Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB985 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R3405 GCB-D
2	2	By: Villalba H.B. No. 985
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to mental health screening for public school students who
8	8	may be a danger to self or others and to suspension or educational
9	9	placement of those students; creating an offense.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. This Act shall be known as Alanna's Law.
12	12	SECTION 2. Section 12.131(a), Education Code, is amended to
13	13	read as follows:
14	14	(a) The governing body of an open-enrollment charter school
15	15	shall adopt a code of conduct for its district or for each campus.
16	16	In addition to establishing standards for behavior, the code of
17	17	conduct must [shall] outline generally the types of prohibited
18	18	behaviors and their possible consequences and must provide notice
19	19	that certain conduct or statements may, in accordance with Section
20	20	37.0052, subject a student to suspension, placement in an
21	21	alternative program, if available, or expulsion. The code of
22	22	conduct must [shall] also outline the school's due process
23	23	procedures with respect to expulsion. Notwithstanding any other
24	24	provision of law, a final decision of the governing body of an
25	25	open-enrollment charter school with respect to actions taken under
26	26	the code of conduct may not be appealed.
27	27	SECTION 3. Section 37.001(a), Education Code, as amended by
28	28	Chapters 487 (S.B. 1541) and 1409 (S.B. 1114), Acts of the 83rd
29	29	Legislature, Regular Session, 2013, is reenacted and amended to
30	30	read as follows:
31	31	(a) The board of trustees of an independent school district
32	32	shall, with the advice of its district-level committee established
33	33	under Subchapter F, Chapter 11, adopt a student code of conduct for
34	34	the district. The student code of conduct must be posted and
35	35	prominently displayed at each school campus or made available for
36	36	review at the office of the campus principal. In addition to
37	37	establishing standards for student conduct, the student code of
38	38	conduct must:
39	39	(1) specify the circumstances, in accordance with this
40	40	subchapter, under which a student may be removed from a classroom,
41	41	campus, disciplinary alternative education program, or school
42	42	bus[,] or other vehicle owned or operated by the district;
43	43	(2) specify conditions that authorize or require a
44	44	principal or other appropriate administrator to transfer a student
45	45	to a disciplinary alternative education program;
46	46	(3) outline conditions under which a student may be
47	47	suspended as provided by Section 37.005 or expelled as provided by
48	48	Section 37.007;
49	49	(4) specify that consideration will be given, as a
50	50	factor in each decision concerning suspension, removal to a
51	51	disciplinary alternative education program, expulsion, or
52	52	placement in a juvenile justice alternative education program,
53	53	regardless of whether the decision concerns a mandatory or
54	54	discretionary action, to:
55	55	(A) self-defense;
56	56	(B) intent or lack of intent at the time the
57	57	student engaged in the conduct;
58	58	(C) a student's disciplinary history; or
59	59	(D) a disability that substantially impairs the
60	60	student's capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of the student's
61	61	conduct;
62	62	(5) provide guidelines for setting the length of a
63	63	term of:
64	64	(A) a removal under Section 37.006; and
65	65	(B) an expulsion under Section 37.007;
66	66	(6) address the notification of a student's parent or
67	67	guardian of a violation of the student code of conduct committed by
68	68	the student that results in suspension, removal to a disciplinary
69	69	alternative education program, or expulsion;
70	70	(7) prohibit bullying, harassment, and making hit
71	71	lists and ensure that district employees enforce those
72	72	prohibitions; [and]
73	73	(8) provide, as appropriate for students at each grade
74	74	level, methods, including options, for:
75	75	(A) managing students in the classroom, on school
76	76	grounds, and on a vehicle owned or operated by the district;
77	77	(B) disciplining students; and
78	78	(C) preventing and intervening in student
79	79	discipline problems, including bullying, harassment, and making
80	80	hit lists; and
81	81	(9) provide notice that certain conduct or statements
82	82	may subject a student to suspension or placement in a disciplinary
83	83	alternative education program under Section 37.0052.
