BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 1783

By: Moody

Public Education

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Certain public education professionals note that school administrators sometimes discourage or limit the reporting of crimes that happen in their schools. These professionals also note that the recent prohibition against the issuance of certain tickets to public school students has given some teachers the impression that they are not free to report crimes that happen in their schools.
H.B. 1783 seeks to remedy this situation.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 1783 amends the Education Code to authorize an employee of a school district or open-enrollment charter school to report a crime witnessed at the school to any peace officer with authority to investigate the crime. The bill prohibits a district or charter school from adopting a policy requiring a school employee to refrain from reporting a crime witnessed at the school or to report a crime witnessed at the school only to certain persons or peace officers.

H.B. 1783 amends the Penal Code to change language including a school principal as a public servant to a school administrator for purposes of the statutory provision making it a Class C misdemeanor offense for a public servant, in reliance on information to which the public servant has access by virtue of the person's office or employment and that has not been made public, to coerce another into suppressing or failing to report that information to a law enforcement agency.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2015.