Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB514 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	86R3124 KJE-F
2	2	By: Rodríguez S.B. No. 514
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to speech protections for student publications 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 25.903 to read as follows:
12	12	Sec. 25.903. STUDENT PUBLICATIONS. (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. The term does not include speech that:
16	16	(1) is obscene or libelous;
17	17	(2) is intended to incite the imminent commission of a
18	18	crime or violation of school policy and is likely to produce that
19	19	result; or
20	20	(3) substantially disrupts a school's operation.
21	21	(b) The board of trustees of a school district shall adopt a
22	22	written policy establishing rules regarding students' right to
23	23	exercise freedom of the press at school. The board may not impose
24	24	greater restrictions on publications produced using the district's
25	25	money, equipment, or facilities than those imposed on publications
26	26	not produced using those resources.
27	27	(c) The policy must:
28	28	(1) permit students, under the guidance of a
29	29	journalism or student publication advisor employed by the school
30	30	district, to determine the content of the publication, so long as
31	31	the content constitutes protected speech;
32	32	(2) prohibit the school district or any employee of
33	33	the district from censoring protected speech or from punishing a
34	34	student for engaging in protected speech; and
35	35	(3) limit the scope and duration of a district
36	36	employee's review of the publication before being published only to
37	37	what is reasonably necessary to:
38	38	(A) determine whether the publication contains
39	39	content other than protected speech; and
40	40	(B) if appropriate, remove content other than
41	41	protected speech from the publication.
42	42	(d) The publication of a student publication may not be
43	43	unreasonably delayed for purposes of conducting a review described
44	44	by Subsection (c)(3).
45	45	(e) An employee of a school district may not be subjected to
46	46	disciplinary action or any other form of punishment or retaliation
47	47	for acting to protect or refusing to infringe upon a student's
48	48	rights as provided by this section.
49	49	(f) The commissioner shall adopt rules as necessary to
50	50	implement this section, including rules establishing a process for
51	51	a student to appeal a school district employee's removal of content
52	52	from a student publication.
53	53	SECTION 2. Section 12.104(b), Education Code, as amended by
54	54	Chapters 324 (S.B. 1488), 522 (S.B. 179), and 735 (S.B. 1153), Acts
55	55	of the 85th Legislature, Regular Session, 2017, is reenacted and
56	56	amended to read as follows:
57	57	(b) An open-enrollment charter school is subject to:
58	58	(1) a provision of this title establishing a criminal
59	59	offense; and
60	60	(2) a prohibition, restriction, or requirement, as
61	61	applicable, imposed by this title or a rule adopted under this
62	62	title, relating to:
63	63	(A) the Public Education Information Management
64	64	System (PEIMS) to the extent necessary to monitor compliance with
65	65	this subchapter as determined by the commissioner;
66	66	(B) criminal history records under Subchapter C,
67	67	Chapter 22;
68	68	(C) reading instruments and accelerated reading
69	69	instruction programs under Section 28.006;
70	70	(D) accelerated instruction under Section
71	71	28.0211;
72	72	(E) high school graduation requirements under
73	73	Section 28.025;
74	74	(F) special education programs under Subchapter
75	75	A, Chapter 29;
76	76	(G) bilingual education under Subchapter B,
77	77	Chapter 29;
78	78	(H) prekindergarten programs under Subchapter E
79	79	or E-1, Chapter 29;
80	80	(I) extracurricular activities under Section
81	81	33.081;
82	82	(J) discipline management practices or behavior
83	83	management techniques under Section 37.0021;
84	84	(K) health and safety under Chapter 38;
85	85	(L) public school accountability under
86	86	Subchapters B, C, D, F, G, and J, Chapter 39, and Chapter 39A;
87	87	(M) the requirement under Section 21.006 to
88	88	report an educator's misconduct;
89	89	(N) intensive programs of instruction under
90	90	Section 28.0213;
91	91	(O) the right of a school employee to report a
92	92	crime, as provided by Section 37.148; [and]
93	93	(P) bullying prevention policies and procedures
94	94	under Section 37.0832;
95	95	(Q) the right of a school under Section 37.0052
96	96	to place a student who has engaged in certain bullying behavior in a
97	97	disciplinary alternative education program or to expel the student;
98	98	[and]
99	99	(R) the right under Section 37.0151 to report to
100	100	local law enforcement certain conduct constituting assault or
101	101	harassment;
102	102	(S) [(P)] a parent's right to information
103	103	regarding the provision of assistance for learning difficulties to
104	104	the parent's child as provided by Sections 26.004(b)(11) and
105	105	26.0081(c) and (d); and
106	106	(T) speech protections for student publications
107	107	under Section 25.903.
108	108	SECTION 3. This Act applies beginning with the 2019-2020
109	109	school year.
110	110	SECTION 4. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails
111	111	over another Act of the 86th Legislature, Regular Session, 2019,
112	112	relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
113	113	codes.
114	114	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
115	115	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
116	116	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
117	117	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
118	118	Act takes effect September 1, 2019.