By: Estes S.B. No. 647

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the authority of an open-enrollment charter school to commission peace officers.

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

SECTION 1. Section 37.081, Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 37.081. SCHOOL [DISTRICT] PEACE OFFICERS AND SECURITY PERSONNEL. (a) The board of trustees of any school district and the governing body of any open-enrollment charter school may employ security personnel and may commission peace officers to carry out this subchapter. If a board of trustees or governing body authorizes a person employed as security personnel to carry a weapon, the person must be a commissioned peace officer. The jurisdiction of a peace officer or security personnel under this section shall be determined by the board of trustees or governing body and may include:

(1) for a school district, all territory in the boundaries of the school district and all property outside the boundaries of the district that is owned, leased, or rented by or otherwise under the control of the school district and the board of trustees that employ the peace officer or security personnel; or

(2) for an open-enrollment charter school, all territory in the boundaries of the school district in which the open-enrollment charter school is located and all property outside the boundaries of the district that is owned, leased, or rented by or otherwise under the control of the governing body of the open-enrollment charter school that employs the peace officer or security personnel.

(b) In a peace officer's jurisdiction, a peace officer commissioned under this section:

(1) has the powers, privileges, and immunities of peace officers;

(2) may enforce all laws, including municipal ordinances, county ordinances, and state laws;

(3) may, in accordance with Chapter 52, Family Code, or Article 45.058, Code of Criminal Procedure, take a child into custody; and

(4) may dispose of cases in accordance with Section 52.03 or 52.031, Family Code.

(c) A school [district] peace officer may provide assistance to another law enforcement agency. A school district or open-enrollment charter school may contract with a political subdivision for the jurisdiction of a school [district] peace officer to include all territory in the jurisdiction of the political subdivision.

(d) A school [district] peace officer shall perform law enforcement duties for the school district or open-enrollment charter school as determined by the board of trustees of the school district or governing body of the open-enrollment charter school. Those duties must include protecting:

(1) the safety and welfare of any person in the jurisdiction of the peace officer; and

(2) the property of the school district or open-enrollment charter school.

(e) The board of trustees of the school district or the governing body of the open-enrollment charter school shall determine the scope of the on-duty and off-duty law enforcement activities of school [district] peace officers. A school district or open-enrollment charter school must authorize in writing any off-duty law enforcement activities performed by a school [district] peace officer.

(f) The chief of police of the school district police department shall be accountable to the superintendent and shall report to the superintendent. School district police officers shall be supervised by the chief of police of the school district or the chief of police's designee and shall be licensed by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement.

(f-1) Open-enrollment charter school police officers shall be licensed by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement.

(g) A school district police department or open-enrollment charter school police department and the law enforcement agencies with which it has overlapping jurisdiction shall enter into a memorandum of understanding that outlines reasonable communication and coordination efforts between the department and the agencies.

(h) A peace officer assigned to duty and commissioned under this section shall take and file the oath required of peace officers and shall execute and file a bond in the sum of $1,000, payable to the board of trustees of the school district or governing body of the open-enrollment charter school, with two or more sureties, conditioned that the peace officer will fairly, impartially, and faithfully perform all the duties that may be required of the peace officer by law. The bond may be sued on in the name of any person injured until the whole amount of the bond is recovered. Any peace officer commissioned under this section must meet all minimum standards for peace officers established by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement.

(i) In this section:

(1) "Governing body of an open-enrollment charter school" means the board of directors, board of trustees, or other governing body of an open-enrollment charter school. The term includes the governing body of a charter holder if that body acts as the governing body of the open-enrollment charter school.

(2) "School peace officer" means a peace officer commissioned by a school district or open-enrollment charter school under this section.

SECTION 2. Section 52.01(a), Family Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) A child may be taken into custody:

(1) pursuant to an order of the juvenile court under the provisions of this subtitle;

(2) pursuant to the laws of arrest;

(3) by a law-enforcement officer, including a school [district] peace officer commissioned under Section 37.081, Education Code, if there is probable cause to believe that the child has engaged in:

(A) conduct that violates a penal law of this state or a penal ordinance of any political subdivision of this state;

(B) delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a need for supervision; or

(C) conduct that violates a condition of probation imposed by the juvenile court;

(4) by a probation officer if there is probable cause to believe that the child has violated a condition of probation imposed by the juvenile court;

(5) pursuant to a directive to apprehend issued as provided by Section 52.015; or

(6) by a probation officer if there is probable cause to believe that the child has violated a condition of release imposed by the juvenile court or referee under Section 54.01.

SECTION 3. Section 1701.260(j), Occupations Code, is amended to read as follows:

(j) The commission shall submit the identifying information collected under Subsection (b) for each person licensed by the commission under this section to:

(1) the director of the Department of Public Safety;

(2) the person's employer, if the person is employed by a school district or open-enrollment charter school;

(3) the chief law enforcement officer of the local municipal law enforcement agency if the person is employed at a campus of a school district or open-enrollment charter school located within a municipality;

(4) the sheriff of the county if the person is employed at a campus of a school district or open-enrollment charter school that is not located within a municipality; and

(5) the chief administrator of any peace officer commissioned under Section 37.081, Education Code, if the person is employed at a school district or open-enrollment charter school that has commissioned a peace officer under that section.

SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.