84R3405 GCB-D
By: Villalba H.B. No. 985
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to mental health screening for public school students who
may be a danger to self or others and to suspension or educational
placement of those students; creating an offense.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. This Act shall be known as Alanna's Law.
SECTION 2. Section 12.131(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The governing body of an open-enrollment charter school
shall adopt a code of conduct for its district or for each campus.
In addition to establishing standards for behavior, the code of
conduct must [shall] outline generally the types of prohibited
behaviors and their possible consequences and must provide notice
that certain conduct or statements may, in accordance with Section
37.0052, subject a student to suspension, placement in an
alternative program, if available, or expulsion. The code of
conduct must [shall] also outline the school's due process
procedures with respect to expulsion. Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, a final decision of the governing body of an
open-enrollment charter school with respect to actions taken under
the code of conduct may not be appealed.
SECTION 3. Section 37.001(a), Education Code, as amended by
Chapters 487 (S.B. 1541) and 1409 (S.B. 1114), Acts of the 83rd
Legislature, Regular Session, 2013, is reenacted and amended to
read as follows:
(a) The board of trustees of an independent school district
shall, with the advice of its district-level committee established
under Subchapter F, Chapter 11, adopt a student code of conduct for
the district. The student code of conduct must be posted and
prominently displayed at each school campus or made available for
review at the office of the campus principal. In addition to
establishing standards for student conduct, the student code of
conduct must:
(1) specify the circumstances, in accordance with this
subchapter, under which a student may be removed from a classroom,
campus, disciplinary alternative education program, or school
bus[,] or other vehicle owned or operated by the district;
(2) specify conditions that authorize or require a
principal or other appropriate administrator to transfer a student
to a disciplinary alternative education program;
(3) outline conditions under which a student may be
suspended as provided by Section 37.005 or expelled as provided by
Section 37.007;
(4) specify that consideration will be given, as a
factor in each decision concerning suspension, removal to a
disciplinary alternative education program, expulsion, or
placement in a juvenile justice alternative education program,
regardless of whether the decision concerns a mandatory or
discretionary action, to:
(A) self-defense;
(B) intent or lack of intent at the time the
student engaged in the conduct;
(C) a student's disciplinary history; or
(D) a disability that substantially impairs the
student's capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of the student's
conduct;
(5) provide guidelines for setting the length of a
term of:
(A) a removal under Section 37.006; and
(B) an expulsion under Section 37.007;
(6) address the notification of a student's parent or
guardian of a violation of the student code of conduct committed by
the student that results in suspension, removal to a disciplinary
alternative education program, or expulsion;
(7) prohibit bullying, harassment, and making hit
lists and ensure that district employees enforce those
prohibitions; [and]
(8) provide, as appropriate for students at each grade
level, methods, including options, for:
(A) managing students in the classroom, on school
grounds, and on a vehicle owned or operated by the district;
(B) disciplining students; and
(C) preventing and intervening in student
discipline problems, including bullying, harassment, and making
hit lists; and
(9) provide notice that certain conduct or statements
may subject a student to suspension or placement in a disciplinary
alternative education program under Section 37.0052.
SECTION 4. Subchapter A, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 37.0052 to read as follows:
Sec. 37.0052. SUSPENSION OR PLACEMENT IN DISCIPLINARY
ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION PROGRAM BASED ON NEED FOR MENTAL HEALTH
SCREENING. (a) In this section:
(1) "Local mental health authority" has the meaning
assigned by Section 531.002, Health and Safety Code.
(2) "Serious bodily injury" has the meaning assigned
by Section 1.07, Penal Code.
(3) "Sexual violence" means conduct that constitutes
an offense under Section 22.011, Penal Code, other than conduct to
which the affirmative defense provided by Section 22.011(e), Penal
Code, would apply.
(b) Subject to Subsection (c), if an educator employed by a
school district or open-enrollment charter school observes or is
informed about conduct of a student or a statement made by the
student that would cause a reasonable person to believe the student
intends or is likely to commit sexual violence against another or
intends or is likely to cause serious bodily injury to self or
others, the educator shall provide notice to the school counselor.