84	84	SECTION 4. Subchapter A, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
85	85	amended by adding Section 37.0052 to read as follows:
86	86	Sec. 37.0052. SUSPENSION OR PLACEMENT IN DISCIPLINARY
87	87	ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION PROGRAM BASED ON NEED FOR MENTAL HEALTH
88	88	SCREENING. (a) In this section:
89	89	(1) "Local mental health authority" has the meaning
90	90	assigned by Section 531.002, Health and Safety Code.
91	91	(2) "Serious bodily injury" has the meaning assigned
92	92	by Section 1.07, Penal Code.
93	93	(3) "Sexual violence" means conduct that constitutes
94	94	an offense under Section 22.011, Penal Code, other than conduct to
95	95	which the affirmative defense provided by Section 22.011(e), Penal
96	96	Code, would apply.
97	97	(b) Subject to Subsection (c), if an educator employed by a
98	98	school district or open-enrollment charter school observes or is
99	99	informed about conduct of a student or a statement made by the
100	100	student that would cause a reasonable person to believe the student
101	101	intends or is likely to commit sexual violence against another or
102	102	intends or is likely to cause serious bodily injury to self or
103	103	others, the educator shall provide notice to the school counselor.
104	104	The notice must be a signed writing, must be delivered in person or
105	105	through electronic mail, and must describe the conduct or statement
106	106	of the student. If a school counselor is not employed at the school,
107	107	the educator shall provide notice to the principal in the same
108	108	manner. For purposes of this section, a statement may be oral or
109	109	written and includes statements made through electronic mail or
110	110	social media.
111	111	(c) Subsection (b) applies only to an educator who observes
112	112	or is informed about conduct or a statement of a student who attends
113	113	school at the campus where the educator is employed.
114	114	(d) Subsection (b) applies regardless of whether the
115	115	student's conduct or statement occurs:
116	116	(1) on or off school property; or
117	117	(2) during or outside regular school hours.
118	118	(e) A school counselor or a principal who receives notice
119	119	under Subsection (b) shall consider the information provided in the
120	120	notice and may:
121	121	(1) investigate the conduct or statement;
122	122	(2) consult with administrators at the campus and the
123	123	educator who provided the notice; or
124	124	(3) interview the student or any other person with
125	125	knowledge about the conduct or statement.
126	126	(f) A school counselor who concludes that a reasonable
127	127	person would believe the student intends or is likely to commit
128	128	sexual violence against another or intends or is likely to cause
129	129	serious bodily injury to self or others shall inform the principal
130	130	about the school counselor's conclusion.
131	131	(g) Except as provided by Subsection (h), a principal shall
132	132	provide a student with a 30-day notice of intent to suspend the
133	133	student if the principal:
134	134	(1) receives notice about a student under Subsection
135	135	(b) and concludes that a reasonable person would believe the
136	136	student intends or is likely to commit sexual violence against
137	137	another or intends or is likely to cause serious bodily injury to
138	138	self or others; or
139	139	(2) is informed about a school counselor's conclusion
140	140	concerning a student under Subsection (f).
141	141	(h) If a student's conduct requires expulsion under Section
142	142	37.007, the principal shall expel the student in accordance with
143	143	that section and this section does not apply. If a student's
144	144	conduct requires placement in a disciplinary alternative education
145	145	program under Section 37.006, this section applies and any
146	146	provision of Section 37.006 does not apply to the extent the
147	147	provision is inconsistent with this section.
