Texas 2013 - 83rd Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1114 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Whitmire, et al. S.B. No. 1114
2	2	(Herrero)
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the prosecution of certain misdemeanor offenses
8	8	committed by children and to school district law enforcement.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Article 45.058, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
11	11	amended by adding Subsections (i) and (j) to read as follows:
12	12	(i) If a law enforcement officer issues a citation or files
13	13	a complaint in the manner provided by Article 45.018 for conduct by
14	14	a child 12 years of age or older that is alleged to have occurred on
15	15	school property or on a vehicle owned or operated by a county or
16	16	independent school district, the officer shall submit to the court
17	17	the offense report, a statement by a witness to the alleged conduct,
18	18	and a statement by a victim of the alleged conduct, if any. An
19	19	attorney representing the state may not proceed in a trial of an
20	20	offense unless the law enforcement officer complied with the
21	21	requirements of this subsection.
22	22	(j) Notwithstanding Subsection (g) or (g-1), a law
23	23	enforcement officer may not issue a citation or file a complaint in
24	24	the manner provided by Article 45.018 for conduct by a child younger
25	25	than 12 years of age that is alleged to have occurred on school
26	26	property or on a vehicle owned or operated by a county or
27	27	independent school district.
28	28	SECTION 2. Section 25.0915, Education Code, is amended by
29	29	adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
30	30	(c) A court shall dismiss a complaint or referral made by a
31	31	school district under this section that is not made in compliance
32	32	with Subsection (b).
33	33	SECTION 3. Subsection (a), Section 37.001, Education Code,
34	34	is amended to read as follows:
35	35	(a) The board of trustees of an independent school district
36	36	shall, with the advice of its district-level committee established
37	37	under Subchapter F, Chapter 11, adopt a student code of conduct for
38	38	the district. The student code of conduct must be posted and
39	39	prominently displayed at each school campus or made available for
40	40	review at the office of the campus principal. In addition to
41	41	establishing standards for student conduct, the student code of
42	42	conduct must:
43	43	(1) specify the circumstances, in accordance with this
44	44	subchapter, under which a student may be removed from a classroom,
45	45	campus, [or] disciplinary alternative education program, or
46	46	vehicle owned or operated by the district;
47	47	(2) specify conditions that authorize or require a
48	48	principal or other appropriate administrator to transfer a student
49	49	to a disciplinary alternative education program;
50	50	(3) outline conditions under which a student may be
51	51	suspended as provided by Section 37.005 or expelled as provided by
52	52	Section 37.007;
53	53	(4) specify that consideration will be given, as a
54	54	factor in each decision concerning suspension, removal to a
55	55	disciplinary alternative education program, expulsion, or
56	56	placement in a juvenile justice alternative education program,
57	57	regardless of whether the decision concerns a mandatory or
58	58	discretionary action, to:
59	59	(A) self-defense;
60	60	(B) intent or lack of intent at the time the
61	61	student engaged in the conduct;
62	62	(C) a student's disciplinary history; or
63	63	(D) a disability that substantially impairs the
64	64	student's capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of the student's
65	65	conduct;
66	66	(5) provide guidelines for setting the length of a
67	67	term of:
68	68	(A) a removal under Section 37.006; and
69	69	(B) an expulsion under Section 37.007;
70	70	(6) address the notification of a student's parent or
71	71	guardian of a violation of the student code of conduct committed by
72	72	the student that results in suspension, removal to a disciplinary
73	73	alternative education program, or expulsion;
74	74	(7) prohibit bullying, harassment, and making hit
75	75	lists and ensure that district employees enforce those
76	76	prohibitions; and
77	77	(8) provide, as appropriate for students at each grade
78	78	level, methods, including options, for:
79	79	(A) managing students in the classroom, [and] on
80	80	school grounds, and on a vehicle owned or operated by the district;
81	81	(B) disciplining students; and
82	82	(C) preventing and intervening in student
83	83	discipline problems, including bullying, harassment, and making
84	84	hit lists.
85	85	SECTION 4. Subsections (b), (d), and (f), Section 37.081,
86	86	Education Code, are amended to read as follows:
87	87	(b) In a peace officer's jurisdiction, a peace officer
88	88	commissioned under this section:
89	89	(1) has the powers, privileges, and immunities of
90	90	peace officers;
91	91	(2) may enforce all laws, including municipal
92	92	ordinances, county ordinances, and state laws; and
93	93	(3) may, in accordance with Chapter 52, Family Code,
94	94	or Article 45.058, Code of Criminal Procedure, take a child
95	95	[juvenile] into custody.
96	96	(d) A school district peace officer shall perform
97	97	[administrative and] law enforcement duties for the school district
98	98	as determined by the board of trustees of the school district.
99	99	Those duties must include protecting:
100	100	(1) the safety and welfare of any person in the
101	101	jurisdiction of the peace officer; and
102	102	(2) the property of the school district.
103	103	(f) The chief of police of the school district police
104	104	department shall be accountable to the superintendent and shall
105	105	report to the superintendent [or the superintendent's designee].
