S.B. No. 1553
AN ACT
relating to certain requirements imposed on a sex offender who
enters the premises of a school and to the refusal of entry to or
ejection from school district property.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Article 62.053(a), Code of Criminal Procedure,
is amended to read as follows:
(a) Before a person who will be subject to registration
under this chapter is due to be released from a penal institution,
the Texas Department of Criminal Justice or the Texas Juvenile
Justice Department shall determine the person's level of risk to
the community using the sex offender screening tool developed or
selected under Article 62.007 and assign to the person a numeric
risk level of one, two, or three. Before releasing the person, an
official of the penal institution shall:
(1) inform the person that:
(A) not later than the later of the seventh day
after the date on which the person is released or after the date on
which the person moves from a previous residence to a new residence
in this state or not later than the first date the applicable local
law enforcement authority by policy allows the person to register
or verify registration, the person must register or verify
registration with the local law enforcement authority in the
municipality or county in which the person intends to reside;
(B) not later than the seventh day after the date
on which the person is released or the date on which the person
moves from a previous residence to a new residence in this state,
the person must, if the person has not moved to an intended
residence, report to the applicable entity or entities as required
by Article 62.051(h) or (j) or 62.055(e);
(C) not later than the seventh day before the
date on which the person moves to a new residence in this state or
another state, the person must report in person to the local law
enforcement authority designated as the person's primary
registration authority by the department and to the juvenile
probation officer, community supervision and corrections
department officer, or parole officer supervising the person;
(D) not later than the 10th day after the date on
which the person arrives in another state in which the person
intends to reside, the person must register with the law
enforcement agency that is identified by the department as the
agency designated by that state to receive registration
information, if the other state has a registration requirement for
sex offenders;
(E) not later than the 30th day after the date on
which the person is released, the person must apply to the
department in person for the issuance of an original or renewal
driver's license or personal identification certificate and a
failure to apply to the department as required by this paragraph
results in the automatic revocation of any driver's license or
personal identification certificate issued by the department to the
person;
(F) the person must notify appropriate entities
of any change in status as described by Article 62.057; [and]
(G) certain types of employment are prohibited
under Article 62.063 for a person with a reportable conviction or
adjudication for a sexually violent offense involving a victim
younger than 14 years of age occurring on or after September 1,
2013; and
(H) if the person enters the premises of a school
as described by Article 62.064 and is subject to the requirements of
that article, the person must immediately notify the administrative
office of the school of the person's presence and the person's
registration status under this chapter;
(2) require the person to sign a written statement
that the person was informed of the person's duties as described by
Subdivision (1) or Subsection (g) or, if the person refuses to sign
the statement, certify that the person was so informed;
(3) obtain the address or, if applicable, a detailed
description of each geographical location where the person expects
to reside on the person's release and other registration
information, including a photograph and complete set of
fingerprints; and
(4) complete the registration form for the person.
SECTION 2. Article 62.058, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:
(g) A local law enforcement authority who provides a person
with a registration form for verification as required by this
chapter shall include with the form a statement and, if applicable,
a description of the person's duty to provide notice under Article
62.064.
SECTION 3. Subchapter B, Chapter 62, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended by adding Article 62.064 to read as follows:
Art. 62.064. ENTRY ONTO SCHOOL PREMISES; NOTICE REQUIRED.
(a) In this article:
(1) "Premises" means a building or portion of a
building and the grounds on which the building is located,
including any public or private driveway, street, sidewalk or
walkway, parking lot, or parking garage on the grounds.
(2) "School" has the meaning assigned by Section
481.134, Health and Safety Code.
(b) A person subject to registration under this chapter who
enters the premises of any school in this state during the standard
operating hours of the school shall immediately notify the
administrative office of the school of the person's presence on the
premises of the school and the person's registration status under
this chapter. The office may provide a chaperon to accompany the
person while the person is on the premises of the school.
