By: Murr, Cook, Ellzey H.B. No. 246
(Senate Sponsor - Bettencourt)
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 6, 2021;
May 13, 2021, read first time and referred to Committee on
Jurisprudence; May 22, 2021, reported adversely, with favorable
Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 5, Nays 0;
May 22, 2021, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 246 By: Huffman
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the prosecution of the criminal offense of improper
relationship between educator and student.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 21.01(2), Penal Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(2) "Sexual contact" means, except as provided by
Section 21.11 or 21.12, any touching of the anus, breast, or any
part of the genitals of another person with intent to arouse or
gratify the sexual desire of any person.
SECTION 2. Section 21.12, Penal Code, is amended by adding
Subsections (d-1) and (e) to read as follows:
(d-1) Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, a
public or private primary or secondary school, or a person or entity
that operates a public or private primary or secondary school, may
not release externally to the general public the name of an employee
of the school who is accused of committing an offense under this
section until the employee is indicted for the offense. The school,
or the person or entity that operates the school, may release the
name of the accused employee regardless of whether the employee has
been indicted for the offense as necessary for the school to:
(1) report the accusation:
(A) to the Texas Education Agency, another state
agency, or local law enforcement or as otherwise required by law; or
(B) to the school's members or community in
accordance with the school's policies or procedures or with the
religious law observed by the school; or
(2) conduct an investigation of the accusation.
(e) In this section, "sexual contact" means the following
acts, if committed with the intent to arouse or gratify the sexual
desire of any person:
(1) any touching by an employee of a public or private
primary or secondary school of the anus, breast, or any part of the
genitals of:
(A) an enrolled person described by Subsection
(a)(1) or (a)(2)(A); or
(B) a student participant described by
Subsection (a)(2)(B); or
(2) any touching of any part of the body of the
enrolled person or student participant with the anus, breast, or
any part of the genitals of the employee.
SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed,
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
effective date of this Act if any element of the offense was
committed before that date.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.
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