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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to disciplinary action taken against public school |
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students on the basis of serious misbehavior. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Subsection (c), Section 37.007, Education Code, |
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is amended to read as follows: |
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(c) A student may be expelled if the student, while placed |
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in an alternative education program for disciplinary reasons, |
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continues to engage in serious [or persistent] misbehavior that |
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violates the district's student code of conduct. |
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SECTION 2. Subsection (c), Section 37.009, Education Code, |
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is amended to read as follows: |
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(c) Before it may place a student in a disciplinary |
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alternative education program for a period that extends beyond the |
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end of the school year, the board or the board's designee must |
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determine that: |
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(1) the student's presence in the regular classroom |
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program or at the student's regular campus presents a danger of |
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physical harm to the student or to another individual; or |
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(2) the student has engaged in serious [or persistent] |
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misbehavior that violates the district's student code of conduct. |
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SECTION 3. Subsections (k) and (l), Section 37.011, |
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Education Code, are amended to read as follows: |
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(k) Each school district in a county with a population |
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greater than 125,000 and the county juvenile board shall annually |
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enter into a joint memorandum of understanding that: |
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(1) outlines the responsibilities of the juvenile |
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board concerning the establishment and operation of a juvenile |
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justice alternative education program under this section; |
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(2) defines the amount and conditions on payments from |
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the school district to the juvenile board for students of the school |
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district served in the juvenile justice alternative education |
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program whose placement was not made on the basis of an expulsion |
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required under Section 37.007(a), (d), or (e); |
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(3) identifies those categories of conduct that the |
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school district has defined in its student code of conduct as |
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constituting serious [or persistent] misbehavior for which a |
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student may be placed in the juvenile justice alternative education |
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program; |
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(4) identifies and requires a timely placement and |
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specifies a term of placement for expelled students for whom the |
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school district has received a notice under Section 52.041(d), |
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Family Code; |
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(5) establishes services for the transitioning of |
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expelled students to the school district prior to the completion of |
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the student's placement in the juvenile justice alternative |
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education program; |
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(6) establishes a plan that provides transportation |
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services for students placed in the juvenile justice alternative |
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education program; |
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(7) establishes the circumstances and conditions |
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under which a juvenile may be allowed to remain in the juvenile |
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justice alternative education program setting once the juvenile is |
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no longer under juvenile court jurisdiction; and |
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(8) establishes a plan to address special education |
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services required by law. |
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(l) The school district shall be responsible for providing |
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an immediate educational program to students who engage in behavior |
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resulting in expulsion under Section 37.007(b), (c), and (f) but |
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who are not eligible for admission into the juvenile justice |
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alternative education program in accordance with the memorandum of |
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understanding required under this section. The school district may |
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provide the program or the school district may contract with a |
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county juvenile board, a private provider, or one or more other |
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school districts to provide the program. The memorandum of |
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understanding shall address the circumstances under which such |
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students who continue to engage in serious [or persistent] |
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misbehavior shall be admitted into the juvenile justice alternative |
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education program. |
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SECTION 4. This Act applies beginning with the 2011-2012 |
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school year. |
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SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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Act takes effect September 1, 2011. |
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