The notice must be a signed writing, must be delivered in person or
through electronic mail, and must describe the conduct or statement
of the student. If a school counselor is not employed at the school,
the educator shall provide notice to the principal in the same
manner. For purposes of this section, a statement may be oral or
written and includes statements made through electronic mail or
social media.
(c) Subsection (b) applies only to an educator who observes
or is informed about conduct or a statement of a student who attends
school at the campus where the educator is employed.
(d) Subsection (b) applies regardless of whether the
student's conduct or statement occurs:
(1) on or off school property; or
(2) during or outside regular school hours.
(e) A school counselor or a principal who receives notice
under Subsection (b) shall consider the information provided in the
notice and may:
(1) investigate the conduct or statement;
(2) consult with administrators at the campus and the
educator who provided the notice; or
(3) interview the student or any other person with
knowledge about the conduct or statement.
(f) A school counselor who concludes that a reasonable
person would believe the student intends or is likely to commit
sexual violence against another or intends or is likely to cause
serious bodily injury to self or others shall inform the principal
about the school counselor's conclusion.
(g) Except as provided by Subsection (h), a principal shall
provide a student with a 30-day notice of intent to suspend the
student if the principal:
(1) receives notice about a student under Subsection
(b) and concludes that a reasonable person would believe the
student intends or is likely to commit sexual violence against
another or intends or is likely to cause serious bodily injury to
self or others; or
(2) is informed about a school counselor's conclusion
concerning a student under Subsection (f).
(h) If a student's conduct requires expulsion under Section
37.007, the principal shall expel the student in accordance with
that section and this section does not apply. If a student's
conduct requires placement in a disciplinary alternative education
program under Section 37.006, this section applies and any
provision of Section 37.006 does not apply to the extent the
provision is inconsistent with this section.
(i) A school counselor or a principal who receives notice
under Subsection (b) about a student who subsequently is subject to
a notice of intent to suspend under Subsection (g) shall:
(1) provide the student's name and address and
information concerning the conduct or statement that led to the
notice of intent to suspend to:
(A) the school district police department, if the
school counselor or principal is employed by a school district and
the district has a police department;
(B) the police department of the municipality in
which the school is located or, if the school is not in a
municipality, the sheriff of the county in which the school is
located; and
(C) the local mental health authority nearest the
school; and
(2) inform the student's parent or guardian about:
(A) the notice of intent to suspend;
(B) the conduct or statement that led to the
notice of intent to suspend; and
(C) the requirement that the parent or guardian,
before the expiration of the 30-day period, to avoid suspension of
the student under this section, take the student to the nearest
local mental health authority or a physician specializing in
psychiatry to receive a mental health screening and a certificate
of medical examination for mental illness, as described by Section
533.03522(c), Health and Safety Code, that contains the examining
physician's opinion that the student is not a danger to self or
others.
(j) A parent or guardian of a student subject to a notice of
intent to suspend under Subsection (g) shall take the student to the
nearest local mental health authority or a physician specializing
in psychiatry to receive a mental health screening and a
certificate of medical examination for mental illness, as described
by Section 533.03522(c), Health and Safety Code.
(k) If, before the expiration of the 30-day period of the
notice of intent to suspend under Subsection (g), the school
receives for the student a certificate of medical examination for
mental illness, as described by Section 533.03522(c), Health and
Safety Code, that contains the examining physician's opinion that
the student is not a danger to self or others, the student is no
longer subject to suspension under this section with respect to the
conduct or statement that was the basis of the notice of intent to
suspend, and the school shall destroy any record of that conduct or
statement and any record involving an action of the school taken
under this section. The school shall also notify each law
enforcement agency that received notification of the intent to
suspend the student under Subsection (i).
(l) If the school does not receive for the student the
certificate of medical examination described by Subsection (k)
before the expiration of the 30-day period of the notice of intent
to suspend, the principal shall immediately suspend the student.
(m) A suspension under this section ends:
(1) when the parent or guardian of the student
provides the school with a certificate of medical examination for
mental illness, as described by Section 533.03522(c), Health and
Safety Code, that contains the examining physician's opinion that
the student is not a danger to self or others; or
(2) on the 15th calendar day after the date the student
is suspended under this section.
