89R8292 GP-D

By: Olcott H.B. No. 2591

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the operation of a juvenile justice alternative education program.

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

SECTION 1. Section 25.086(a), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) A child is exempt from the requirements of compulsory school attendance if the child:

(1) attends a private or parochial school that includes in its course a study of good citizenship;

(2) is eligible to participate in a school district's special education program under Section 29.003 and cannot be appropriately served by the resident district;

(3) has a physical or mental condition of a temporary and remediable nature that makes the child's attendance infeasible and holds a certificate from a qualified physician specifying the temporary condition, indicating the treatment prescribed to remedy the temporary condition, and covering the anticipated period of the child's absence from school for the purpose of receiving and recuperating from that remedial treatment;

(4) is expelled in accordance with the requirements of law in a school district that does not participate in a [mandatory] juvenile justice alternative education program under Section 37.011;

(5) is at least 17 years of age and:

(A) is attending a course of instruction to prepare for the high school equivalency examination, and:

(i) has the permission of the child's parent or guardian to attend the course;

(ii) is required by court order to attend the course;

(iii) has established a residence separate and apart from the child's parent, guardian, or other person having lawful control of the child; or

(iv) is homeless; or

(B) has received a high school diploma or high school equivalency certificate;

(6) is at least 16 years of age and is attending a course of instruction to prepare for the high school equivalency examination, if:

(A) the child is recommended to take the course of instruction by a public agency that has supervision or custody of the child under a court order; or

(B) the child is enrolled in a Job Corps training program under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. Section 2801 et seq.);

(7) is at least 16 years of age and is enrolled in a high school diploma program under Chapter 18;

(8) is enrolled in the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science under Subchapter G, Chapter 105;

(9) is enrolled in the Texas Academy of Leadership in the Humanities;

(10) is enrolled in the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley;

(11) is enrolled in the Texas Academy of International Studies; or

(12) is specifically exempted under another law.

SECTION 2. Section 37.010(a), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) Not later than the second business day after the date a hearing is held under Section 37.009, the board of trustees of a school district or the board's designee shall deliver a copy of the order placing a student in a disciplinary alternative education program under Section 37.006 or expelling a student under Section 37.007 and any information required under Section 52.04, Family Code, to the authorized officer of the juvenile court in the county in which the student resides. In a county that operates a program under Section 37.011, an expelled student shall to the extent provided by law or by the memorandum of understanding immediately attend the educational program from the date of expulsion[, except that in a county with a population greater than 125,000, every expelled student who is not detained or receiving treatment under an order of the juvenile court must be enrolled in an educational program].

SECTION 3. Sections 37.011(a), (k), and (m), Education Code, are amended to read as follows:

(a) The juvenile board of a county may [with a population greater than 125,000 shall] develop a juvenile justice alternative education program. A juvenile justice alternative education program in county with a population greater than 125,000 is [,] subject to the approval of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department. [The juvenile board of a county with a population of 125,000 or less may develop a juvenile justice alternative education program.] For the purposes of this subchapter, only a disciplinary alternative education program operated under the authority of a juvenile board of a county is considered a juvenile justice alternative education program. A juvenile justice alternative education program in a county with a population of 125,000 or less:

(1) is not required to be approved by the department; and

(2) is not subject to Subsection (c), (d), (f), or (g).

(k) Each school district in a county with a population greater than 125,000 that operates a juvenile justice alternative education program and the county juvenile board shall annually enter into a joint memorandum of understanding that:

(1) outlines the responsibilities of the juvenile board concerning the establishment and operation of a juvenile justice alternative education program under this section;

(2) defines the amount and conditions on payments from the school district to the juvenile board for students of the school district served in the juvenile justice alternative education program whose placement was not made on the basis of an expulsion required under Section 37.007(a), (d), or (e);

(3) establishes that a student may be placed in the juvenile justice alternative education program if the student engages in serious misbehavior, as defined by Section 37.007(c);

(4) identifies and requires a timely placement and specifies a term of placement for expelled students for whom the school district has received a notice under Section 52.041(d), Family Code;

(5) establishes services for the transitioning of expelled students to the school district prior to the completion of the student's placement in the juvenile justice alternative education program;

(6) establishes a plan that provides transportation services for students placed in the juvenile justice alternative education program;

(7) establishes the circumstances and conditions under which a juvenile may be allowed to remain in the juvenile justice alternative education program setting once the juvenile is no longer under juvenile court jurisdiction; and

(8) establishes a plan to address special education services required by law.

(m) Each school district in a county with a population greater than 125,000 that operates a juvenile justice alternative education program and the county juvenile board shall adopt a joint memorandum of understanding as required by this section not later than September 1 of each school year.

SECTION 4. Section 53.02(e), Family Code, is amended to read as follows:

(e) Unless otherwise agreed in the memorandum of understanding under Section 37.011, Education Code, in a county with a population greater than 125,000 that operates a juvenile justice alternative education program under Section 37.011, Education Code, if a child being released under this section is expelled under Section 37.007, Education Code, the release shall be conditioned on the child's attending a juvenile justice alternative education program pending a deferred prosecution or formal court disposition of the child's case.

SECTION 5. Section 54.01(f), Family Code, is amended to read as follows:

(f) Unless otherwise agreed in the memorandum of understanding under Section 37.011, Education Code, a release may be conditioned on requirements reasonably necessary to insure the child's appearance at later proceedings, but the conditions of the release must be in writing and a copy furnished to the child. In a county with a population greater than 125,000 that operates a juvenile justice alternative education program under Section 37.011, Education Code, if a child being released under this section is expelled under Section 37.007, Education Code, the release shall be conditioned on the child's attending a juvenile justice alternative education program pending a deferred prosecution or formal court disposition of the child's case.

SECTION 6. A juvenile court that has placed a child on juvenile probation or deferred prosecution under Title 3, Family Code, and required as a condition of probation or deferred prosecution, as described by Section 37.011(b), Education Code, that the child attend a juvenile justice alternative education program in a county that is no longer required to operate a juvenile justice alternative education program under Section 37.011, Education Code, as amended by this Act, shall modify the conditions of probation or deferred prosecution if the county discontinues operation of the juvenile justice alternative education program.

SECTION 7. This Act applies beginning with the 2025-2026 school year.

SECTION 8. 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.