BILL ANALYSIS

Senate Research Center	S.B. 244
86R4833 TSS-D	By: Creighton
	Education
	3/4/2019
	As Filed

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

Current law gives public schools, open-enrollment charter schools, and private schools the ability to appoint school marshals, which are school personnel members appointed by their governing boards and trained and licensed by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement. Schools are currently limited on the number of school marshals they may appoint to the greater of (a) one school marshal per 200 students in average daily attendance per campus, or (b) one school marshal per building per campus at which students regularly receive classroom instruction. Considering how each school district has different numbers of students at different locations and portable buildings across different campuses, S.B. 244 would accommodate these individual, school-specific needs by giving public schools, open-enrollment charter schools, and private schools the option to appoint one or more school marshals per campus if they believe it is in the best interest of their district.

As proposed, S.B. 244 amends current law relating to the number of school marshals that may be appointed to serve on a public school campus or at a private school.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Section 37.0811(a), Education Code, to authorize the board of trustees of a school district or the governing body of an open-enrollment charter school to appoint one or more school marshals for each campus, rather than not more than the greater of one school marshal per 200 students in average daily attendance per campus or, for each campus, one school marshal per building of the campus at which students regularly receive classroom instruction.

SECTION 2. Amends Section 37.0813(a), Education Code, to authorize the governing body of a private school to appoint one or more school marshals, rather than to appoint not more than greater of one school marshal per 200 students enrolled in the school or one school marshal per building of the school at which students regularly receive classroom instruction.

SECTION 3. Provides that this Act applies beginning with the 2019�2020 school year.

SECTION 4. Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2019.