(n) A student whose suspension by a school district ends
under Subsection (m)(2) shall be placed in the district's
disciplinary alternative education program until the student
provides a certificate of medical examination for mental illness,
as described by Section 533.03522(c), Health and Safety Code, that
contains the examining physician's opinion that the student is not
a danger to self or others. A student whose suspension by an
open-enrollment charter school ends under Subsection (m)(2) shall
be placed in the school's alternative program, if an alternative
program exists, until the student provides the necessary
certificate of medical examination, or shall be expelled, if an
alternative program does not exist.
(o) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly
makes or causes to be made a false statement to an educator
concerning the conduct of a student or a statement made by a student
with intent that the student be subject to the provisions of this
section. An offense under this subsection is a Class A misdemeanor.
SECTION 5. Section 37.008(h), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(h) A school district may not place a student, other than a
student suspended as provided under Section 37.005, a student
suspended as provided under Section 37.0052, or a student expelled
as provided under Section 37.007, in an unsupervised setting as a
result of conduct for which a student may be placed in a
disciplinary alternative education program.
SECTION 6. Section 37.020(b), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) For each placement in a disciplinary alternative
education program established under Section 37.008, the district
shall report:
(1) information identifying the student, including
the student's race, sex, and date of birth, that will enable the
agency to compare placement data with information collected through
other reports;
(2) information indicating whether the placement was
based on:
(A) conduct violating the student code of conduct
adopted under Section 37.001;
(B) conduct for which a student may be removed
from class under Section 37.002(b);
(C) conduct for which placement in a disciplinary
alternative education program is required by Section 37.006; [or]
(D) conduct occurring while a student was
enrolled in another district and for which placement in a
disciplinary alternative education program is permitted by Section
37.008(j); or
(E) failure to provide the certificate of medical
examination for mental illness required by Section 37.0052;
(3) the number of full or partial days the student was
assigned to the program and the number of full or partial days the
student attended the program; and
(4) the number of placements that were inconsistent
with the guidelines included in the student code of conduct under
Section 37.001(a)(5).
SECTION 7. Subchapter B, Chapter 533, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 533.03522 to read as follows:
Sec. 533.03522. MENTAL HEALTH SCREENINGS FOR CERTAIN
STUDENTS. (a) A local mental health authority shall ensure that a
mental health screening is provided to a student identified to the
authority under the notice requirements of Section 37.0052(i),
Education Code, if the student's parent or guardian requests the
screening.
(b) A mental health screening provided to a student for
purposes of Section 37.0052, Education Code, must be conducted by a
physician specializing in psychiatry and must be sufficient to
allow the examining physician to provide the student's parent or
guardian with a certificate of medical examination for mental
illness for the student that conforms with the requirements of
Subsection (c).
(c) A certificate of medical examination for mental illness
under this section must be sworn to, dated, and signed by the
examining physician. The certificate must include:
(1) the name and address of the examining physician;
(2) the name and address of the student examined;
(3) the date and place of the examination;
(4) a brief diagnosis of the examined student's
physical and mental condition;
(5) the period, if any, during which the examined
student has been under the care of the examining physician;
(6) an accurate description of the mental health
treatment, if any, given by or administered under the direction of
the examining physician; and
(7) the examining physician's opinion as to whether:
(A) the examined student is mentally ill; and
(B) as a result of that illness the examined
student is likely a danger to self or others.
(d) A student's parent or guardian is responsible for the
cost of a mental health screening, except that for a student who is
a Medicaid recipient or enrollee in the state child health plan
under Chapter 62, the local mental health authority shall seek
reimbursement for the cost of the mental health screening, if
available.
SECTION 8. This Act applies beginning with the 2015-2016
school year.
SECTION 9. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this
section:
(1) this Act takes effect immediately if it receives a
vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution; and
(2) if this Act does not receive the vote necessary for
immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
(b) Section 37.0052(o), Education Code, as added by this
Act, takes effect September 1, 2015.