By: Estes S.B. No. 647
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the authority of an open-enrollment charter school to
commission peace officers.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 37.081, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 37.081. SCHOOL [DISTRICT] PEACE OFFICERS AND SECURITY
PERSONNEL. (a) The board of trustees of any school district and
the governing body of any open-enrollment charter school may employ
security personnel and may commission peace officers to carry out
this subchapter. If a board of trustees or governing body
authorizes a person employed as security personnel to carry a
weapon, the person must be a commissioned peace officer. The
jurisdiction of a peace officer or security personnel under this
section shall be determined by the board of trustees or governing
body and may include:
(1) for a school district, all territory in the
boundaries of the school district and all property outside the
boundaries of the district that is owned, leased, or rented by or
otherwise under the control of the school district and the board of
trustees that employ the peace officer or security personnel; or
(2) for an open-enrollment charter school, all
territory in the boundaries of the school district in which the
open-enrollment charter school is located and all property outside
the boundaries of the district that is owned, leased, or rented by
or otherwise under the control of the governing body of the
open-enrollment charter school that employs the peace officer or
security personnel.
(b) In a peace officer's jurisdiction, a peace officer
commissioned under this section:
(1) has the powers, privileges, and immunities of
peace officers;
(2) may enforce all laws, including municipal
ordinances, county ordinances, and state laws;
(3) may, in accordance with Chapter 52, Family Code,
or Article 45.058, Code of Criminal Procedure, take a child into
custody; and
(4) may dispose of cases in accordance with Section
52.03 or 52.031, Family Code.
(c) A school [district] peace officer may provide
assistance to another law enforcement agency. A school district or
open-enrollment charter school may contract with a political
subdivision for the jurisdiction of a school [district] peace
officer to include all territory in the jurisdiction of the
political subdivision.
(d) A school [district] peace officer shall perform law
enforcement duties for the school district or open-enrollment
charter school as determined by the board of trustees of the school
district or governing body of the open-enrollment charter school.
Those duties must include protecting:
(1) the safety and welfare of any person in the
jurisdiction of the peace officer; and
(2) the property of the school district or
open-enrollment charter school.
(e) The board of trustees of the school district or the
governing body of the open-enrollment charter school shall
determine the scope of the on-duty and off-duty law enforcement
activities of school [district] peace officers. A school district
or open-enrollment charter school must authorize in writing any
off-duty law enforcement activities performed by a school
[district] peace officer.
(f) The chief of police of the school district police
department shall be accountable to the superintendent and shall
report to the superintendent. School district police officers
shall be supervised by the chief of police of the school district or
the chief of police's designee and shall be licensed by the Texas
Commission on Law Enforcement.
(f-1) Open-enrollment charter school police officers shall
be licensed by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement.
(g) A school district police department or open-enrollment
charter school police department and the law enforcement agencies
with which it has overlapping jurisdiction shall enter into a
memorandum of understanding that outlines reasonable communication
and coordination efforts between the department and the agencies.
(h) A peace officer assigned to duty and commissioned under
this section shall take and file the oath required of peace officers
and shall execute and file a bond in the sum of $1,000, payable to
the board of trustees of the school district or governing body of
the open-enrollment charter school, with two or more sureties,
conditioned that the peace officer will fairly, impartially, and
faithfully perform all the duties that may be required of the peace
officer by law. The bond may be sued on in the name of any person
injured until the whole amount of the bond is recovered. Any peace
officer commissioned under this section must meet all minimum
standards for peace officers established by the Texas Commission on
Law Enforcement.
(i) In this section:
(1) "Governing body of an open-enrollment charter
school" means the board of directors, board of trustees, or other
governing body of an open-enrollment charter school. The term
includes the governing body of a charter holder if that body acts as
the governing body of the open-enrollment charter school.
(2) "School peace officer" means a peace officer
commissioned by a school district or open-enrollment charter school
under this section.
SECTION 2. Section 52.01(a), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) A child may be taken into custody:
(1) pursuant to an order of the juvenile court under
the provisions of this subtitle;
(2) pursuant to the laws of arrest;
(3) by a law-enforcement officer, including a school
[district] peace officer commissioned under Section 37.081,
Education Code, if there is probable cause to believe that the child
has engaged in:
(A) conduct that violates a penal law of this
state or a penal ordinance of any political subdivision of this
state;
(B) delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a
need for supervision; or
(C) conduct that violates a condition of
probation imposed by the juvenile court;
(4) by a probation officer if there is probable cause
to believe that the child has violated a condition of probation
imposed by the juvenile court;
(5) pursuant to a directive to apprehend issued as
provided by Section 52.015; or
(6) by a probation officer if there is probable cause
to believe that the child has violated a condition of release
imposed by the juvenile court or referee under Section 54.01.
SECTION 3. Section 1701.260(j), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(j) The commission shall submit the identifying information
collected under Subsection (b) for each person licensed by the
commission under this section to:
(1) the director of the Department of Public Safety;
(2) the person's employer, if the person is employed by
a school district or open-enrollment charter school;
(3) the chief law enforcement officer of the local
municipal law enforcement agency if the person is employed at a
campus of a school district or open-enrollment charter school
located within a municipality;
(4) the sheriff of the county if the person is employed
at a campus of a school district or open-enrollment charter school
that is not located within a municipality; and
(5) the chief administrator of any peace officer
commissioned under Section 37.081, Education Code, if the person is
employed at a school district or open-enrollment charter school
that has commissioned a peace officer under that section.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.