82R3564 VOO-D

By: Birdwell S.B. No. 1628

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the population of a county required to operate a juvenile justice alternative education program.

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

SECTION 1. Section 37.010(a), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) Not later than the second business day after the date a hearing is held under Section 37.009, the board of trustees of a school district or the board's designee shall deliver a copy of the order placing a student in a disciplinary alternative education program under Section 37.006 or expelling a student under Section 37.007 and any information required under Section 52.04, Family Code, to the authorized officer of the juvenile court in the county in which the student resides. In a county that operates a program under Section 37.011, an expelled student shall to the extent provided by law or by the memorandum of understanding immediately attend the educational program from the date of expulsion, except that in a county with a population greater than 180,000 [125,000], every expelled student who is not detained or receiving treatment under an order of the juvenile court must be enrolled in an educational program.

SECTION 2. Sections 37.011(a), (a-1), (k), and (m), Education Code, are amended to read as follows:

(a) The juvenile board of a county with a population greater than 180,000 [125,000] shall develop a juvenile justice alternative education program, subject to the approval of the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission. The juvenile board of a county with a population of 180,000 [125,000] or less may develop a juvenile justice alternative education program. For the purposes of this subchapter, only a disciplinary alternative education program operated under the authority of a juvenile board of a county is considered a juvenile justice alternative education program. A juvenile justice alternative education program in a county with a population of 180,000 [125,000] or less:

(1) is not required to be approved by the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission; and

(2) is not subject to Subsection (c), (d), (f), or (g).

(a-1) For purposes of this section and Section 37.010(a), a county with a population greater than 180,000 [125,000] is considered to be a county with a population of 180,000 [125,000] or less if:

(1) the county had a population of 180,000 [125,000] or less according to the 2000 federal census; and

(2) the juvenile board of the county enters into, with the approval of the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission, a memorandum of understanding with each school district within the county that:

(A) outlines the responsibilities of the board and school districts in minimizing the number of students expelled without receiving alternative educational services; and

(B) includes the coordination procedures required by Section 37.013.

(k) Each school district in a county with a population greater than 180,000 [125,000] and the county juvenile board shall annually enter into a joint memorandum of understanding that:

(1) outlines the responsibilities of the juvenile board concerning the establishment and operation of a juvenile justice alternative education program under this section;

(2) defines the amount and conditions on payments from the school district to the juvenile board for students of the school district served in the juvenile justice alternative education program whose placement was not made on the basis of an expulsion required under Section 37.007(a), (d), or (e);

(3) identifies those categories of conduct that the school district has defined in its student code of conduct as constituting serious or persistent misbehavior for which a student may be placed in the juvenile justice alternative education program;

(4) identifies and requires a timely placement and specifies a term of placement for expelled students for whom the school district has received a notice under Section 52.041(d), Family Code;

(5) establishes services for the transitioning of expelled students to the school district prior to the completion of the student's placement in the juvenile justice alternative education program;

(6) establishes a plan that provides transportation services for students placed in the juvenile justice alternative education program;

(7) establishes the circumstances and conditions under which a juvenile may be allowed to remain in the juvenile justice alternative education program setting once the juvenile is no longer under juvenile court jurisdiction; and

(8) establishes a plan to address special education services required by law.

(m) Each school district in a county with a population greater than 180,000 [125,000] and the county juvenile board shall adopt a joint memorandum of understanding as required by this section not later than September 1 of each school year.

SECTION 3. Section 53.02(e), Family Code, is amended to read as follows:

(e) Unless otherwise agreed in the memorandum of understanding under Section 37.011, Education Code, in a county with a population greater than 180,000 [125,000], if a child being released under this section is expelled under Section 37.007, Education Code, the release shall be conditioned on the child's attending a juvenile justice alternative education program pending a deferred prosecution or formal court disposition of the child's case.

SECTION 4. Section 54.01(f), Family Code, is amended to read as follows:

(f) Unless otherwise agreed in the memorandum of understanding under Section 37.011, Education Code, a release may be conditioned on requirements reasonably necessary to insure the child's appearance at later proceedings, but the conditions of the release must be in writing and a copy furnished to the child. In a county with a population greater than 180,000 [125,000], if a child being released under this section is expelled under Section 37.007, Education Code, the release shall be conditioned on the child's attending a juvenile justice alternative education program pending a deferred prosecution or formal court disposition of the child's case.

SECTION 5. A juvenile court that has placed a child on juvenile probation or deferred prosecution under Title 3, Family Code, and required as a condition of probation or deferred prosecution, as described by Section 37.011(b), Education Code, that the child attend a juvenile justice alternative education program in a county that is not required to operate a juvenile justice alternative education program under Section 37.011, Education Code, as amended by this Act, shall modify the conditions of probation or deferred prosecution if the county discontinues operation of the juvenile justice alternative education program.

SECTION 6. This Act applies beginning with the 2011-2012 school year.

SECTION 7. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2011.