82R9554 AJZ/KKA-D
By: Madden H.B. No. 1907
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to notification requirements concerning offenses
committed by students and school district discretion over admission
or placement of certain students.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Article 15.27, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by amending Subsections (a), (a-1), (b), (c), and (g) and
adding Subsections (k) and (l) to read as follows:
(a) A law enforcement agency that arrests any person or
refers a child to the office or official designated by the juvenile
board who the agency believes is enrolled as a student in a public
primary or secondary school, for an offense listed in Subsection
(h), shall attempt to ascertain whether the person is so enrolled.
If the law enforcement agency ascertains that the individual is
enrolled as a student in a public primary or secondary school, the
head of the agency or a person designated by the head of the agency
shall orally notify the superintendent or a person designated by
the superintendent in the school district in which the student is
enrolled of that arrest or referral within 24 hours after the arrest
or referral is made, or before [on] the next school day, whichever
is earlier. If the law enforcement agency cannot ascertain whether
the individual is enrolled as a student, the head of the agency or a
person designated by the head of the agency shall orally notify the
superintendent or a person designated by the superintendent in the
school district in which the student is believed to be enrolled of
that arrest or detention within 24 hours after the arrest or
detention, or before [on] the next school day, whichever is
earlier. If the individual is a student, the superintendent or the
superintendent's designee shall promptly notify all instructional
and support personnel who have responsibility for supervision of
the student. All personnel shall keep the information received in
this subsection confidential. The State Board for Educator
Certification may revoke or suspend the certification of personnel
who intentionally violate this subsection. Within seven days after
the date the oral notice is given, the head of the law enforcement
agency or the person designated by the head of the agency shall mail
written notification, marked "PERSONAL and CONFIDENTIAL" on the
mailing envelope, to the superintendent or the person designated by
the superintendent. The written notification must include the
facts contained in the oral notification, the name of the person who
was orally notified, and the date and time of the oral notification.
Both the oral and written notice shall contain sufficient details
of the arrest or referral and the acts allegedly committed by the
student to enable the superintendent or the superintendent's
designee to determine whether there is a reasonable belief that the
student has engaged in conduct defined as a felony offense by the
Penal Code. The information contained in the notice shall [may] be
considered by the superintendent or the superintendent's designee
in making such a determination.
(a-1) The superintendent or a person designated by the
superintendent in the school district shall [may] send to a school
district employee having direct supervisory responsibility over
the student the information contained in the confidential notice
under Subsection (a) [if the superintendent or the person
designated by the superintendent determines that the employee needs
the information for educational purposes or for the protection of
the person informed or others].
(b) On conviction, deferred prosecution, or deferred
adjudication or an adjudication of delinquent conduct of an
individual enrolled as a student in a public primary or secondary
school, for an offense or for any conduct listed in Subsection (h)
of this article, the office of the prosecuting attorney acting in
the case shall orally notify the superintendent or a person
designated by the superintendent in the school district in which
the student is enrolled of the conviction or adjudication and
whether the student is required to register as a sex offender under
Chapter 62. Oral notification must be given within 24 hours of the
time of the order or before [on] the next school day, whichever is
earlier. The superintendent shall, within 24 hours of receiving
notification from the office of the prosecuting attorney, or before
the next school day, whichever is earlier, notify all instructional
and support personnel who have regular contact with the student.
Within seven days after the date the oral notice is given, the
office of the prosecuting attorney shall mail written notice, which
must contain a statement of the offense of which the individual is
convicted or on which the adjudication, deferred adjudication, or
deferred prosecution is grounded and a statement of whether the
student is required to register as a sex offender under Chapter 62.
(c) A parole, probation, or community supervision office,
including a community supervision and corrections department, a
juvenile probation department, the paroles division of the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice, and the Texas Youth Commission,
having jurisdiction over a student described by Subsection (a),
(b), or (e) who transfers from a school or is subsequently removed
from a school and later returned to a school or school district
other than the one the student was enrolled in when the arrest,
referral to a juvenile court, conviction, or adjudication occurred
shall within 24 hours of learning of the student's transfer or
reenrollment, or before the next school day, whichever is earlier,
notify the superintendent or a person designated by the
superintendent of the school district to which the student
transfers or is returned or, in the case of a private school, the
principal or a school employee designated by the principal of the
school to which the student transfers or is returned of the arrest
or referral in a manner similar to that provided for by Subsection
(a) or (e)(1), or of the conviction or delinquent adjudication in a
manner similar to that provided for by Subsection (b) or (e)(2).
