81R365 PAM-D
By: Raymond H.B. No. 542
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to placement of public school students in Junior Reserve
Officers' Training Corps programs as an alternative in certain
circumstances to placement in disciplinary or juvenile justice
alternative education programs.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 37.001(a) and (e), Education Code, are
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, or disciplinary alternative education program;
(2) specify conditions that authorize or require a
principal or other appropriate administrator to require a student
to participate in a Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps program
or 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 whether consideration is given, as a
factor in a decision to order suspension, participation in a Junior
Reserve Officers' Training Corps program, removal to a disciplinary
alternative education program, or expulsion, 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; or
(D) a disability that substantially impairs the
student's capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of the student's
conduct;
(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; and
(C) required participation under Section
37.0055;
(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, required participation in a
Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps program, removal to a
disciplinary alternative education program, or expulsion;
(7) prohibit bullying, harassment, and making hit
lists and ensure that district employees enforce those
prohibitions; and
(8) provide, as appropriate for students at each grade
level, methods, including options, for:
(A) managing students in the classroom and on
school grounds;
(B) disciplining students; and
(C) preventing and intervening in student
discipline problems, including bullying, harassment, and making
hit lists.
(e) Except as provided by Section 37.007(e), this
subchapter does not require the student code of conduct to specify a
minimum term of required participation under Section 37.0055, a
removal under Section 37.006, or an expulsion under Section 37.007.
SECTION 2. Section 37.002, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
(e) This section is subject to Section 37.0055.
SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 37.0055 to read as follows:
Sec. 37.0055. MANDATORY ALTERNATIVE PLACEMENT IN CERTAIN
CIRCUMSTANCES: JUNIOR RESERVE OFFICERS' TRAINING CORPS (JROTC).
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter and
except as provided by Subsection (c), a student who is otherwise
required or permitted under this subchapter to be placed in a
disciplinary alternative education program or juvenile justice
alternative education program must, instead of that placement, be
required to participate in a Junior Reserve Officers' Training
Corps program if:
(1) the school the student attends offers the program;
and
(2) the student meets the initial eligibility
requirements for the program.
(b) A student required to participate in a Junior Reserve
Officers' Training Corps program under this section continues to
attend the student's regularly assigned classes, except that the
student's schedule may be modified to the extent necessary to
provide for required attendance in the program.
(c) This section does not apply if:
(1) the student is removed from class and placed into
another appropriate classroom or into in-school suspension under
Section 37.002 or is suspended under Section 37.005;
(2) the student engages in conduct described by
Section 37.006(a)(2)(B) or Section 37.007(a)(2) or (b)(2)(C);
(3) the continued presence of the student in the
regular classroom threatens the safety of other students or
teachers; or
(4) the student engages in conduct for which the
student is required to be expelled from the student's regular
campus under federal law.
(d) Section 37.006(e) applies to this section. Not later
than the third class day after the date a student is required to
participate in a Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps program
under this section, the school district shall notify the student's
parent or guardian of the student's placement. The notice must
include the reason for the placement.
(e) The board of trustees of the school district or the
board's designee shall set a term for a student's required
participation in a Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps program
under this section. The term must be for a period consistent with
the guidelines adopted under the student code of conduct in
accordance with Section 37.001(a)(5)(C). If the period of
placement is inconsistent with the guidelines adopted under the
student code of conduct, the notice under Subsection (d) must
provide an explanation of the inconsistency.
(f) Notwithstanding Section 7.057(e), the decision to
require a student to participate in a Junior Reserve Officers'
Training Corps program under this section may be appealed by the
student or the student's parent or guardian to the commissioner as
provided by Sections 7.057(b), (c), (d), and (f).
(g) Before a student may be required to participate in a
Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps program under this section
for a period that extends beyond the end of a school year, the board
of trustees or the board's designee must determine that the student
has engaged in serious or persistent misbehavior that violates the
district's student code of conduct. The period of required
participation may not exceed one year unless, after review, the
board or the board's designee determines that extended placement is
in the best interest of the student.
(h) The board of trustees shall inform each educator who has
responsibility for, or is under the direction and supervision of an
educator who has responsibility for, the instruction of a student
who is required to participate in a Junior Reserve Officers'
Training Corps program under this section. Each educator shall
keep the information received under this subsection confidential
from any person not entitled to the information under this
subsection, except that the educator may share the information with
the student's parent or guardian as provided for by state or federal
law. The State Board for Educator Certification may revoke or
suspend the certification of an educator who intentionally violates
this subsection or Subsection (i).
