Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3501 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R6994 GCB-D
2	2	By: Muñoz, Jr. H.B. No. 3501
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the placement of a student who is a moderate or high
8	8	risk sex offender in a juvenile justice alternative education
9	9	program or a disciplinary alternative education program with
10	10	certain monitoring requirements.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Section 37.011(k), Education Code, is amended to
13	13	read as follows:
14	14	(k) Each school district in a county with a population
15	15	greater than 125,000 and the county juvenile board shall annually
16	16	enter into a joint memorandum of understanding that:
17	17	(1) outlines the responsibilities of the juvenile
18	18	board concerning the establishment and operation of a juvenile
19	19	justice alternative education program under this section;
20	20	(2) defines the amount and conditions on payments from
21	21	the school district to the juvenile board for students of the school
22	22	district served in the juvenile justice alternative education
23	23	program whose placement was not made on the basis of an expulsion
24	24	required under Section 37.007(a), (d), or (e);
25	25	(3) establishes that a student may be placed in the
26	26	juvenile justice alternative education program if the student
27	27	engages in serious misbehavior, as defined by Section 37.007(c);
28	28	(4) establishes that a student to whom Subchapter I
29	29	applies shall be placed in the juvenile justice alternative
30	30	education program if the student is assigned a numeric risk level of
31	31	two or three based on an assessment conducted in accordance with
32	32	Article 62.007, Code of Criminal Procedure;
33	33	(5) identifies and requires a timely placement and
34	34	specifies a term of placement for expelled students for whom the
35	35	school district has received a notice under Section 52.041(d),
36	36	Family Code;
37	37	(6) [(5)] establishes services for the transitioning
38	38	of expelled students to the school district prior to the completion
39	39	of the student's placement in the juvenile justice alternative
40	40	education program;
41	41	(7) [(6)] establishes a plan that provides
42	42	transportation services for students placed in the juvenile justice
43	43	alternative education program;
44	44	(8) [(7)] establishes the circumstances and
45	45	conditions under which a juvenile may be allowed to remain in the
46	46	juvenile justice alternative education program setting once the
47	47	juvenile is no longer under juvenile court jurisdiction; and
48	48	(9) [(8)] establishes a plan to address special
49	49	education services required by law.
50	50	SECTION 2. Section 37.304, Education Code, is amended to
51	51	read as follows:
52	52	Sec. 37.304. PLACEMENT OF LOW RISK REGISTERED SEX OFFENDER
53	53	WHO IS UNDER COURT SUPERVISION. (a) A school district shall place
54	54	a student to whom this subchapter applies who is assigned a numeric
55	55	risk level of one based on an assessment conducted in accordance
56	56	with Article 62.007, Code of Criminal Procedure, and who is under
57	57	any form of court supervision, including probation, community
58	58	supervision, or parole, in the appropriate alternative education
59	59	program as provided by Section 37.309 for at least one semester.
60	60	(b) If a student described by Subsection (a) transfers to
61	61	another school district during the student's mandatory placement in
62	62	an alternative education program under Subsection (a), the district
63	63	to which the student transfers may:
64	64	(1) require the student to complete an additional
65	65	semester in the appropriate alternative education program without
66	66	conducting a review of the student's placement for that semester
67	67	under Section 37.306; or
68	68	(2) count any time spent by the student in an
69	69	alternative education program in the district from which the
70	70	student transfers toward the mandatory placement requirement under
71	71	Subsection (a).
72	72	SECTION 3. Section 37.305, Education Code, is amended to
73	73	read as follows:
74	74	Sec. 37.305. PLACEMENT OF LOW RISK REGISTERED SEX OFFENDER
75	75	WHO IS NOT UNDER COURT SUPERVISION. A school district may place a
76	76	student to whom this subchapter applies who is assigned a numeric
77	77	risk level of one based on an assessment conducted in accordance
78	78	with Article 62.007, Code of Criminal Procedure, and who is not
79	79	under any form of court supervision in the appropriate alternative
80	80	education program as provided by Section 37.309 for one semester or
81	81	in the regular classroom. The district may not place the student
82	82	in the regular classroom if the district board of trustees
83	83	determines that the student's presence in the regular classroom:
84	84	(1) threatens the safety of other students or
85	85	teachers;
86	86	(2) will be detrimental to the educational process; or
87	87	(3) is not in the best interests of the district's
88	88	students.
89	89	SECTION 4. The heading to Section 37.306, Education Code,
90	90	is amended to read as follows:
91	91	Sec. 37.306. REVIEW OF PLACEMENT OF LOW RISK REGISTERED SEX
92	92	OFFENDER IN ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION PROGRAM.
