87R4642 MWC-D
By: Wu H.B. No. 1201
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to alternative settings for behavior management in public
schools, including the development of restorative discipline
practices as part of a school district's discipline and placement
of a student in a disciplinary alternative education program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 37.0012(d), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(d) The campus behavior coordinator shall promptly notify a
student's parent or guardian as provided by this subsection if
under this subchapter the student is placed into in-school or
out-of-school suspension, placed in a disciplinary alternative
education program, expelled, or placed in a juvenile justice
alternative education program or is taken into custody by a law
enforcement officer. A campus behavior coordinator must comply
with this subsection by:
(1) promptly contacting the parent or guardian by
telephone or in person; and
(2) making a good faith effort to provide written
notice [of the disciplinary action] to the student, on the day
disciplinary [the] action is taken, for delivery to the student's
parent or guardian, of:
(A) the action taken; and
(B) any restorative discipline practices used
under Section 37.0017 before action has been taken under
Subparagraph (A).
SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 37.0017 to read as follows:
Sec. 37.0017. USE OF RESTORATIVE DISCIPLINE PRACTICES. (a)
In this section, "restorative discipline practices" includes
practices that address student behavior by building relationships
and encouraging belonging over exclusion, social engagement over
control, and meaningful accountability over punishment.
(b) Each school district and open-enrollment charter school
shall develop and implement restorative discipline practices as
alternatives to disciplinary measures.
(c) If disciplinary action is discretionary under this
subchapter, the campus behavior coordinator or another appropriate
administrator shall attempt restorative discipline practices
developed and implemented under Subsection (b) as an alternative
method for managing a student's behavior before:
(1) placing the student into in-school or
out-of-school suspension;
(2) placing the student in a disciplinary alternative
education program;
(3) expelling the student; or
(4) placing the student in a juvenile justice
alternative education program.
(d) A school district or open-enrollment charter school
shall document each use of a restorative discipline practice
implemented under Subsection (b) and any outcome on student
behavior.
SECTION 3. Sections 37.006(c), (d), and (f), Education
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(c) In addition to Subsections (a) and (b), a student shall
be removed from class and placed in a disciplinary alternative
education program under Section 37.008 based on conduct occurring
off campus and while the student is not in attendance at a
school-sponsored or school-related activity if:
(1) the student receives deferred prosecution under
Section 53.03, Family Code, for conduct defined as[:
[(A)] a felony offense in Title 5, Penal Code[;
or
[(B) the felony offense of aggravated robbery
under Section 29.03, Penal Code];
(2) a court or jury finds that the student has engaged
in delinquent conduct under Section 54.03, Family Code, for conduct
defined as[:
[(A)] a felony offense in Title 5, Penal Code; or
[(B) the felony offense of aggravated robbery
under Section 29.03, Penal Code; or]
(3) the superintendent or the superintendent's
designee has a reasonable belief that the student has engaged in a
conduct defined as[:
[(A)] a felony offense in Title 5, Penal Code[;
or
[(B) the felony offense of aggravated robbery
under Section 29.03, Penal Code].
(d) In addition to Subsections (a), (b), and (c), a student
may be removed from class and placed in a disciplinary alternative
education program under Section 37.008 based on conduct occurring
off campus and while the student is not in attendance at a
school-sponsored or school-related activity if:
(1) the superintendent or the superintendent's
designee has a reasonable belief that the student has engaged in
conduct defined as a felony offense other than an offense
[aggravated robbery under Section 29.03, Penal Code, or those
offenses] defined in Title 5, Penal Code; and
(2) the continued presence of the student in the
regular classroom threatens the safety of other students or
teachers or will be detrimental to the educational process.
(f) Subject to Section 37.007(e), a student who is younger
than 12 [10] years of age shall be removed from class and placed in a
disciplinary alternative education program under Section 37.008 if
the student engages in conduct described by Section 37.007. An
elementary school student may not be placed in a disciplinary
alternative education program with any other student who is not an
elementary school student.
SECTION 4. Sections 37.007(e) and (h), Education Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(e) In accordance with 20 U.S.C. Section 7961 [7151], a
local educational agency, including a school district, home-rule
school district, or open-enrollment charter school, shall expel a
student who brings a firearm, as defined by 18 U.S.C. Section 921,
to school. The student must be expelled from the student's regular
campus for a period of at least one year, except that:
(1) the superintendent or other chief administrative
officer of the school district or of the other local educational
agency, as defined by 20 U.S.C. Section 7801, may modify the length
of the expulsion in the case of an individual student;
(2) the district or other local educational agency
shall provide educational services to an expelled student in a
disciplinary alternative education program as provided by Section
37.008 if the student is younger than 12 [10] years of age on the
date of expulsion; and
(3) the district or other local educational agency may
provide educational services to an expelled student who is 12 [10]
years of age or older in a disciplinary alternative education
program as provided in Section 37.008.
(h) Subject to Subsection (e), notwithstanding any other
provision of this section, a student who is younger than 12 [10]
years of age may not be expelled for engaging in conduct described
by this section.
SECTION 5. Section 37.009, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (d-1) to read as follows:
(d-1) The period of the placement in a disciplinary
alternative education program determined under Subsection (a) or
(d) begins on the first school day after the date the conference is
held under Subsection (a) and includes days the student is:
(1) placed into in-school or out-of-school
suspension;
(2) awaiting placement or enrollment in a disciplinary
alternative education program or juvenile justice alternative
education program; or
(3) otherwise removed from class.
SECTION 6. This Act applies beginning with the 2021-2022
school year.
SECTION 7. 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, 2021.