(i) If a student required to participate in a Junior Reserve
Officers' Training Corps program under this section enrolls in
another school district before the expiration of the period of
required participation, the board of trustees of the school
district requiring the participation shall provide to the district
in which the student enrolls, at the same time other records of the
student are provided, a copy of the placement order. The district
in which the student enrolls shall inform each educator who will
have responsibility for, or will be under the direction and
supervision of an educator who will have responsibility for, the
instruction of the student of the contents of the placement order.
Each educator shall keep the information received under this
subsection confidential from any person not entitled to the
information under this subsection, except that the educator may
share the information with the student's parent or guardian as
provided for by state or federal law. The district in which the
student enrolls may continue the Junior Reserve Officers' Training
Corps program placement under the terms of the order or may allow
the student to attend regular classes without completing the period
of required participation. If the school the student attends in the
district in which the student enrolls does not offer a Junior
Reserve Officers' Training Corps program, the student may be placed
in a disciplinary alternative education program or a juvenile
justice alternative education program under the procedures
provided by this subchapter for the remainder of the term set under
Subsection (e).
(j) A student required to participate in a Junior Reserve
Officers' Training Corps program under this section is subject to
the provisions of this subchapter relating to removal from class
and placement in a disciplinary alternative education program or
juvenile justice alternative education program if the student,
after any required participation in a Junior Reserve Officers'
Training Corps program under this section, engages in subsequent
conduct requiring or permitting the student to be removed from
class and placed in a disciplinary alternative education program or
juvenile justice alternative education program under this
subchapter.
SECTION 4. Section 37.006, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (p) to read as follows:
(p) This section is subject to Section 37.0055.
SECTION 5. Section 37.007, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (j) to read as follows:
(j) This section is subject to Section 37.0055.
SECTION 6. Section 37.0091(a), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) A noncustodial parent may request in writing that a
school district or school, for the remainder of the school year in
which the request is received, provide that parent with a copy of
any written notification relating to alternative placement under
Section 37.0055 or student misconduct under Section 37.006 or
37.007 that is generally provided by the district or school to a
student's parent or guardian.
SECTION 7. Section 37.020, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
(d) For each placement in a Junior Reserve Officers'
Training Corps program under Section 37.0055, the district shall
report:
(1) information identifying the student, including
the student's race, sex, and date of birth, that will enable the
agency to compare placement data with information collected through
other reports;
(2) information indicating whether the placement was
based on:
(A) conduct violating the student code of conduct
adopted under Section 37.001;
(B) conduct for which placement in a Junior
Reserve Officers' Training Corps program is required or permitted
by Section 37.0055; or
(C) conduct occurring while a student was
enrolled in another district and for which placement in a Junior
Reserve Officers' Training Corps program is permitted by Section
37.0055(i);
(3) the number of full or partial days the student was
assigned to the program and the number of full or partial days the
student attended the program; and
(4) the number of placements that were inconsistent
with the guidelines included in the student code of conduct under
Section 37.001(a)(5)(C).
