86R3124 KJE-F
By: González of El Paso H.B. No. 2244
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to speech protections for student publications in public
schools.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter Z, Chapter 25, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 25.903 to read as follows:
Sec. 25.903. STUDENT PUBLICATIONS. (a) In this section,
"protected speech" means speech protected by the First Amendment to
the United States Constitution or by Section 8, Article I, Texas
Constitution. The term does not include speech that:
(1) is obscene or libelous;
(2) is intended to incite the imminent commission of a
crime or violation of school policy and is likely to produce that
result; or
(3) substantially disrupts a school's operation.
(b) The board of trustees of a school district shall adopt a
written policy establishing rules regarding students' right to
exercise freedom of the press at school. The board may not impose
greater restrictions on publications produced using the district's
money, equipment, or facilities than those imposed on publications
not produced using those resources.
(c) The policy must:
(1) permit students, under the guidance of a
journalism or student publication advisor employed by the school
district, to determine the content of the publication, so long as
the content constitutes protected speech;
(2) prohibit the school district or any employee of
the district from censoring protected speech or from punishing a
student for engaging in protected speech; and
(3) limit the scope and duration of a district
employee's review of the publication before being published only to
what is reasonably necessary to:
(A) determine whether the publication contains
content other than protected speech; and
(B) if appropriate, remove content other than
protected speech from the publication.
(d) The publication of a student publication may not be
unreasonably delayed for purposes of conducting a review described
by Subsection (c)(3).
(e) An employee of a school district may not be subjected to
disciplinary action or any other form of punishment or retaliation
for acting to protect or refusing to infringe upon a student's
rights as provided by this section.
(f) The commissioner shall adopt rules as necessary to
implement this section, including rules establishing a process for
a student to appeal a school district employee's removal of content
from a student publication.
SECTION 2. Section 12.104(b), Education Code, as amended by
Chapters 324 (S.B. 1488), 522 (S.B. 179), and 735 (S.B. 1153), Acts
of the 85th Legislature, Regular Session, 2017, is reenacted and
amended to read as follows:
(b) An open-enrollment charter school is subject to:
(1) a provision of this title establishing a criminal
offense; and
(2) a prohibition, restriction, or requirement, as
applicable, imposed by this title or a rule adopted under this
title, relating to:
(A) the Public Education Information Management
System (PEIMS) to the extent necessary to monitor compliance with
this subchapter as determined by the commissioner;
(B) criminal history records under Subchapter C,
Chapter 22;
(C) reading instruments and accelerated reading
instruction programs under Section 28.006;
(D) accelerated instruction under Section
28.0211;
(E) high school graduation requirements under
Section 28.025;
(F) special education programs under Subchapter
A, Chapter 29;
(G) bilingual education under Subchapter B,
Chapter 29;
(H) prekindergarten programs under Subchapter E
or E-1, Chapter 29;
(I) extracurricular activities under Section
33.081;
(J) discipline management practices or behavior
management techniques under Section 37.0021;
(K) health and safety under Chapter 38;
(L) public school accountability under
Subchapters B, C, D, F, G, and J, Chapter 39, and Chapter 39A;
(M) the requirement under Section 21.006 to
report an educator's misconduct;
(N) intensive programs of instruction under
Section 28.0213;
(O) the right of a school employee to report a
crime, as provided by Section 37.148; [and]
(P) bullying prevention policies and procedures
under Section 37.0832;
(Q) the right of a school under Section 37.0052
to place a student who has engaged in certain bullying behavior in a
disciplinary alternative education program or to expel the student;
[and]
(R) the right under Section 37.0151 to report to
local law enforcement certain conduct constituting assault or
harassment;
(S) [(P)] a parent's right to information
regarding the provision of assistance for learning difficulties to
the parent's child as provided by Sections 26.004(b)(11) and
26.0081(c) and (d); and
(T) speech protections for student publications
under Section 25.903.
SECTION 3. This Act applies beginning with the 2019-2020
school year.
SECTION 4. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails
over another Act of the 86th Legislature, Regular Session, 2019,
relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
codes.
SECTION 5. 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, 2019.