By: Whitmire, Hinojosa S.B. No. 1116
(Madden, Giddings)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the enforcement and punishment of certain prohibited
conduct that occurs on a public school campus or on a vehicle owned
by a county or school district.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Article 45.058, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Subsections (i) and (j) to read as follows:
(i) If a law enforcement officer issues a citation or files
a complaint in the manner provided by Article 45.018 for conduct by
a child 12 years of age or older that is alleged to have occurred on
school property or on a vehicle owned or operated by a county or
independent school district, the officer shall submit to the court
the offense report, a statement by a witness to the alleged conduct,
and a statement by a victim of the alleged conduct, if any. An
attorney representing the state may not proceed in a trial of an
offense unless the law enforcement officer complied with the
requirements of this subsection.
(j) Notwithstanding Subsection (g) or (g-1), a law
enforcement officer may not issue a citation or file a complaint in
the manner provided by Article 45.018 for conduct by a child younger
than 12 years of age that is alleged to have occurred on school
property or on a vehicle owned or operated by a county or
independent school district.
SECTION 2. Subsection (a), Section 37.001, 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, [or] 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; 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;
(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, 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, and on a vehicle owned or operated by the district;
(B) disciplining students; and
(C) preventing and intervening in student
discipline problems, including bullying, harassment, and making
hit lists.
SECTION 3. Subsections (b) and (f), Section 37.081,
Education Code, are amended to read as follows:
(b) In a peace officer's jurisdiction, a peace officer
commissioned under this section:
(1) has the powers, privileges, and immunities of
peace officers;
(2) may enforce all laws, including municipal
ordinances, county ordinances, and state laws; and
(3) may, in accordance with Chapter 52, Family Code,
or Article 45.058, Code of Criminal Procedure, take a child
[juvenile] into custody.
(f) The chief of police of the school district police
department shall be accountable to the superintendent and shall
report to the superintendent [or the superintendent's designee].
School district police officers shall be supervised by the chief of
police of the school district or the chief of police's designee and
shall be licensed by the Commission on Law Enforcement Officer
Standards and Education.
SECTION 4. Subsection (a), Section 37.124, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(a) A person other than a primary or secondary grade student
commits an offense if the person, on school property or on public
property within 500 feet of school property, alone or in concert
with others, intentionally disrupts the conduct of classes or other
school activities.
SECTION 5. Subsection (a), Section 37.126, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Section 37.125, a person other
than a primary or secondary grade student commits an offense if the
person intentionally disrupts, prevents, or interferes with the
lawful transportation of children to or from school or an activity
sponsored by a school on a vehicle owned or operated by a county or
independent school district.
SECTION 6. Section 42.01, Penal Code, is amended by adding
Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
(a-1) For purposes of Subsection (a), the term "public
place" includes a public school campus or school grounds on which a
public school is located.
SECTION 7. The changes in law made by this Act in amending
Article 45.058, Code of Criminal Procedure, Sections 37.124 and
37.126, Education Code, and Section 42.01, Penal Code, apply only
to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed,
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
before that date.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.