84R1914 ADM-F
By: West S.B. No. 741
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to criminal procedures related to certain offenses
committed by a student on property under control of a school
district.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 37.141(2), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(2) "School offense" means an offense committed by a
child enrolled in a public school that is a Class C misdemeanor
other than a traffic offense and that is committed on property under
the control and jurisdiction of a school district, including a
public school campus and the school grounds on which a public school
is located, regardless of whether the offense is committed during
the school year or during the summer session.
SECTION 2. Section 37.144(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) A school district [that commissions peace officers
under Section 37.081] may develop a system of graduated sanctions
that the school district may require to be imposed on a child before
a complaint is filed under Section 37.145 against the child for a
school offense that is an offense [under Section 37.124 or 37.126
or] under Section 42.01(a)(1), (2), (3), (4), or (5), Penal
Code. A system adopted under this section must include multiple
graduated sanctions. The system may require:
(1) a warning letter to be issued to the child and the
child's parent or guardian that specifically states the child's
alleged school offense and explains the consequences if the child
engages in additional misconduct;
(2) a behavior contract with the child that must be
signed by the child, the child's parent or guardian, and an employee
of the school and that includes a specific description of the
behavior that is required or prohibited for the child and the
penalties for additional alleged school offenses, including
additional disciplinary action or the filing of a complaint in a
criminal court;
(3) the performance of school-based community service
by the child; and
(4) the referral of the child to counseling,
community-based services, or other in-school or out-of-school
services aimed at addressing the child's behavioral problems.
SECTION 3. Section 37.146, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c) to read as
follows:
(a) A complaint alleging the commission of a school offense
must, in addition to the requirements imposed by Article 45.019,
Code of Criminal Procedure:
(1) be sworn to by a person who has personal knowledge
of the underlying facts giving rise to probable cause to believe
that an offense has been committed; [and]
(2) be accompanied by a statement from a school
employee stating:
(A) whether the child is eligible for or receives
special services under Subchapter A, Chapter 29; and
(B) the graduated sanctions, if required under
Section 37.144, that were imposed on the child before the complaint
was filed; and
(3) be accompanied by a statement by a victim of the
alleged conduct, if any.
(c) A court shall dismiss a complaint made by a school
district that is not made in compliance with Subsection (a).
SECTION 4. Section 8.07(e), Penal Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(e) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution of [A person
who is at least 10 years of age but younger than 15 years of age is
presumed incapable of committing] an offense described by
Subsection (a)(4) or (5), other than an offense under a juvenile
curfew ordinance or order, that the actor was at least 10 years of
age but younger than 15 years of age at the time of the alleged
offense and did not have sufficient capacity to understand that the
conduct engaged in was wrong at the time the conduct was engaged
in. [This presumption may be refuted if the prosecution proves to
the court by a preponderance of the evidence that the actor had
sufficient capacity to understand that the conduct engaged in was
wrong at the time the conduct was engaged in.] The prosecution is
not required to prove that the actor at the time of engaging in the
conduct knew that the act was a criminal offense or knew the legal
consequences of the offense.
SECTION 5. Articles 45.058(i) and (j), Code of Criminal
Procedure, are repealed.
SECTION 6. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An
offense committed before the effective date of this Act is covered
by the law in effect at the time the offense was committed, and the
former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For the
purposes of this section, an offense is committed before the
effective date of this Act if any element of the offense was
committed before that date.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.