S.B. No. 1553
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to certain requirements imposed on a sex offender who
  enters the premises of a school and to the refusal of entry to or
  ejection from school district property.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Article 62.053(a), Code of Criminal Procedure,
  is amended to read as follows:
         (a)  Before a person who will be subject to registration
  under this chapter is due to be released from a penal institution,
  the Texas Department of Criminal Justice or the Texas Juvenile
  Justice Department shall determine the person's level of risk to
  the community using the sex offender screening tool developed or
  selected under Article 62.007 and assign to the person a numeric
  risk level of one, two, or three. Before releasing the person, an
  official of the penal institution shall:
               (1)  inform the person that:
                     (A)  not later than the later of the seventh day
  after the date on which the person is released or after the date on
  which the person moves from a previous residence to a new residence
  in this state or not later than the first date the applicable local
  law enforcement authority by policy allows the person to register
  or verify registration, the person must register or verify
  registration with the local law enforcement authority in the
  municipality or county in which the person intends to reside;
                     (B)  not later than the seventh day after the date
  on which the person is released or the date on which the person
  moves from a previous residence to a new residence in this state,
  the person must, if the person has not moved to an intended
  residence, report to the applicable entity or entities as required
  by Article 62.051(h) or (j) or 62.055(e);
                     (C)  not later than the seventh day before the
  date on which the person moves to a new residence in this state or
  another state, the person must report in person to the local law
  enforcement authority designated as the person's primary
  registration authority by the department and to the juvenile
  probation officer, community supervision and corrections
  department officer, or parole officer supervising the person;
                     (D)  not later than the 10th day after the date on
  which the person arrives in another state in which the person
  intends to reside, the person must register with the law
  enforcement agency that is identified by the department as the
  agency designated by that state to receive registration
  information, if the other state has a registration requirement for
  sex offenders;
                     (E)  not later than the 30th day after the date on
  which the person is released, the person must apply to the
  department in person for the issuance of an original or renewal
  driver's license or personal identification certificate and a
  failure to apply to the department as required by this paragraph
  results in the automatic revocation of any driver's license or
  personal identification certificate issued by the department to the
  person;
                     (F)  the person must notify appropriate entities
  of any change in status as described by Article 62.057; [and]
                     (G)  certain types of employment are prohibited
  under Article 62.063 for a person with a reportable conviction or
  adjudication for a sexually violent offense involving a victim
  younger than 14 years of age occurring on or after September 1,
  2013; and
                     (H)  if the person enters the premises of a school
  as described by Article 62.064 and is subject to the requirements of
  that article, the person must immediately notify the administrative
  office of the school of the person's presence and the person's
  registration status under this chapter;
               (2)  require the person to sign a written statement
  that the person was informed of the person's duties as described by
  Subdivision (1) or Subsection (g) or, if the person refuses to sign
  the statement, certify that the person was so informed;
               (3)  obtain the address or, if applicable, a detailed
  description of each geographical location where the person expects
  to reside on the person's release and other registration
  information, including a photograph and complete set of
  fingerprints; and
               (4)  complete the registration form for the person.
         SECTION 2.  Article 62.058, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
  amended by adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:
         (g)  A local law enforcement authority who provides a person
  with a registration form for verification as required by this
  chapter shall include with the form a statement and, if applicable,
  a description of the person's duty to provide notice under Article
  62.064.
         SECTION 3.  Subchapter B, Chapter 62, Code of Criminal
  Procedure, is amended by adding Article 62.064 to read as follows:
         Art. 62.064.  ENTRY ONTO SCHOOL PREMISES; NOTICE REQUIRED.
  (a)  In this article:
               (1)  "Premises" means a building or portion of a
  building and the grounds on which the building is located,
  including any public or private driveway, street, sidewalk or
  walkway, parking lot, or parking garage on the grounds.
               (2)  "School" has the meaning assigned by Section
  481.134, Health and Safety Code.
         (b)  A person subject to registration under this chapter who
  enters the premises of any school in this state during the standard
  operating hours of the school shall immediately notify the
  administrative office of the school of the person's presence on the
  premises of the school and the person's registration status under
  this chapter.  The office may provide a chaperon to accompany the
  person while the person is on the premises of the school.
         (c)  The requirements of this article:
               (1)  are in addition to any requirement associated with
  the imposition of a child safety zone on the person under Section
  508.187, Government Code, or Article 42A.453 of this code; and
               (2)  do not apply to:
                     (A)  a student enrolled at the school;
                     (B)  a student from another school participating
  at an event at the school; or
                     (C)  a person who has entered into a written
  agreement with the school that exempts the person from those
  requirements.
         SECTION 4.  Section 37.001(a), Education Code, as amended by
  Chapters 487 (S.B. 1541) and 1409 (S.B. 1114), Acts of the 83rd
  Legislature, Regular Session, 2013, is reenacted and amended to
  read as follows:
         (a)  The board of trustees of an independent school district
  shall, with the advice of its district-level committee established
  under Subchapter F, Chapter 11, adopt a student code of conduct for
  the district. The student code of conduct must be posted and
  prominently displayed at each school campus or made available for
  review at the office of the campus principal. In addition to
  establishing standards for student conduct, the student code of
  conduct must:
               (1)  specify the circumstances, in accordance with this
