| 1 | 1 | | 81R11483 CAS-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Vaught H.B. No. 3889 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to prohibited retaliation against school district |
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| 8 | 8 | | employees for reporting to certain persons violations of law. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Section 554.002, Government Code, is amended by |
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| 11 | 11 | | amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c) to read as |
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| 12 | 12 | | follows: |
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| 13 | 13 | | (a) A state or local governmental entity may not suspend or |
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| 14 | 14 | | terminate the employment of, or take other adverse personnel action |
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| 15 | 15 | | against, a public employee who in good faith reports a violation of |
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| 16 | 16 | | law by the employing governmental entity or another public |
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| 17 | 17 | | employee: |
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| 18 | 18 | | (1) to an appropriate law enforcement authority; or |
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| 19 | 19 | | (2) in the case of a public employee employed by a |
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| 20 | 20 | | school district, to either an appropriate law enforcement authority |
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| 21 | 21 | | or to a person specified by Subsection (c) concerning a violation of |
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| 22 | 22 | | law or rule described by that subsection. |
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| 23 | 23 | | (c) Subsection (a) applies to a school district employee who |
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| 24 | 24 | | in good faith: |
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| 25 | 25 | | (1) reports to an appropriate law enforcement |
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| 26 | 26 | | authority a violation of law by the district or another public |
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| 27 | 27 | | employee; or |
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| 28 | 28 | | (2) reports to the Texas Education Agency a violation |
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| 29 | 29 | | by the district or another public employee or reports to the |
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| 30 | 30 | | district a violation by another public employee of: |
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| 31 | 31 | | (A) the Education Code; |
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| 32 | 32 | | (B) a civil or penal law, if the violation |
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| 33 | 33 | | affects the safety of the educational environment; or |
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| 34 | 34 | | (C) a rule adopted by the commissioner of |
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| 35 | 35 | | education, the State Board of Education, or the State Board for |
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| 36 | 36 | | Educator Certification. |
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| 37 | 37 | | SECTION 2. Section 554.002, Education Code, as amended by |
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| 38 | 38 | | this Act, applies only to a personnel action taken on or after the |
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| 39 | 39 | | effective date of this Act against a school district employee who |
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| 40 | 40 | | reports a violation of law by a school district or another public |
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| 41 | 41 | | employee, regardless of the date on which the alleged violation of |
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| 42 | 42 | | law occurred or was reported. A personnel action taken before the |
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| 43 | 43 | | effective date of this Act against a school district employee who |
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| 44 | 44 | | reports a violation of law by a school district or another public |
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| 45 | 45 | | employee is governed by the law in effect when the personnel action |
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| 46 | 46 | | was taken, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose. |
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| 47 | 47 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 48 | 48 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 49 | 49 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 50 | 50 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 51 | 51 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |
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