106	106	School district police officers shall be supervised by the chief of
107	107	police of the school district or the chief of police's designee and
108	108	shall be licensed by the Commission on Law Enforcement Officer
109	109	Standards and Education.
110	110	SECTION 5. Subchapter C, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
111	111	amended by adding Section 37.085 to read as follows:
112	112	Sec. 37.085. ARRESTS PROHIBITED FOR CERTAIN CLASS C
113	113	MISDEMEANORS. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a
114	114	warrant may not be issued for the arrest of a person for a Class C
115	115	misdemeanor under this code committed when the person was younger
116	116	than 17 years of age.
117	117	SECTION 6. Subsection (a), Section 37.124, Education Code,
118	118	is amended to read as follows:
119	119	(a) A person other than a primary or secondary grade student
120	120	enrolled in the school commits an offense if the person, on school
121	121	property or on public property within 500 feet of school property,
122	122	alone or in concert with others, intentionally disrupts the conduct
123	123	of classes or other school activities.
124	124	SECTION 7. Subsection (a), Section 37.126, Education Code,
125	125	is amended to read as follows:
126	126	(a) Except as provided by Section 37.125, a person other
127	127	than a primary or secondary grade student commits an offense if the
128	128	person intentionally disrupts, prevents, or interferes with the
129	129	lawful transportation of children:
130	130	(1) to or from school on a vehicle owned or operated by
131	131	a county or independent school district; or
132	132	(2) to or from an activity sponsored by a school on a
133	133	vehicle owned or operated by a county or independent school
134	134	district.
135	135	SECTION 8. Section 52.031, Family Code, is amended by
136	136	adding Subsection (a-1) and amending Subsections (d), (f), (i), and
137	137	(j) to read as follows:
138	138	(a-1) A child accused of a Class C misdemeanor, other than a
139	139	traffic offense, may be referred to a first offender program
140	140	established under this section prior to the filing of a complaint
141	141	with a criminal court.
142	142	(d) A law enforcement officer taking a child into custody
143	143	for conduct described by Subsection (a) or before issuing a
144	144	citation to a child for an offense described by Subsection (a-1) may
145	145	refer the child to the law enforcement officer or agency designated
146	146	under Subsection (b) for disposition under the first offender
147	147	program and not refer the child to juvenile court for the conduct or
148	148	file a complaint with a criminal court for the offense only if:
149	149	(1) the child has not previously been adjudicated as
150	150	having engaged in delinquent conduct;
151	151	(2) the referral complies with guidelines for
152	152	disposition under Subsection (c); and
153	153	(3) the officer reports in writing the referral to the
154	154	agency, identifying the child and specifying the grounds for taking
155	155	the child into custody or for accusing the child of an offense.
156	156	(f) The parent, guardian, or other custodian of the child
157	157	must receive notice that the child has been referred for
158	158	disposition under the first offender program. The notice must:
159	159	(1) state the grounds for taking the child into
160	160	custody for conduct described by Subsection (a), or for accusing
161	161	the child of an offense described by Subsection (a-1);
162	162	(2) identify the law enforcement officer or agency to
163	163	which the child was referred;
164	164	(3) briefly describe the nature of the program; and
165	165	(4) state that the child's failure to complete the
166	166	program will result in the child being referred to the juvenile
167	167	court for the conduct or a complaint being filed with a criminal
168	168	court for the offense.
169	169	(i) The case of a child who successfully completes the first
170	170	offender program is closed and may not be referred to juvenile court
171	171	or filed with a criminal court, unless the child is taken into
172	172	custody under circumstances described by Subsection (j)(3).
173	173	(j) The case of a child referred for disposition under the
174	174	first offender program shall be referred to juvenile court or, if
175	175	the child is accused of an offense described by Subsection (a-1),
176	176	filed with a criminal court if:
177	177	(1) the child fails to complete the program;
178	178	(2) the child or the parent, guardian, or other
179	179	custodian of the child terminates the child's participation in the
180	180	program before the child completes it; or
181	181	(3) the child completes the program but is taken into
182	182	custody under Section 52.01 before the 90th day after the date the
183	183	child completes the program for conduct other than the conduct for
184	184	which the child was referred to the first offender program.
185	185	SECTION 9. Section 42.01, Penal Code, is amended by adding
186	186	Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
187	187	(a-1) For purposes of Subsection (a), the term "public
188	188	place" includes a public school campus or the school grounds on
189	189	which a public school is located.
190	190	SECTION 10. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of
191	191	this section, the changes in law made by this Act apply only to an
192	192	offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An
193	193	offense committed before the effective date of this Act is covered
194	194	by the law in effect at the time the offense was committed, and the
195	195	former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For the
196	196	purposes of this section, an offense is committed before the
197	197	effective date of this Act if any element of the offense was
198	198	committed before that date.
199	199	(b) Section 37.085, Education Code, as added by this Act,
200	200	applies to an offense committed before, on, or after the effective
201	201	date of this Act.
202	202	SECTION 11. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.