| 1 | 1 | | By: Burrows H.B. No. 4108 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 5 | 5 | | AN ACT |
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| 6 | 6 | | relating to the authority of a school district peace officer |
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| 7 | 7 | | commissioned by certain school districts located in certain |
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| 8 | 8 | | counties to issue citations to a child for certain Class C |
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| 9 | 9 | | misdemeanor offenses committed on school property. |
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| 10 | 10 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 11 | 11 | | SECTION 1. SECTION 1. Section 37.143, Education Code, is |
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| 12 | 12 | | amended to read as follows: |
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| 13 | 13 | | Sec. 37.143. ISSUANCE OF CITATION [PROHIBITED]; CUSTODY OF |
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| 14 | 14 | | CHILD. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), a [A] peace |
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| 15 | 15 | | officer may not issue a citation to a child who is alleged to have |
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| 16 | 16 | | committed a school offense. |
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| 17 | 17 | | (b) A peace officer commissioned under Section 37.081 may |
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| 18 | 18 | | issue a citation to a child who is alleged to have committed a |
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| 19 | 19 | | school offense if the offense is alleged to have occurred at a |
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| 20 | 20 | | campus of a school district with an enrollment of at least 27,500 |
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| 21 | 21 | | students that is located in a county with a population greater than |
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| 22 | 22 | | 270,000 but less than 290,000. |
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| 23 | 23 | | (c) This subchapter does not prohibit a child from being |
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| 24 | 24 | | taken into custody under Section 52.01, Family Code. |
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| 25 | 25 | | SECTION 2. Section 37.145, Education Code, is amended to |
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| 26 | 26 | | read as follows: |
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| 27 | 27 | | Sec. 37.145. CITATION OR COMPLAINT. (a) If a child is |
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| 28 | 28 | | alleged to have committed a school offense: |
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| 29 | 29 | | (1) a peace officer commissioned under Section 37.081 |
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| 30 | 30 | | may issue a citation to the child for an offense punishable as a |
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| 31 | 31 | | Class C misdemeanor under Section 22.01(a)(2) or (3), 42.01, or |
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| 32 | 32 | | 49.02, Penal Code, or under Section 481.125, Health and Safety |
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| 33 | 33 | | Code, if the offense is alleged to have occurred at a campus of a |
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| 34 | 34 | | school district with an enrollment of at least 27,500 students that |
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| 35 | 35 | | is located in a county with a population greater than 270,000 but |
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| 36 | 36 | | less than 290,000; or |
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| 37 | 37 | | (2) [If a child fails to comply with or complete |
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| 38 | 38 | | graduated sanctions under Section 37.144, or if the school district |
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| 39 | 39 | | has not elected to adopt a system of graduated sanctions under that |
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| 40 | 40 | | section,] the school may file a complaint against the child with a |
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| 41 | 41 | | criminal court in accordance with Section 37.146, if the child |
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| 42 | 42 | | fails to comply with or complete graduated sanctions under Section |
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| 43 | 43 | | 37.144 or if the school district has not elected to adopt a system |
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| 44 | 44 | | of graduated sanctions under that section. |
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| 45 | 45 | | SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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| 46 | 46 | | to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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| 47 | 47 | | An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
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| 48 | 48 | | governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, |
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| 49 | 49 | | and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
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| 50 | 50 | | purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
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| 51 | 51 | | effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred |
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| 52 | 52 | | before that date. |
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| 53 | 53 | | SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |
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