SECTION 8. Section 39.182(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Not later than December 1 of each year, the agency shall
prepare and deliver to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the
speaker of the house of representatives, each member of the
legislature, the Legislative Budget Board, and the clerks of the
standing committees of the senate and house of representatives with
primary jurisdiction over the public school system a comprehensive
report covering the preceding school year and containing:
(1) an evaluation of the achievements of the state
educational program in relation to the statutory goals for the
public education system under Section 4.002;
(2) an evaluation of the status of education in the
state as reflected by the academic excellence indicators adopted
under Section 39.051;
(3) a summary compilation of overall student
performance on academic skills assessment instruments required by
Section 39.023 with the number and percentage of students exempted
from the administration of those instruments and the basis of the
exemptions, aggregated by grade level, subject area, campus, and
district, with appropriate interpretations and analysis, and
disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic
status;
(4) a summary compilation of overall performance of
students placed in a disciplinary alternative education program
established under Section 37.008 on academic skills assessment
instruments required by Section 39.023 with the number of those
students exempted from the administration of those instruments and
the basis of the exemptions, aggregated by district, grade level,
and subject area, with appropriate interpretations and analysis,
and disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic
status;
(5) a summary compilation of overall performance of
students at risk of dropping out of school, as defined by Section
29.081(d), on academic skills assessment instruments required by
Section 39.023 with the number of those students exempted from the
administration of those instruments and the basis of the
exemptions, aggregated by district, grade level, and subject area,
with appropriate interpretations and analysis, and disaggregated
by race, ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status;
(6) an evaluation of the correlation between student
grades and student performance on academic skills assessment
instruments required by Section 39.023;
(7) a statement of the dropout rate of students in
grade levels 7 through 12, expressed in the aggregate and by grade
level, and a statement of the completion rates of students for grade
levels 9 through 12;
(8) a statement of:
(A) the completion rate of students who enter
grade level 9 and graduate not more than four years later;
(B) the completion rate of students who enter
grade level 9 and graduate, including students who require more
than four years to graduate;
(C) the completion rate of students who enter
grade level 9 and not more than four years later receive a high
school equivalency certificate;
(D) the completion rate of students who enter
grade level 9 and receive a high school equivalency certificate,
including students who require more than four years to receive a
certificate; and
(E) the number and percentage of all students who
have not been accounted for under Paragraph (A), (B), (C), or (D);
(9) a statement of the projected cross-sectional and
longitudinal dropout rates for grade levels 9 through 12 for the
next five years, assuming no state action is taken to reduce the
dropout rate;
(10) a description of a systematic, measurable plan
for reducing the projected cross-sectional and longitudinal
dropout rates to five percent or less for the 1997-1998 school year;
(11) a summary of the information required by Section
29.083 regarding grade level retention of students and information
concerning:
(A) the number and percentage of students
retained; and
(B) the performance of retained students on
assessment instruments required under Section 39.023(a);
(12) information, aggregated by district type and
disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, [and] socioeconomic
status, and program type, on:
(A) the number of students placed in a
disciplinary alternative education program established under
Section 37.008 or a Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps program
under Section 37.0055;
(B) the average length of a student's placement
in a disciplinary alternative education program established under
Section 37.008 or a Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps program
under Section 37.0055;
(C) the academic performance of students on
assessment instruments required under Section 39.023(a) during the
year preceding and during the year following placement in a
disciplinary alternative education program or a Junior Reserve
Officers' Training Corps program under Section 37.0055; and
(D) the dropout rates of students who have been
placed in a disciplinary alternative education program established
under Section 37.008 or a Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps
program under Section 37.0055;
(13) a list of each school district or campus that does
not satisfy performance standards, with an explanation of the
actions taken by the commissioner to improve student performance in
the district or campus and an evaluation of the results of those
actions;
(14) an evaluation of the status of the curriculum
taught in public schools, with recommendations for legislative
changes necessary to improve or modify the curriculum required by
Section 28.002;
(15) a description of all funds received by and each
activity and expenditure of the agency;
(16) a summary and analysis of the instructional
expenditures ratios and instructional employees ratios of school
districts computed under Section 44.0071;
(17) a summary of the effect of deregulation,
including exemptions and waivers granted under Section 7.056 or
39.112;
(18) a statement of the total number and length of
reports that school districts and school district employees must
submit to the agency, identifying which reports are required by
federal statute or rule, state statute, or agency rule, and a
summary of the agency's efforts to reduce overall reporting
requirements;
(19) a list of each school district that is not in
compliance with state special education requirements, including:
(A) the period for which the district has not
been in compliance;
(B) the manner in which the agency considered the
district's failure to comply in determining the district's
accreditation status; and
(C) an explanation of the actions taken by the
commissioner to ensure compliance and an evaluation of the results
of those actions;
(20) a comparison of the performance of
open-enrollment charter schools and school districts on the
academic excellence indicators specified in Section 39.051(b) and
accountability measures adopted under Section 39.051(g), with a
separately aggregated comparison of the performance of
open-enrollment charter schools predominantly serving students at
risk of dropping out of school, as defined by Section 29.081(d),
with the performance of school districts;
(21) a summary of the information required by Section
38.0141 regarding student health and physical activity from each
school district;
(22) a summary compilation of overall student
performance under the assessment system developed to evaluate the
longitudinal academic progress as required by Section 39.027(e),
disaggregated by bilingual education or special language program
instructional model, if any; and
(23) any additional information considered important
by the commissioner or the State Board of Education.
SECTION 9. This Act applies beginning with the 2009-2010
school year.
SECTION 10. 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, 2009.