Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1825 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	86R4888 EAS-D
2	2	By: Cortez H.B. No. 1825
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to information a law enforcement agency is required to
8	8	share with a school district about a person who may be a student.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Article 15.27, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
11	11	amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (k-1) to
12	12	read as follows:
13	13	(a) A law enforcement agency that arrests any person or
14	14	refers a child to the office or official designated by the juvenile
15	15	board who the agency believes is enrolled as a student in a public
16	16	primary or secondary school, for an offense listed in Subsection
17	17	(h), shall attempt to ascertain whether the person is so enrolled.
18	18	If the law enforcement agency ascertains that the individual is
19	19	enrolled as a student in a public primary or secondary school, the
20	20	head of the agency or a person designated by the head of the agency
21	21	shall orally notify the superintendent or a person designated by
22	22	the superintendent in the school district in which the student is
23	23	enrolled of that arrest or referral within 24 hours after the arrest
24	24	or referral is made, or before the next school day, whichever is
25	25	earlier. If the law enforcement agency cannot ascertain whether
26	26	the individual is enrolled as a student, the head of the agency or a
27	27	person designated by the head of the agency shall orally notify the
28	28	superintendent or a person designated by the superintendent in the
29	29	school district in which the student is believed to be enrolled of
30	30	that arrest or detention within 24 hours after the arrest or
31	31	detention, or before the next school day, whichever is earlier. If
32	32	the individual is a student, the superintendent or the
33	33	superintendent's designee shall immediately notify all
34	34	instructional and support personnel who have responsibility for
35	35	supervision of the student. All personnel shall keep the
36	36	information received in this subsection confidential. The State
37	37	Board for Educator Certification may revoke or suspend the
38	38	certification of personnel who intentionally violate this
39	39	subsection. Within seven days after the date the oral notice is
40	40	given, the head of the law enforcement agency or the person
41	41	designated by the head of the agency shall mail written
42	42	notification, marked "PERSONAL and CONFIDENTIAL" on the mailing
43	43	envelope, to the superintendent or the person designated by the
44	44	superintendent. The written notification must include the facts
45	45	contained in the oral notification, the name of the person who was
46	46	orally notified, and the date and time of the oral notification.
47	47	Both the oral and written notice shall contain sufficient details
48	48	of the arrest or referral and the acts allegedly committed by the
49	49	student to enable the superintendent or the superintendent's
50	50	designee to determine whether there is a reasonable belief that the
51	51	student has engaged in conduct defined as a felony offense by the
52	52	Penal Code or whether it is necessary to conduct a threat assessment
53	53	or prepare a safety plan related to the student. The information
54	54	contained in the notice shall be considered by the superintendent
55	55	or the superintendent's designee in making such a determination.
56	56	(k-1) In addition to the information provided under
57	57	Subsection (k), the law enforcement agency shall provide to the
58	58	superintendent or superintendent's designee information relating
59	59	to the student that is requested for the purpose of conducting a
60	60	threat assessment or preparing a safety plan relating to that
61	61	student. A school board may enter into a memorandum of
62	62	understanding with a law enforcement agency regarding the exchange
63	63	of information relevant to conducting a threat assessment or
64	64	preparing a safety plan. Absent a memorandum of understanding, the
65	65	information requested by the superintendent or the
66	66	superintendent's designee shall be considered relevant.
67	67	SECTION 2. Section 37.006(e), Education Code, is amended to
68	68	read as follows:
69	69	(e) In determining whether there is a reasonable belief that
70	70	a student has engaged in conduct defined as a felony offense by the
71	71	Penal Code, the superintendent or the superintendent's designee may
72	72	consider all available information, including the information
73	73	furnished under Article 15.27, Code of Criminal Procedure, other
74	74	than information requested under Article 15.27(k-1), Code of
75	75	Criminal Procedure.
76	76	SECTION 3. Section 58.008(d), Family Code, is amended to
77	77	read as follows:
78	78	(d) Law enforcement records concerning a child may be
79	79	inspected or copied by:
80	80	(1) a juvenile justice agency, as defined by Section
81	81	58.101;
82	82	(2) a criminal justice agency, as defined by Section
83	83	411.082, Government Code;
84	84	(3) the child; [or]
85	85	(4) the child's parent or guardian; or
86	86	(5) the superintendent or superintendent's designee of
87	87	a public primary or secondary school where the child is enrolled
88	88	only for the purpose of conducting a threat assessment or preparing
89	89	a safety plan related to the child.
90	90	SECTION 4. Article 15.27(a), Code of Criminal Procedure, as
91	91	amended by this Act, and Article 15.27(k-1), Code of Criminal
92	92	Procedure, as added by this Act, apply only to information related
93	93	to an arrest or referral made on or after the effective date of this
94	94	Act.
95	95	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.