89R5971 AMF-D

By: Garcia of Bexar H.B. No. 1963

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to policies and procedures for addressing dating violence in public schools.

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

SECTION 1. Section 12.104(b), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(b) An open-enrollment charter school is subject to:

(1) a provision of this title establishing a criminal offense;

(2) the provisions in Chapter 554, Government Code; and

(3) a prohibition, restriction, or requirement, as applicable, imposed by this title or a rule adopted under this title, relating to:

(A) the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) to the extent necessary to monitor compliance with this subchapter as determined by the commissioner;

(B) criminal history records under Subchapter C, Chapter 22;

(C) reading instruments and accelerated reading instruction programs under Section 28.006;

(D) accelerated instruction under Section 28.0211;

(E) high school graduation requirements under Section 28.025;

(F) special education programs under Subchapter A, Chapter 29;

(G) bilingual education under Subchapter B, Chapter 29;

(H) prekindergarten programs under Subchapter E or E-1, Chapter 29, except class size limits for prekindergarten classes imposed under Section 25.112, which do not apply;

(I) extracurricular activities under Section 33.081;

(J) discipline management practices or behavior management techniques under Section 37.0021;

(K) health and safety under Chapter 38;

(L) the provisions of Subchapter A, Chapter 39;

(M) public school accountability and special investigations under Subchapters A, B, C, D, F, G, and J, Chapter 39, and Chapter 39A;

(N) the requirement under Section 21.006 to report an educator's misconduct;

(O) intensive programs of instruction under Section 28.0213;

(P) the right of a school employee to report a crime, as provided by Section 37.148;

(Q) bullying prevention policies and procedures under Section 37.0832;

(R) the right of a school under Section 37.0052 to place a student who has engaged in certain bullying or dating violence behavior in a disciplinary alternative education program or to expel the student;

(S) the right under Section 37.0151 to report to local law enforcement certain conduct constituting assault or harassment;

(T) a parent's right to information regarding the provision of assistance for learning difficulties to the parent's child as provided by Sections 26.004(b)(11) and 26.0081(c) and (d);

(U) establishment of residency under Section 25.001;

(V) school safety requirements under Sections 37.0814, 37.108, 37.1081, 37.1082, 37.1083, 37.1084, 37.1085, 37.1086, 37.109, 37.113, 37.114, 37.1141, 37.115, 37.207, and 37.2071 and Subchapter J, Chapter 37;

(W) the early childhood literacy and mathematics proficiency plans under Section 11.185;

(X) the college, career, and military readiness plans under Section 11.186; and

(Y) parental options to retain a student under Section 28.02124.

SECTION 2. Section 37.001(a), Education Code, is 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;

(D) a disability that substantially impairs the student's capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of the student's conduct;

(E) a student's status in the conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective Services; or

(F) a student's status as a student who is homeless;

(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, dating violence, harassment, and making hit lists and ensure that district employees enforce those prohibitions;

(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, dating violence, 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 3. Section 37.001(b), Education Code, is amended by adding Subdivision (1-a) to read as follows:

(1-a) "Dating violence" has the meaning assigned by Section 37.0052(a).

SECTION 4. The heading to Section 37.0052, Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 37.0052. PLACEMENT OR EXPULSION OF STUDENTS WHO HAVE ENGAGED IN CERTAIN BULLYING OR DATING VIOLENCE BEHAVIOR.

SECTION 5. Section 37.0052(a), Education Code, is amended by adding Subdivision (1-a) to read as follows:

(1-a) "Dating violence" means the intentional use of physical, sexual, verbal, or emotional abuse by a person to harm, threaten, intimidate, or control another person in a dating relationship, as defined by Section 71.0021, Family Code.

SECTION 6. Section 37.0052(b), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(b) A student may be removed from class and placed in a disciplinary alternative education program as provided by Section 37.008 or expelled if the student:

(1) engages in bullying that encourages a student to commit or attempt to commit suicide;

(2) incites violence against a student through group bullying; [or]

(3) engages in dating violence; or

(4) releases or threatens to release intimate visual material of a minor or a student who is 18 years of age or older without the student's consent.

SECTION 7. Section 37.008, Education Code, is amended by adding Subsection (k-1) to read as follows:

(k-1) A program of educational and support services may be provided to a student and the student's parents when the offense involves dating violence as specified under Section 37.0052. Educational materials, resources, and instruction regarding dating violence and establishing healthy relationships must be provided in accordance with Sections 28.002 and 37.0831, as applicable.

SECTION 8. This Act applies beginning with the 2025-2026 school year.

SECTION 9. 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, 2025.