93	93	SECTION 5. Section 37.306(a), Education Code, is amended to
94	94	read as follows:
95	95	(a) At the end of the first semester of the [a student's]
96	96	placement in an alternative education program under Section 37.304
97	97	or 37.305 of a student who is assigned a numeric risk level of one
98	98	based on an assessment conducted in accordance with Article 62.007,
99	99	Code of Criminal Procedure, the school district board of trustees
100	100	shall convene a committee to review the student's placement in the
101	101	alternative education program. The committee must be composed of:
102	102	(1) a classroom teacher from the campus to which the
103	103	student would be assigned were the student not placed in an
104	104	alternative education program;
105	105	(2) the student's parole or probation officer or, in
106	106	the case of a student who does not have a parole or probation
107	107	officer, a representative of the local juvenile probation
108	108	department;
109	109	(3) an instructor from the alternative education
110	110	program to which the student is assigned;
111	111	(4) a school district designee selected by the board
112	112	of trustees; and
113	113	(5) a school counselor employed by the school
114	114	district.
115	115	SECTION 6. Section 37.308, Education Code, is amended to
116	116	read as follows:
117	117	Sec. 37.308. TRANSFER OF REGISTERED SEX OFFENDER. (a)
118	118	Except as provided by Section 37.304(b), a school district shall
119	119	determine whether to place a student to whom this subchapter
120	120	applies who is assigned a numeric risk level of one based on an
121	121	assessment conducted in accordance with Article 62.007, Code of
122	122	Criminal Procedure, and who transfers to the district in the
123	123	appropriate alternative education program as provided by Section
124	124	37.309 or in a regular classroom. The school district shall follow
125	125	the procedures specified under Section 37.306 in making the
126	126	determination.
127	127	(b) The school district shall make a placement
128	128	determination solely as provided by Section 37.309 with respect to
129	129	a student to whom this subchapter applies who transfers to the
130	130	district and who is assigned a numeric risk level of two or three
131	131	based on an assessment conducted in accordance with Article 62.007,
132	132	Code of Criminal Procedure.
133	133	SECTION 7. Section 37.309, Education Code, is amended by
134	134	amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (c) to read as
135	135	follows:
136	136	(b) A school district shall place a student who is required
137	137	by the board of trustees to attend an alternative education program
138	138	under this subchapter in a juvenile justice alternative education
139	139	program if:
140	140	(1) the memorandum of understanding entered into
141	141	between the school district and juvenile board under Section
142	142	37.011(k) provides for or requires the placement of students to
143	143	whom this subchapter applies in the juvenile justice alternative
144	144	education program; or
145	145	(2) a court orders the placement of the student in a
146	146	juvenile justice alternative education program.
147	147	(c) If a student to whom this subchapter applies who is
148	148	assigned a numeric risk level of two or three based on an assessment
149	149	conducted in accordance with Article 62.007, Code of Criminal
150	150	Procedure, is not placed in a juvenile justice alternative
151	151	education program in accordance with Subsection (b), the school
152	152	district shall ensure the student is not left unsupervised in the
153	153	presence of other students and is supervised by an educator or
154	154	school administrator of the district at all times while present on
155	155	campus.
156	156	SECTION 8. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies to
157	157	a student who, based on an assessment conducted in accordance with
158	158	Article 62.007, Code of Criminal Procedure:
159	159	(1) is assigned a numeric risk level of two or three on
160	160	or after the effective date of this Act, regardless of whether:
161	161	(A) the student began receiving educational
162	162	services from a school district before, on, or after that date; or
163	163	(B) the offense or conduct for which the student
164	164	became subject to registration as a sex offender under Chapter 62,
165	165	Code of Criminal Procedure, occurred before, on, or after that
166	166	date; or
167	167	(2) has been assigned a numeric risk level of two or
168	168	three and begins receiving educational services at or transfers to
169	169	a school district on or after the effective date of this Act,
170	170	regardless of whether the numeric risk level was assigned before,
171	171	on, or after that date.
172	172	(b) For a student who, on the effective date of this Act, has
173	173	been assigned a risk level of two or three based on an assessment
174	174	conducted in accordance with Article 62.007, Code of Criminal
175	175	Procedure, before the effective date of this Act, the school
176	176	district shall, as provided by Section 37.309, Education Code, as
177	177	amended by this Act, transfer the student to a juvenile justice
178	178	alternative education program or institute supervision by an
179	179	educator or school administrator, as appropriate, not later than
180	180	January 1, 2016.
181	181	SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.