hours of the time of the order or before [on] the next school day, whichever is earlier. The superintendent shall, within 24 hours of receiving notification from the office of the prosecuting attorney, or before the next school day, whichever is earlier, notify all instructional and support personnel who have regular contact with the student. Within seven days after the date the oral notice is given, the office of the prosecuting attorney shall mail written notice, which must contain a statement of the offense of which the individual is convicted or on which the adjudication, deferred adjudication, or deferred prosecution is grounded and a statement of whether the student is required to register as a sex offender under Chapter 62.

(c) A parole, probation, or community supervision office, including a community supervision and corrections department, a juvenile probation department, the paroles division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, and the Texas Youth Commission, having jurisdiction over a student described by Subsection (a), (b), or (e) who transfers from a school or is subsequently removed from a school and later returned to a school or school district other than the one the student was enrolled in when the arrest, referral to a juvenile court, conviction, or adjudication occurred shall within 24 hours of learning of the student's transfer or reenrollment, or before the next school day, whichever is earlier, notify the superintendent or a person designated by the superintendent of the school district to which the student transfers or is returned or, in the case of a private school, the principal or a school employee designated by the principal of the school to which the student transfers or is returned of the arrest or referral in a manner similar to that provided for by Subsection (a) or (e)(1), or of the conviction or delinquent adjudication in a manner similar to that provided for by Subsection (b) or (e)(2). The superintendent of the school district to which the student transfers or is returned or, in the case of a private school, the principal of the school to which the student transfers or is returned shall, within 24 hours of receiving notification under this subsection or before the next school day, whichever is earlier, notify all instructional and support personnel who have regular contact with the student.

(g) The office of the prosecuting attorney or the office or official designated by the juvenile board shall, before the student returns to school [within two working days], notify the school district that removed a student to a disciplinary alternative education program under Section 37.006, Education Code, if:

(1) prosecution of the student's case was refused for lack of prosecutorial merit or insufficient evidence and no formal proceedings, deferred adjudication, or deferred prosecution will be initiated; or

(2) the court or jury found the student not guilty or made a finding the child did not engage in delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a need for supervision and the case was dismissed with prejudice.

(k) Oral or written notice required under this article must include all pertinent details of the offense or conduct, including details of any:

(1) assaultive behavior or other violence;

(2) weapons used in the commission of the offense or conduct; or

(3) weapons possessed during the commission of the offense or conduct.

(l) If a school district board of trustees learns of a failure by the superintendent of the district or a district principal to provide a notice required under Subsection (a), (a-1), or (b), the board of trustees shall report the failure to the State Board for Educator Certification. If the governing body of a private primary or secondary school learns of a failure by the principal of the school to provide a notice required under Subsection (e), and the principal holds a certificate issued under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, Education Code, the governing body shall report the failure to the State Board for Educator Certification.

SECTION 2. Article 15.27(e)(3), Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended to read as follows:

(3) The principal of a private school in which the student is enrolled or a school employee designated by the principal shall [may] send to a school employee having direct supervisory responsibility over the student the information contained in the confidential notice, for the same purposes as described by Subsection (a-1) [(d)] of this article.

SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 37, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 37.024 to read as follows:

Sec. 37.024. DISCRETION OVER ADMISSION OR PLACEMENT OF CERTAIN TRANSFER AND OTHER NEW STUDENTS. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), this section applies to a school district that receives notice under Article 15.27(c), Code of Criminal Procedure, regarding a transfer or other new student who enrolls in the district.

(b) A school district that receives notice under Article 15.27(c), Code of Criminal Procedure, regarding a student who is required to register as a sex offender under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure, is governed by Subchapter I.

(c) A school district to which this section applies may consider the student's conduct that resulted in the notification to the district under Article 15.27(c), Code of Criminal Procedure, and, on the basis of that consideration, may:

(1) notwithstanding Section 25.001, decline to admit the student into the public schools of the district if the district determines that the student poses a risk to the district's teachers or students; or

(2) admit the student into the public schools of the district and determine:

(A) the appropriate placement for the student from among all available educational options, including the regular classroom, a disciplinary alternative education program, a juvenile justice alternative education program, and a program delivered to the student at home; and

(B) any reasonable conditions required to be met by the student as a condition of admission.

(d) A school district that under this section declines to admit a student or elects to provide educational services through any option other than placement in the regular classroom shall, at the student's request, review the district's determination regarding the student at least annually.

(e) To the extent this section conflicts with another provision of this subchapter, this section prevails.

SECTION 4. Section 37.024, Education Code, as added by this Act, applies beginning with the 2011-2012 school year.

SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to an offense committed or conduct that occurs on or after the effective date of this Act. An offense committed or conduct that occurs before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect when the offense was committed or the conduct occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense is committed or conduct occurs before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense or conduct occurs before that date.

SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.