148	148	(i) A school counselor or a principal who receives notice
149	149	under Subsection (b) about a student who subsequently is subject to
150	150	a notice of intent to suspend under Subsection (g) shall:
151	151	(1) provide the student's name and address and
152	152	information concerning the conduct or statement that led to the
153	153	notice of intent to suspend to:
154	154	(A) the school district police department, if the
155	155	school counselor or principal is employed by a school district and
156	156	the district has a police department;
157	157	(B) the police department of the municipality in
158	158	which the school is located or, if the school is not in a
159	159	municipality, the sheriff of the county in which the school is
160	160	located; and
161	161	(C) the local mental health authority nearest the
162	162	school; and
163	163	(2) inform the student's parent or guardian about:
164	164	(A) the notice of intent to suspend;
165	165	(B) the conduct or statement that led to the
166	166	notice of intent to suspend; and
167	167	(C) the requirement that the parent or guardian,
168	168	before the expiration of the 30-day period, to avoid suspension of
169	169	the student under this section, take the student to the nearest
170	170	local mental health authority or a physician specializing in
171	171	psychiatry to receive a mental health screening and a certificate
172	172	of medical examination for mental illness, as described by Section
173	173	533.03522(c), Health and Safety Code, that contains the examining
174	174	physician's opinion that the student is not a danger to self or
175	175	others.
176	176	(j) A parent or guardian of a student subject to a notice of
177	177	intent to suspend under Subsection (g) shall take the student to the
178	178	nearest local mental health authority or a physician specializing
179	179	in psychiatry to receive a mental health screening and a
180	180	certificate of medical examination for mental illness, as described
181	181	by Section 533.03522(c), Health and Safety Code.
182	182	(k) If, before the expiration of the 30-day period of the
183	183	notice of intent to suspend under Subsection (g), the school
184	184	receives for the student a certificate of medical examination for
185	185	mental illness, as described by Section 533.03522(c), Health and
186	186	Safety Code, that contains the examining physician's opinion that
187	187	the student is not a danger to self or others, the student is no
188	188	longer subject to suspension under this section with respect to the
189	189	conduct or statement that was the basis of the notice of intent to
190	190	suspend, and the school shall destroy any record of that conduct or
191	191	statement and any record involving an action of the school taken
192	192	under this section. The school shall also notify each law
193	193	enforcement agency that received notification of the intent to
194	194	suspend the student under Subsection (i).
195	195	(l) If the school does not receive for the student the
196	196	certificate of medical examination described by Subsection (k)
197	197	before the expiration of the 30-day period of the notice of intent
198	198	to suspend, the principal shall immediately suspend the student.
199	199	(m) A suspension under this section ends:
200	200	(1) when the parent or guardian of the student
201	201	provides the school with a certificate of medical examination for
202	202	mental illness, as described by Section 533.03522(c), Health and
203	203	Safety Code, that contains the examining physician's opinion that
204	204	the student is not a danger to self or others; or
205	205	(2) on the 15th calendar day after the date the student
206	206	is suspended under this section.
207	207	(n) A student whose suspension by a school district ends
208	208	under Subsection (m)(2) shall be placed in the district's
209	209	disciplinary alternative education program until the student
210	210	provides a certificate of medical examination for mental illness,
211	211	as described by Section 533.03522(c), Health and Safety Code, that
212	212	contains the examining physician's opinion that the student is not
213	213	a danger to self or others. A student whose suspension by an
214	214	open-enrollment charter school ends under Subsection (m)(2) shall
215	215	be placed in the school's alternative program, if an alternative
216	216	program exists, until the student provides the necessary
217	217	certificate of medical examination, or shall be expelled, if an
218	218	alternative program does not exist.
219	219	(o) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly
220	220	makes or causes to be made a false statement to an educator
221	221	concerning the conduct of a student or a statement made by a student
222	222	with intent that the student be subject to the provisions of this
223	223	section. An offense under this subsection is a Class A misdemeanor.
224	224	SECTION 5. Section 37.008(h), Education Code, is amended to
225	225	read as follows:
226	226	(h) A school district may not place a student, other than a
227	227	student suspended as provided under Section 37.005, a student
228	228	suspended as provided under Section 37.0052, or a student expelled
229	229	as provided under Section 37.007, in an unsupervised setting as a
230	230	result of conduct for which a student may be placed in a
231	231	disciplinary alternative education program.
