| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to establishing a restorative justice program for certain |
|
|
student conduct constituting a criminal offense that occurs on |
|
|
school property, on school transportation, or at school-sponsored |
|
|
or school-related activities. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 37, Education Code, is |
|
|
amended by adding Section 37.086 to read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 37.086. RESTORATIVE JUSTICE PROGRAM. (a) In this |
|
|
section, "student" means a child who is at least 10 years of age and |
|
|
younger than 17 years of age and who is enrolled in a public school. |
|
|
(b) This section applies only to a student who engages in |
|
|
conduct that constitutes an offense: |
|
|
(1) other than: |
|
|
(A) a felony; |
|
|
(B) an offense under Section 22.07, 42.06, or |
|
|
46.08, Penal Code; or |
|
|
(C) an offense that involved the possession, |
|
|
exhibition, or use of a firearm, location-restricted knife, or |
|
|
club, as defined by Section 46.01, Penal Code, a deadly weapon, as |
|
|
defined by Section 1.07, Penal Code, or a prohibited weapon, as |
|
|
described by Section 46.05, Penal Code; and |
|
|
(2) that occurs: |
|
|
(A) on school property; |
|
|
(B) while attending a school-sponsored or |
|
|
school-related activity; or |
|
|
(C) on a publicly or privately owned school bus |
|
|
or vehicle being used for transportation of students to or from |
|
|
school or a school-sponsored or school-related activity on or off |
|
|
of school property. |
|
|
(c) Each school district or open-enrollment charter school |
|
|
shall develop and implement a restorative justice program for |
|
|
students who engage in conduct described by Subsection (b) that: |
|
|
(1) educates the students regarding the harm caused to |
|
|
the victims; and |
|
|
(2) emphasizes the importance of an offending |
|
|
student's reparation of harm caused to the victim. |
|
|
(d) Notwithstanding any other law, except as provided by |
|
|
Subsection (e)(1) or Subchapter E-1, before referring a student to |
|
|
a juvenile or criminal court for conduct described by Subsection |
|
|
(b), a school district or open-enrollment charter school shall |
|
|
refer the student to the school district's or school's restorative |
|
|
justice program. |
|
|
(e) A school district or open-enrollment charter school may |
|
|
refer a student to juvenile or criminal court for conduct described |
|
|
by Subsection (b) only if: |
|
|
(1) the school district or school determines that the |
|
|
restorative justice program is not appropriate for the student's |
|
|
conduct; or |
|
|
(2) the student has previously failed to comply with |
|
|
or complete the restorative justice program. |
|
|
SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
|
|
conduct that occurs on or after the effective date of this Act. |
|
|
Conduct that occurs before the effective date of this Act is |
|
|
governed by the law in effect on the date the conduct occurred, and |
|
|
the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For the |
|
|
purposes of this section, conduct occurred before the effective |
|
|
date of this Act if any element of the conduct occurred before that |
|
|
date. |
|
|
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019. |