Honorable Senfronia Thompson, Chair, House Committee on Youth Health & Safety, Select
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB3931 by Dutton (relating to truancy and parental contribution to nonattendance of school; increasing a criminal penalty.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted
The fiscal implications of the bill cannot be determined because the number of cases that would occur each year are unknown.
The bill would redefine truancy from absent from school for ten days or parts of days within a six-month period to absent from school for ten percent of the school's operation and instructional time.
The bill would change the penalty under TEC 29.093, Parent Contributing to Nonattendance, from a misdemeanor punishable by fine only to a Class C misdemeanor, which would result in an increased penalty for the 1st through 4th offenses. The Office of Court Administration (OCA) assumes that the fiscal impact to the state cannot be determined because the timing and number of cases that would occur each fiscal year is unknown.
The bill would amend Section 64.004(a) of the Family Code to state that the commissioners court of a county shall designate one or more justice courts in the county as the truancy court for the county.
The bill would amend Article 45.0531, Code of Criminal Procedure, to allow for the court to dismiss a charge against a parent under TEC 25.093 if the parent completes counseling, training, or other program under an agreement reached under new TEC 25.094, which would create an agreement for dismissal of a parent contributing to nonattendance charge.
School districts would be required to submit an annual attendance report to The Texas Education Agency (TEA).
This analysis assumes that any administrative costs to TEA associated with the bill could be absorbed using existing resources.
Local Government Impact
TEA assumes that school districts would be required to update truancy determinations, notifications, forms, and procedures to comply with the new definitions.
Based on the analysis of OCA, no significant fiscal impact to local courts and units of government is anticipated.