232	232	SECTION 6. Section 37.020(b), Education Code, is amended to
233	233	read as follows:
234	234	(b) For each placement in a disciplinary alternative
235	235	education program established under Section 37.008, the district
236	236	shall report:
237	237	(1) information identifying the student, including
238	238	the student's race, sex, and date of birth, that will enable the
239	239	agency to compare placement data with information collected through
240	240	other reports;
241	241	(2) information indicating whether the placement was
242	242	based on:
243	243	(A) conduct violating the student code of conduct
244	244	adopted under Section 37.001;
245	245	(B) conduct for which a student may be removed
246	246	from class under Section 37.002(b);
247	247	(C) conduct for which placement in a disciplinary
248	248	alternative education program is required by Section 37.006; [or]
249	249	(D) conduct occurring while a student was
250	250	enrolled in another district and for which placement in a
251	251	disciplinary alternative education program is permitted by Section
252	252	37.008(j); or
253	253	(E) failure to provide the certificate of medical
254	254	examination for mental illness required by Section 37.0052;
255	255	(3) the number of full or partial days the student was
256	256	assigned to the program and the number of full or partial days the
257	257	student attended the program; and
258	258	(4) the number of placements that were inconsistent
259	259	with the guidelines included in the student code of conduct under
260	260	Section 37.001(a)(5).
261	261	SECTION 7. Subchapter B, Chapter 533, Health and Safety
262	262	Code, is amended by adding Section 533.03522 to read as follows:
263	263	Sec. 533.03522. MENTAL HEALTH SCREENINGS FOR CERTAIN
264	264	STUDENTS. (a) A local mental health authority shall ensure that a
265	265	mental health screening is provided to a student identified to the
266	266	authority under the notice requirements of Section 37.0052(i),
267	267	Education Code, if the student's parent or guardian requests the
268	268	screening.
269	269	(b) A mental health screening provided to a student for
270	270	purposes of Section 37.0052, Education Code, must be conducted by a
271	271	physician specializing in psychiatry and must be sufficient to
272	272	allow the examining physician to provide the student's parent or
273	273	guardian with a certificate of medical examination for mental
274	274	illness for the student that conforms with the requirements of
275	275	Subsection (c).
276	276	(c) A certificate of medical examination for mental illness
277	277	under this section must be sworn to, dated, and signed by the
278	278	examining physician. The certificate must include:
279	279	(1) the name and address of the examining physician;
280	280	(2) the name and address of the student examined;
281	281	(3) the date and place of the examination;
282	282	(4) a brief diagnosis of the examined student's
283	283	physical and mental condition;
284	284	(5) the period, if any, during which the examined
285	285	student has been under the care of the examining physician;
286	286	(6) an accurate description of the mental health
287	287	treatment, if any, given by or administered under the direction of
288	288	the examining physician; and
289	289	(7) the examining physician's opinion as to whether:
290	290	(A) the examined student is mentally ill; and
291	291	(B) as a result of that illness the examined
292	292	student is likely a danger to self or others.
293	293	(d) A student's parent or guardian is responsible for the
294	294	cost of a mental health screening, except that for a student who is
295	295	a Medicaid recipient or enrollee in the state child health plan
296	296	under Chapter 62, the local mental health authority shall seek
297	297	reimbursement for the cost of the mental health screening, if
298	298	available.
299	299	SECTION 8. This Act applies beginning with the 2015-2016
300	300	school year.
301	301	SECTION 9. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this
302	302	section:
303	303	(1) this Act takes effect immediately if it receives a
304	304	vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
305	305	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution; and
306	306	(2) if this Act does not receive the vote necessary for
307	307	immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
308	308	(b) Section 37.0052(o), Education Code, as added by this
309	309	Act, takes effect September 1, 2015.