(c) The requirements of this article:
(1) are in addition to any requirement associated with
the imposition of a child safety zone on the person under Section
508.187, Government Code, or Article 42A.453 of this code; and
(2) do not apply to:
(A) a student enrolled at the school;
(B) a student from another school participating
at an event at the school; or
(C) a person who has entered into a written
agreement with the school that exempts the person from those
requirements.
SECTION 4. 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 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) include an explanation of the provisions regarding
refusal of entry to or ejection from district property under
Section 37.105, including the appeal process established under
Section 37.105(h).
SECTION 5. Section 37.105, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 37.105. UNAUTHORIZED PERSONS: REFUSAL OF ENTRY,
EJECTION, IDENTIFICATION. (a) A school administrator, school
resource officer, or school district peace officer [The board of
trustees] of a school district [or its authorized representative]
may refuse to allow a person [without legitimate business] to enter
on or [property under the board's control and] may eject a [any
undesirable] person from [the] property under the district's
control if the person refuses [on the person's refusal] to leave
peaceably on request and:
(1) the person poses a substantial risk of harm to any
person; or
(2) the person behaves in a manner that is
inappropriate for a school setting and:
(A) the administrator, resource officer, or
peace officer issues a verbal warning to the person that the
person's behavior is inappropriate and may result in the person's
refusal of entry or ejection; and
(B) the person persists in that behavior.
(b) Identification may be required of any person on the
property.
(c) Each school district shall maintain a record of each
verbal warning issued under Subsection (a)(2)(A), including the
name of the person to whom the warning was issued and the date of
issuance.
(d) At the time a person is refused entry to or ejected from
a school district's property under this section, the district shall
provide to the person written information explaining the appeal
process established under Subsection (h).
(e) If a parent or guardian of a child enrolled in a school
district is refused entry to the district's property under this
section, the district shall accommodate the parent or guardian to
ensure that the parent or guardian may participate in the child's
admission, review, and dismissal committee or in the child's team
established under Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29
U.S.C. Section 794), in accordance with federal law.
(f) The term of a person's refusal of entry to or ejection
from a school district's property under this section may not exceed
two years.
(g) A school district shall post on the district's Internet
website and each district campus shall post on any Internet website
of the campus a notice regarding the provisions of this section,
including the appeal process established under Subsection (h).
(h) The commissioner shall adopt rules to implement this
section, including rules establishing a process for a person to
appeal to the board of trustees of the school district the decision
under Subsection (a) to refuse the person's entry to or eject the
person from the district's property.
SECTION 6. Articles 62.053 and 62.058, Code of Criminal
Procedure, as amended by this Act, and Article 62.064, Code of
Criminal Procedure, as added by this Act, apply to a person subject
to registration under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure, for
an offense committed or conduct that occurs before, on, or after
September 1, 2017.
SECTION 7. Section 37.001(a), Education Code, as reenacted
and amended by this Act, and Section 37.105, Education Code, as
amended by this Act, apply beginning with the 2017-2018 school
year.
SECTION 8. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of
this section, 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. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2017.
(b) Articles 62.053 and 62.058, Code of Criminal Procedure,
as amended by this Act, and Article 62.064, Code of Criminal
Procedure, as added by this Act, take effect September 1, 2017.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1553 passed the Senate on
May 15, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 29, Nays 2;
May 26, 2017, Senate refused to concur in House amendments and
requested appointment of Conference Committee; May 27, 2017, House
granted request of the Senate; May 28, 2017, Senate adopted
Conference Committee Report by the following vote: Yeas 27,
Nays 4.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1553 passed the House, with
amendments, on May 24, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 138,
Nays 5, two present not voting; May 27, 2017, House granted request
of the Senate for appointment of Conference Committee;
May 28, 2017, House adopted Conference Committee Report by the
following vote: Yeas 132, Nays 13, two present not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
______________________________
Date
______________________________
Governor