Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB567 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R3368 PAM-D
2	2	By: Allen H.B. No. 567
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to corporal punishment in public schools.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Chapter 37, Education Code, is amended by adding
10	10	Subchapter Z to read as follows:
11	11	SUBCHAPTER Z. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
12	12	RELATING TO DISCIPLINE
13	13	Sec. 37.901. CORPORAL PUNISHMENT. (a) In this section,
14	14	"corporal punishment" includes hitting, spanking, paddling, or
15	15	deliberately inflicting physical pain by any means on the whole or
16	16	any part of a student's body as a penalty or punishment for the
17	17	student's behavior on or off campus.
18	18	(b) A school district employee or a volunteer or independent
19	19	contractor of a district may not administer corporal punishment or
20	20	cause corporal punishment to be administered to a student. This
21	21	subsection does not apply to corporal punishment administered off
22	22	campus by a parent to the parent's child.
23	23	(c) A school district employee or a volunteer or independent
24	24	contractor of a district may use reasonable and necessary
25	25	restraint, as defined by Section 37.0021.
26	26	(d) Section 9.62, Penal Code, and Section 22.0511(a) do not
27	27	apply to an action of a school district employee or a volunteer or
28	28	independent contractor of a district that violates Subsection (b).
29	29	SECTION 2. Section 25.007(b), Education Code, as amended by
30	30	Chapters 688 (H.B. 2619) and 1354 (S.B. 1404), Acts of the 83rd
31	31	Legislature, Regular Session, 2013, is reenacted and amended to
32	32	read as follows:
33	33	(b) In recognition of the challenges faced by students in
34	34	substitute care, the agency shall assist the transition of
35	35	substitute care students from one school to another by:
36	36	(1) ensuring that school records for a student in
37	37	substitute care are transferred to the student's new school not
38	38	later than the 10th working day after the date the student begins
39	39	enrollment at the school;
40	40	(2) developing systems to ease transition of a student
41	41	in substitute care during the first two weeks of enrollment at a new
42	42	school;
43	43	(3) developing procedures for awarding credit,
44	44	including partial credit if appropriate, for course work, including
45	45	electives, completed by a student in substitute care while enrolled
46	46	at another school;
47	47	(4) promoting practices that facilitate access by a
48	48	student in substitute care to extracurricular programs, summer
49	49	programs, credit transfer services, electronic courses provided
50	50	under Chapter 30A, and after-school tutoring programs at nominal or
51	51	no cost;
52	52	(5) establishing procedures to lessen the adverse
53	53	impact of the movement of a student in substitute care to a new
54	54	school;
55	55	(6) entering into a memorandum of understanding with
56	56	the Department of Family and Protective Services regarding the
57	57	exchange of information as appropriate to facilitate the transition
58	58	of students in substitute care from one school to another;
59	59	(7) encouraging school districts and open-enrollment
60	60	charter schools to provide services for a student in substitute
61	61	care in transition when applying for admission to postsecondary
62	62	study and when seeking sources of funding for postsecondary study;
63	63	(8) requiring school districts, campuses, and
64	64	open-enrollment charter schools to accept a referral for special
65	65	education services made for a student in substitute care by a school
66	66	previously attended by the student;
67	67	(9) requiring school districts to provide notice to
68	68	the child's educational decision-maker and caseworker regarding
69	69	events that may significantly impact the education of a child,
70	70	including:
71	71	(A) requests or referrals for an evaluation under
72	72	Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794), or
73	73	special education under Section 29.003;
74	74	(B) admission, review, and dismissal committee
75	75	meetings;
76	76	(C) manifestation determination reviews required
77	77	by Section 37.004(b);
78	78	(D) any disciplinary actions under Chapter 37 for
79	79	which parental notice is required;
80	80	(E) citations issued for Class C misdemeanor
81	81	offenses on school property or at school-sponsored activities; and
82	82	(F) reports of restraint and seclusion required
83	83	by Section 37.0021; [and
84	84	[(G) use of corporal punishment as provided by
85	85	Section 37.0011; and]
86	86	(10) developing procedures for allowing a student in
87	87	substitute care who was previously enrolled in a course required
88	88	for graduation the opportunity, to the extent practicable, to
89	89	complete the course, at no cost to the student, before the beginning
90	90	of the next school year;
91	91	(11) ensuring that a student in substitute care who is
92	92	not likely to receive a high school diploma before the fifth school
93	93	year following the student's enrollment in grade nine, as
94	94	determined by the district, has the student's course credit accrual
95	95	and personal graduation plan reviewed; [and]
96	96	(12) ensuring that a student in substitute care who is
97	97	in grade 11 or 12 be provided information regarding tuition and fee
98	98	exemptions under Section 54.366 for dual-credit or other courses
99	99	provided by a public institution of higher education for which a
100	100	high school student may earn joint high school and college credit;
101	101	and
102	102	(13) [(10)] providing other assistance as identified
103	103	by the agency.
104	104	SECTION 3. Section 37.0011, Education Code, is repealed.
105	105	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
106	106	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
107	107	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
108	108	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
109	109	Act takes effect September 1, 2015.