Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB2225 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	85R12194 KJE-D
2	2	By: Rodríguez S.B. No. 2225
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to speech protections for student newspapers in public
8	8	schools.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Subchapter Z, Chapter 25, Education Code, is
11	11	amended by adding Section 25.904 to read as follows:
12	12	Sec. 25.904. STUDENT NEWSPAPER. (a) In this section,
13	13	"protected speech" means speech protected by the First Amendment to
14	14	the United States Constitution or by Section 8, Article I, Texas
15	15	Constitution.
16	16	(b) The board of trustees of a school district shall adopt a
17	17	policy providing for freedom of the press for students who publish a
18	18	student newspaper as part of a journalism, newspaper, yearbook, or
19	19	writing course or club, regardless of whether the newspaper is
20	20	published using the district's money, equipment, or facilities.
21	21	(c) The policy must:
22	22	(1) permit students to determine the content of the
23	23	newspaper, so long as the content constitutes protected speech;
24	24	(2) prohibit the school district or any employee of
25	25	the district from censoring protected speech or from punishing a
26	26	student for engaging in protected speech; and
27	27	(3) limit the scope and duration of a district
28	28	employee's review of the newspaper before publication only to what
29	29	is reasonably necessary to:
30	30	(A) determine whether the newspaper contains
31	31	content other than protected speech; and
32	32	(B) if appropriate, remove content other than
33	33	protected speech from the newspaper.
34	34	(d) The publication of a student newspaper may not be
35	35	unreasonably delayed for purposes of conducting a review described
36	36	by Subsection (c)(3).
37	37	(e) An employee of a school district may not be subjected to
38	38	disciplinary action or any other form of punishment or retaliation
39	39	for acting to protect or refusing to infringe upon a student's
40	40	rights as provided by this section.
41	41	(f) The commissioner shall adopt rules as necessary to
42	42	implement this section, including rules establishing a process for
43	43	a student to appeal a school district employee's removal of content
44	44	from a student newspaper.
45	45	SECTION 2. Section 12.104(b), Education Code, is amended to
46	46	read as follows:
47	47	(b) An open-enrollment charter school is subject to:
48	48	(1) a provision of this title establishing a criminal
49	49	offense; and
50	50	(2) a prohibition, restriction, or requirement, as
51	51	applicable, imposed by this title or a rule adopted under this
52	52	title, relating to:
53	53	(A) the Public Education Information Management
54	54	System (PEIMS) to the extent necessary to monitor compliance with
55	55	this subchapter as determined by the commissioner;
56	56	(B) criminal history records under Subchapter C,
57	57	Chapter 22;
58	58	(C) reading instruments and accelerated reading
59	59	instruction programs under Section 28.006;
60	60	(D) accelerated instruction under Section
61	61	28.0211;
62	62	(E) high school graduation requirements under
63	63	Section 28.025;
64	64	(F) special education programs under Subchapter
65	65	A, Chapter 29;
66	66	(G) bilingual education under Subchapter B,
67	67	Chapter 29;
68	68	(H) prekindergarten programs under Subchapter E
69	69	or E-1, Chapter 29;
70	70	(I) extracurricular activities under Section
71	71	33.081;
72	72	(J) discipline management practices or behavior
73	73	management techniques under Section 37.0021;
74	74	(K) health and safety under Chapter 38;
75	75	(L) public school accountability under
76	76	Subchapters B, C, D, E, F, G, and J, Chapter 39;
77	77	(M) the requirement under Section 21.006 to
78	78	report an educator's misconduct;
79	79	(N) intensive programs of instruction under
80	80	Section 28.0213; [and]
81	81	(O) the right of a school employee to report a
82	82	crime, as provided by Section 37.148; and
83	83	(P) speech protections for student newspapers
84	84	under Section 25.904.
85	85	SECTION 3. This Act applies beginning with the 2017-2018
86	86	school year.
87	87	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
88	88	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
89	89	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
90	90	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
91	91	Act takes effect September 1, 2017.