Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4107 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	86R4834 LHC-D
2	2	By: Wu H.B. No. 4107
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to establishing a restorative justice program for certain
8	8	student conduct constituting a criminal offense that occurs on
9	9	school property, on school transportation, or at school-sponsored
10	10	or school-related activities.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
13	13	amended by adding Section 37.086 to read as follows:
14	14	Sec. 37.086. RESTORATIVE JUSTICE PROGRAM. (a) In this
15	15	section, "student" means a child who is at least 10 years of age and
16	16	younger than 17 years of age and who is enrolled in a public school.
17	17	(b) This section applies only to a student who engages in
18	18	conduct that constitutes an offense:
19	19	(1) other than:
20	20	(A) a felony;
21	21	(B) an offense under Section 22.07, 42.06, or
22	22	46.08, Penal Code; or
23	23	(C) an offense that involved the possession,
24	24	exhibition, or use of a firearm, location-restricted knife, or
25	25	club, as defined by Section 46.01, Penal Code, a deadly weapon, as
26	26	defined by Section 1.07, Penal Code, or a prohibited weapon, as
27	27	described by Section 46.05, Penal Code; and
28	28	(2) that occurs:
29	29	(A) on school property;
30	30	(B) while attending a school-sponsored or
31	31	school-related activity; or
32	32	(C) on a publicly or privately owned school bus
33	33	or vehicle being used for transportation of students to or from
34	34	school or a school-sponsored or school-related activity on or off
35	35	of school property.
36	36	(c) Each school district or open-enrollment charter school
37	37	shall develop and implement a restorative justice program for
38	38	students who engage in conduct described by Subsection (b) that:
39	39	(1) educates the students regarding the harm caused to
40	40	the victims; and
41	41	(2) emphasizes the importance of an offending
42	42	student's reparation of harm caused to the victim.
43	43	(d) Notwithstanding any other law, except as provided by
44	44	Subsection (e)(1) or Subchapter E-1, before referring a student to
45	45	a juvenile or criminal court for conduct described by Subsection
46	46	(b), a school district or open-enrollment charter school shall
47	47	refer the student to the school district's or school's restorative
48	48	justice program.
49	49	(e) A school district or open-enrollment charter school may
50	50	refer a student to juvenile or criminal court for conduct described
51	51	by Subsection (b) only if:
52	52	(1) the school district or school determines that the
53	53	restorative justice program is not appropriate for the student's
54	54	conduct; or
55	55	(2) the student has previously failed to comply with
56	56	or complete the restorative justice program.
57	57	SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
58	58	conduct that occurs on or after the effective date of this Act.
59	59	Conduct that occurs before the effective date of this Act is
60	60	governed by the law in effect on the date the conduct occurred, and
61	61	the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For the
62	62	purposes of this section, conduct occurred before the effective
63	63	date of this Act if any element of the conduct occurred before that
64	64	date.
65	65	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.