By: Whitmire S.B. No. 47
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the prevention of truancy and the offense of failure to
attend school.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subsection (i), Article 45.054, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
(i) A county, justice, or municipal court shall dismiss the
complaint against an individual alleging that the individual
committed an offense under Section 25.094, Education Code, if:
(1) the court finds that the individual has
successfully complied with the conditions imposed on the individual
by the court under this article; or
(2) the individual presents to the court proof that
the individual has obtained a high school diploma or a high school
equivalency certificate after taking a high school equivalency
examination administered under Section 7.111, Education Code.
SECTION 2. Subsection (e), Article 45.055, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
(e) A court shall expunge an individual's conviction under
Section 25.094, Education Code, and records relating to a
conviction, regardless of whether the individual has previously
been convicted of an offense under that section, if:
(1) the court finds that the individual has
successfully complied with the conditions imposed on the individual
by the court under Article 45.054; or
(2) before the individual's 21st birthday, the
individual presents to the court proof that the individual has
obtained a high school diploma or a high school equivalency
certificate after taking a high school equivalency examination
administered under Section 7.111, Education Code.
SECTION 3. Subsection (a), Article 45.056, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
(a) On approval of the commissioners court, city council,
[school district board of trustees,] juvenile board, or other
appropriate authority, a county court, justice court, municipal
court, [school district,] juvenile probation department, or other
appropriate governmental entity may[:
[(1)] employ a case manager or agree, in accordance
with Chapter 791, Government Code, with any appropriate
governmental entity to jointly employ a case manager or to jointly
contribute to the costs of a case manager employed by one
governmental entity to provide services in cases involving juvenile
offenders before a court consistent with the court's statutory
powers[; or
[(2) agree in accordance with Chapter 791, Government
Code, to jointly employ a case manager].
SECTION 4. Section 25.085, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (e) and adding Subsections (g) and (h) to read
as follows:
(e) A person who voluntarily enrolls in school or
voluntarily attends school after the person's 18th birthday shall
attend school each school day for the entire period the program of
instruction is offered. A school district may revoke for the
remainder of the school year the enrollment of a person who has more
than five absences in a semester that are not excused under Section
25.087, except that a school district may not revoke the enrollment
of a person under this subsection on a day on which the person is
physically present at school. A person whose enrollment is revoked
under this subsection may be considered an unauthorized person on
school district grounds for purposes of Section 37.107.
(g) After the third unexcused absence of a person described
by Subsection (e), a school district shall issue a warning letter to
the person that states the person's enrollment may be revoked for
the remainder of the school year if the person has more than five
unexcused absences in a semester.
(h) As an alternative to revoking a person's enrollment
under Subsection (e), a school district may impose a behavior
improvement plan described by Section 25.0915(b)(1).
SECTION 5. Section 25.0915, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 25.0915. TRUANCY PREVENTION MEASURES; REFERRAL AND
FILING REQUIREMENT. (a) A school district shall adopt truancy
prevention measures designed to:
(1) address student conduct related to truancy in the
school setting before the student violates Section 25.094;
(2) minimize the need for referrals to juvenile court
for conduct described by Section 51.03(b)(2), Family Code; and
(3) minimize the filing of complaints in county,
justice, and municipal courts alleging a violation of Section
25.094.
(b) As a truancy prevention measure under Subsection (a), a
school district may take one or more of the following actions:
(1) impose:
(A) a behavior improvement plan on the student
that must be signed by an employee of the school, that the school
district has made a good faith effort to have signed by the student
and the student's parent or guardian, and that includes:
(i) a specific description of the behavior
that is required or prohibited for the student;
(ii) the period for which the plan will be
effective, not to exceed 45 school days after the date the contract
becomes effective; or
(iii) the penalties for additional
absences, including additional disciplinary action or the referral
of the student to a juvenile court; or
(B) school-based community service; or
(2) refer the student to counseling, community-based
services, or other in-school or out-of-school services aimed at
addressing the student's truancy.
(c) A referral made under Subsection (b)(2) may include
participation by the child's parent or guardian if necessary.
(d) Each referral to juvenile court for conduct described by
Section 51.03(b)(2), Family Code, or complaint filed in county,
justice, or municipal court alleging a violation by a student of
Section 25.094 must:
(1) be accompanied by a statement from the student's
school certifying that:
(A) the school applied the truancy prevention
measures adopted under Subsection (a) to the student; and
(B) the truancy prevention measures failed to
meaningfully address the student's school attendance; and
(2) specify whether the student is eligible for or
receives special education services under Subchapter A, Chapter 29.
