| 1 | 1 | | By: Giddings H.B. No. 2885 |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | AN ACT |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | relating to requiring a school district to report data regarding |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | restraints administered to, sanctions imposed on, complaints filed |
|---|
| 8 | 8 | | against, citations issued to, and arrests made of students. |
|---|
| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|---|
| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 37, Education Code, is |
|---|
| 11 | 11 | | amended by adding Section 37.0815 to read as follows: |
|---|
| 12 | 12 | | Sec. 37.0815. REPORT TO AGENCY ON RESTRAINTS, SANCTIONS, |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | COMPLAINTS, CITATIONS, AND ARRESTS. (a) In this section: |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | (1) "Citation" means a ticket issued to a student for a |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | Class C misdemeanor by a school district peace officer or other |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | peace officer acting under a memorandum of understanding described |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | by Subsection (g). |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | (2) "OC spray" means any aerosol-propelled |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | debilitation device that is composed of a lachrymatory chemical |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | compound that irritates the eyes to cause tears, pain, or temporary |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | blindness. The term includes pepper spray, capsicum spray, OC gas, |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | and oleoresin capsicum. |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | (3) "Restraint" means the use of physical force or a |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | mechanical device to significantly restrict the free movement of |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | all or a portion of a student's body. The term includes the use of: |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | (A) a baton or a similar club; |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | (B) OC spray; and |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | (C) a Taser. |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | (4) "Taser" means a device manufactured, sold, or |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | distributed by Taser International, Incorporated, that is |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | intended, designed, made, or adapted to incapacitate a person by |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | inflicting an electrical charge through the emission of a |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | projectile or conductive stream. The term, for purposes of this |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | section, includes a similar device manufactured, sold, or |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | distributed by another person. |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | (b) Not later than the 60th day after the last day of classes |
|---|
| 37 | 37 | | for the academic year, the superintendent of a school district |
|---|
| 38 | 38 | | shall electronically submit to the agency a report that contains |
|---|
| 39 | 39 | | incident-based data describing the total number of the following |
|---|
| 40 | 40 | | incidents occurring during the preceding academic year, organized |
|---|
| 41 | 41 | | by campus: |
|---|
| 42 | 42 | | (1) restraints administered to a student; |
|---|
| 43 | 43 | | (2) sanctions imposed on a student under a system of |
|---|
| 44 | 44 | | graduated sanctions developed under Section 37.144; |
|---|
| 45 | 45 | | (3) complaints filed against a student under Section |
|---|
| 46 | 46 | | 37.145; |
|---|
| 47 | 47 | | (4) citations issued to a student; and |
|---|
| 48 | 48 | | (5) arrests made of a student. |
|---|
| 49 | 49 | | (c) The incident-based data submitted under this section |
|---|
| 50 | 50 | | must include, as applicable, information identifying: |
|---|
| 51 | 51 | | (1) the age of the student; |
|---|
| 52 | 52 | | (2) the gender of the student; |
|---|
| 53 | 53 | | (3) the race or ethnicity of the student; |
|---|
| 54 | 54 | | (4) whether the student is eligible for special |
|---|
| 55 | 55 | | education services under Section 29.003; |
|---|
| 56 | 56 | | (5) whether the student is a student of limited |
|---|
| 57 | 57 | | English proficiency, as defined by Section 29.052; |
|---|
| 58 | 58 | | (6) the nature of the offense; |
|---|
| 59 | 59 | | (7) whether the offense occurred during regular school |
|---|
| 60 | 60 | | hours; |
|---|
| 61 | 61 | | (8) whether the offense occurred on school property or |
|---|
| 62 | 62 | | off school property while the student was attending a |
|---|
| 63 | 63 | | school-sponsored or school-related activity; |
|---|
| 64 | 64 | | (9) the type of restraint administered to the student; |
|---|
| 65 | 65 | | (10) the type of sanction imposed on the student; |
|---|
| 66 | 66 | | (11) the offense for which a complaint was filed |
|---|
| 67 | 67 | | against the student or for which the student was issued a citation |
|---|
| 68 | 68 | | or was arrested; and |
|---|
| 69 | 69 | | (12) the campus at which the student is enrolled. |
|---|
| 70 | 70 | | (d) The data collected for a report required under this |
|---|
| 71 | 71 | | section does not constitute prima facie evidence of racial |
|---|
| 72 | 72 | | profiling. |
|---|
| 73 | 73 | | (e) A report required under this section may not include |
|---|
| 74 | 74 | | information that identifies the peace officer who issued a |
|---|
| 75 | 75 | | citation. The identity of the peace officer is confidential and not |
|---|
| 76 | 76 | | subject to disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code. |
|---|
| 77 | 77 | | (f) A report required under this section may not include |
|---|
| 78 | 78 | | personally identifiable student information and must comply with |
|---|
| 79 | 79 | | the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. |
|---|
| 80 | 80 | | Section 1232g). |
|---|
| 81 | 81 | | (g) A school district that enters into a memorandum of |
|---|
| 82 | 82 | | understanding with a local law enforcement agency for the provision |
|---|
| 83 | 83 | | of a regular police presence on campus shall designate in the |
|---|
| 84 | 84 | | memorandum of understanding which entity will be responsible for |
|---|
| 85 | 85 | | collecting the data described by Subsection (b). |
|---|
| 86 | 86 | | (h) The agency shall collect the reports required under this |
|---|
| 87 | 87 | | section, compile the data, and make the data available to the |
|---|
| 88 | 88 | | public. |
|---|
| 89 | 89 | | SECTION 2. This Act applies beginning with the 2015-2016 |
|---|
| 90 | 90 | | school year. |
|---|
| 91 | 91 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
|---|
| 92 | 92 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
|---|
| 93 | 93 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
|---|
| 94 | 94 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
|---|
| 95 | 95 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |
|---|