  subchapter, under which a student may be removed from a classroom,
  campus, disciplinary alternative education program, or vehicle
  owned or operated by the district;
               (2)  specify conditions that authorize or require a
  principal or other appropriate administrator to transfer a student
  to a disciplinary alternative education program;
               (3)  outline conditions under which a student may be
  suspended as provided by Section 37.005 or expelled as provided by
  Section 37.007;
               (4)  specify that consideration will be given, as a
  factor in each decision concerning suspension, removal to a
  disciplinary alternative education program, expulsion, or
  placement in a juvenile justice alternative education program,
  regardless of whether the decision concerns a mandatory or
  discretionary action, to:
                     (A)  self-defense;
                     (B)  intent or lack of intent at the time the
  student engaged in the conduct;
                     (C)  a student's disciplinary history; or
                     (D)  a disability that substantially impairs the
  student's capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of the student's
  conduct;
               (5)  provide guidelines for setting the length of a
  term of:
                     (A)  a removal under Section 37.006; and
                     (B)  an expulsion under Section 37.007;
               (6)  address the notification of a student's parent or
  guardian of a violation of the student code of conduct committed by
  the student that results in suspension, removal to a disciplinary
  alternative education program, or expulsion;
               (7)  prohibit bullying, harassment, and making hit
  lists and ensure that district employees enforce those
  prohibitions; [and]
               (8)  provide, as appropriate for students at each grade
  level, methods, including options, for:
                     (A)  managing students in the classroom, on school
  grounds, and on a vehicle owned or operated by the district;
                     (B)  disciplining students; and
                     (C)  preventing and intervening in student
  discipline problems, including bullying, harassment, and making
  hit lists; and
               (9)  include an explanation of the provisions regarding
  refusal of entry to or ejection from district property under
  Section 37.105, including the appeal process established under
  Section 37.105(h).
         SECTION 5.  Section 37.105, Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 37.105.  UNAUTHORIZED PERSONS: REFUSAL OF ENTRY,
  EJECTION, IDENTIFICATION. (a)  A school administrator, school
  resource officer, or school district peace officer [The board of
  trustees] of a school district [or its authorized representative]
  may refuse to allow a person [without legitimate business] to enter
  on or [property under the board's control and] may eject a [any
  undesirable] person from [the] property under the district's
  control if the person refuses [on the person's refusal] to leave
  peaceably on request and:
               (1)  the person poses a substantial risk of harm to any
  person; or
               (2)  the person behaves in a manner that is
  inappropriate for a school setting and:
                     (A)  the administrator, resource officer, or
  peace officer issues a verbal warning to the person that the
  person's behavior is inappropriate and may result in the person's
  refusal of entry or ejection; and
                     (B)  the person persists in that behavior.
         (b)  Identification may be required of any person on the
  property.
         (c)  Each school district shall maintain a record of each
  verbal warning issued under Subsection (a)(2)(A), including the
  name of the person to whom the warning was issued and the date of
  issuance.
         (d)  At the time a person is refused entry to or ejected from
  a school district's property under this section, the district shall
  provide to the person written information explaining the appeal
  process established under Subsection (h).
         (e)  If a parent or guardian of a child enrolled in a school
  district is refused entry to the district's property under this
  section, the district shall accommodate the parent or guardian to
  ensure that the parent or guardian may participate in the child's
  admission, review, and dismissal committee or in the child's team
  established under Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29
  U.S.C. Section 794), in accordance with federal law.
         (f)  The term of a person's refusal of entry to or ejection
  from a school district's property under this section may not exceed
  two years.
         (g)  A school district shall post on the district's Internet
  website and each district campus shall post on any Internet website
  of the campus a notice regarding the provisions of this section,
  including the appeal process established under Subsection (h).
         (h)  The commissioner shall adopt rules to implement this
  section, including rules establishing a process for a person to
  appeal to the board of trustees of the school district the decision
  under Subsection (a) to refuse the person's entry to or eject the
  person from the district's property.
         SECTION 6.  Articles 62.053 and 62.058, Code of Criminal
  Procedure, as amended by this Act, and Article 62.064, Code of
  Criminal Procedure, as added by this Act, apply to a person subject
  to registration under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure, for
  an offense committed or conduct that occurs before, on, or after
  September 1, 2017.
         SECTION 7.  Section 37.001(a), Education Code, as reenacted
  and amended by this Act, and Section 37.105, Education Code, as
  amended by this Act, apply beginning with the 2017-2018 school
  year.
         SECTION 8.  (a)  Except as provided by Subsection (b) of
  this section, 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, 2017.
         (b)  Articles 62.053 and 62.058, Code of Criminal Procedure,
  as amended by this Act, and Article 62.064, Code of Criminal
  Procedure, as added by this Act, take effect September 1, 2017.
 
 
 
 
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
         I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1553 passed the Senate on
  May 15, 2017, by the following vote:  Yeas 29, Nays 2;
  May 26, 2017, Senate refused to concur in House amendments and
  requested appointment of Conference Committee; May 27, 2017, House
  granted request of the Senate; May 28, 2017, Senate adopted
  Conference Committee Report by the following vote:  Yeas 27,
  Nays 4.
 
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate    
 
         I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1553 passed the House, with
  amendments, on May 24, 2017, by the following vote:  Yeas 138,
  Nays 5, two present not voting; May 27, 2017, House granted request
  of the Senate for appointment of Conference Committee;
  May 28, 2017, House adopted Conference Committee Report by the
  following vote:  Yeas 132, Nays 13, two present not voting.
 
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
 
 
  Approved:
 
  ______________________________ 
             Date
 
 
  ______________________________ 
            Governor