The superintendent of the school district to which the student
transfers or is returned or, in the case of a private school, the
principal of the school to which the student transfers or is
returned shall, within 24 hours of receiving notification under
this subsection or before the next school day, whichever is
earlier, notify all instructional and support personnel who have
regular contact with the student.
(g) The office of the prosecuting attorney or the office or
official designated by the juvenile board shall, before the student
returns to school [within two working days], notify the school
district that removed a student to a disciplinary alternative
education program under Section 37.006, Education Code, if:
(1) prosecution of the student's case was refused for
lack of prosecutorial merit or insufficient evidence and no formal
proceedings, deferred adjudication, or deferred prosecution will
be initiated; or
(2) the court or jury found the student not guilty or
made a finding the child did not engage in delinquent conduct or
conduct indicating a need for supervision and the case was
dismissed with prejudice.
(k) Oral or written notice required under this article must
include all pertinent details of the offense or conduct, including
details of any:
(1) assaultive behavior or other violence;
(2) weapons used in the commission of the offense or
conduct; or
(3) weapons possessed during the commission of the
offense or conduct.
(l) If a school district board of trustees learns of a
failure by the superintendent of the district or a district
principal to provide a notice required under Subsection (a), (a-1),
or (b), the board of trustees shall report the failure to the State
Board for Educator Certification. If the governing body of a
private primary or secondary school learns of a failure by the
principal of the school to provide a notice required under
Subsection (e), and the principal holds a certificate issued under
Subchapter B, Chapter 21, Education Code, the governing body shall
report the failure to the State Board for Educator Certification.
SECTION 2. Article 15.27(e)(3), Code of Criminal Procedure,
is amended to read as follows:
(3) The principal of a private school in which the
student is enrolled or a school employee designated by the
principal shall [may] send to a school employee having direct
supervisory responsibility over the student the information
contained in the confidential notice, for the same purposes as
described by Subsection (a-1) [(d)] of this article.
SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 37.024 to read as follows:
Sec. 37.024. DISCRETION OVER ADMISSION OR PLACEMENT OF
CERTAIN TRANSFER AND OTHER NEW STUDENTS. (a) Except as provided by
Subsection (b), this section applies to a school district that
receives notice under Article 15.27(c), Code of Criminal Procedure,
regarding a transfer or other new student who enrolls in the
district.
(b) A school district that receives notice under Article
15.27(c), Code of Criminal Procedure, regarding a student who is
required to register as a sex offender under Chapter 62, Code of
Criminal Procedure, is governed by Subchapter I.
(c) A school district to which this section applies may
consider the student's conduct that resulted in the notification to
the district under Article 15.27(c), Code of Criminal Procedure,
and, on the basis of that consideration, may:
(1) notwithstanding Section 25.001, decline to admit
the student into the public schools of the district if the district
determines that the student poses a risk to the district's teachers
or students; or
(2) admit the student into the public schools of the
district and determine:
(A) the appropriate placement for the student
from among all available educational options, including the regular
classroom, a disciplinary alternative education program, a
juvenile justice alternative education program, and a program
delivered to the student at home; and
(B) any reasonable conditions required to be met
by the student as a condition of admission.
(d) A school district that under this section declines to
admit a student or elects to provide educational services through
any option other than placement in the regular classroom shall, at
the student's request, review the district's determination
regarding the student at least annually.
(e) To the extent this section conflicts with another
provision of this subchapter, this section prevails.
SECTION 4. Section 37.024, Education Code, as added by this
Act, applies beginning with the 2011-2012 school year.
SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
an offense committed or conduct that occurs on or after the
effective date of this Act. An offense committed or conduct that
occurs before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law
in effect when the offense was committed or the conduct occurred,
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
purposes of this section, an offense is committed or conduct occurs
before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense
or conduct occurs before that date.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.