(e) Except as provided by Subsection (f), a school district
shall employ a truancy prevention facilitator to implement the
truancy prevention measures required by this section and any other
effective truancy prevention measures as determined by the school
district or campus. At least annually, the truancy prevention
facilitator shall meet to discuss effective truancy prevention
measures with a case manager or other individual designated by a
juvenile or criminal court to provide services to students of the
school district in truancy cases.
(f) Instead of employing a truancy prevention facilitator,
a school district may designate an existing district employee to
implement the truancy prevention measures required by this section
and any other effective truancy prevention measures as determined
by the school district or campus.
SECTION 6. Subchapter C, Chapter 25, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 25.0916 to read as follows:
Sec. 25.0916. UNIFORM TRUANCY POLICIES IN CERTAIN COUNTIES.
(a) This section applies only to a county:
(1) with a population greater than 1.5 million; and
(2) that includes at least:
(A) 15 school districts with the majority of
district territory in the county; and
(B) one school district with a student enrollment
of 50,000 or more and an annual dropout rate spanning grades 9-12 of
at least five percent, computed in accordance with standards and
definitions adopted by the National Center for Education Statistics
of the United States Department of Education.
(b) A committee shall be established to recommend a uniform
truancy policy for each school district located in the county.
(c) Not later than September 1, 2013, the county judge and
the mayor of the municipality in the county with the greatest
population shall each appoint one member to serve on the committee
as a representative of each of the following:
(1) a juvenile district court;
(2) a municipal court;
(3) the office of a justice of the peace;
(4) the superintendent or designee of an independent
school district;
(5) an open-enrollment charter school;
(6) the office of the district attorney; and
(7) the general public.
(d) Not later than September 1, 2013, the county judge shall
appoint to serve on the committee one member from the house of
representatives and one member from the senate who are members of
the respective standing legislative committees with primary
jurisdiction over public education.
(e) The county judge and mayor of the municipality in the
county with the greatest population shall:
(1) both serve on the committee or appoint
representatives to serve on their behalf; and
(2) jointly appoint a member of the committee to serve
as the presiding officer.
(f) Not later than September 1, 2014, the committee shall
recommend:
(1) a uniform process for filing truancy cases with
the judicial system;
(2) uniform administrative procedures;
(3) uniform deadlines for processing truancy cases;
(4) effective prevention, intervention, and diversion
methods to reduce truancy and referrals to a county, justice, or
municipal court;
(5) a system for tracking truancy information and
sharing truancy information among school districts and
open-enrollment charter schools in the county; and
(6) any changes to statutes or state agency rules the
committee determines are necessary to address truancy.
(g) Compliance with the committee recommendations is
voluntary.
(h) The committee's presiding officer shall issue a report
not later than December 1, 2015, on the implementation of the
recommendations and compliance with state truancy laws by a school
district located in the county.
(i) This section expires January 1, 2016.
SECTION 7. Subsection (e), Section 25.094, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(e) An offense under this section is a [Class C] misdemeanor
punishable by a fine not to exceed:
(1) $100 for a first offense;
(2) $200 for a second offense;
(3) $300 for a third offense;
(4) $400 for a fourth offense; or
(5) $500 for a fifth or subsequent offense.
SECTION 8. Subsections (a) and (b), Section 25.0951,
Education Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) If a student fails to attend school without excuse on 10
or more days or parts of days within a six-month period in the same
school year, a school district shall within 10 school days of the
student's 10th absence:
(1) file a complaint against the student or the
student's parent or, if the district provides evidence that both
the student and the student's parent contributed to the student's
failure to attend school, both the student and the parent in a
county, justice, or municipal court for an offense under Section
25.093 or 25.094, as appropriate, or refer the student to a juvenile
court in a county with a population of less than 100,000 for conduct
that violates Section 25.094; or
(2) refer the student to a juvenile court for conduct
indicating a need for supervision under Section 51.03(b)(2), Family
Code.
(b) If a student fails to attend school without excuse on
three or more days or parts of days within a four-week period but
does not fail to attend school for the time described by Subsection
(a), the school district may:
(1) file a complaint against the student or the
student's parent or, if the district provides evidence that both
the student and the student's parent contributed to the student's
failure to attend school, both the student and the parent in a
county, justice, or municipal court for an offense under Section
25.093 or 25.094, as appropriate, or refer the student to a juvenile
court in a county with a population of less than 100,000 for conduct
that violates Section 25.094; or
(2) refer the student to a juvenile court for conduct
indicating a need for supervision under Section 51.03(b)(2), Family
Code.
SECTION 9. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
conduct violating Section 25.094, Education Code, on or after the
effective date of this Act. A violation that occurs before the
effective date of this Act is covered by the law in effect when the
violation occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for
that purpose. For purposes of this section, a violation occurs
before the effective date of this Act if any element of the
violation occurs before that date.
SECTION 10. This Act takes effect on the 91st day after the
last day of the legislative session.