Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas House Bill HB422 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87R3508 KJE-F
2	2	By: González of El Paso H.B. No. 422
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 a student's 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 262 (H.B. 1597), 464 (S.B. 11), 467 (H.B. 4170), and 943
55	55	(H.B. 3), Acts of the 86th Legislature, Regular Session, 2019, is
56	56	reenacted and 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;
60	60	(2) the provisions in Chapter 554, Government Code;
61	61	and
62	62	(3) a prohibition, restriction, or requirement, as
63	63	applicable, imposed by this title or a rule adopted under this
64	64	title, relating to:
65	65	(A) the Public Education Information Management
66	66	System (PEIMS) to the extent necessary to monitor compliance with
67	67	this subchapter as determined by the commissioner;
68	68	(B) criminal history records under Subchapter C,
69	69	Chapter 22;
70	70	(C) reading instruments and accelerated reading
71	71	instruction programs under Section 28.006;
72	72	(D) accelerated instruction under Section
73	73	28.0211;
74	74	(E) high school graduation requirements under
75	75	Section 28.025;
76	76	(F) special education programs under Subchapter
77	77	A, Chapter 29;
78	78	(G) bilingual education under Subchapter B,
79	79	Chapter 29;
80	80	(H) prekindergarten programs under Subchapter E
81	81	or E-1, Chapter 29;
82	82	(I) extracurricular activities under Section
83	83	33.081;
84	84	(J) discipline management practices or behavior
85	85	management techniques under Section 37.0021;
86	86	(K) health and safety under Chapter 38;
87	87	(L) public school accountability under
88	88	Subchapters B, C, D, F, G, and J, Chapter 39, and Chapter 39A;
89	89	(M) the requirement under Section 21.006 to
90	90	report an educator's misconduct;
91	91	(N) intensive programs of instruction under
92	92	Section 28.0213;
93	93	(O) the right of a school employee to report a
94	94	crime, as provided by Section 37.148;
95	95	(P) bullying prevention policies and procedures
96	96	under Section 37.0832;
97	97	(Q) the right of a school under Section 37.0052
98	98	to place a student who has engaged in certain bullying behavior in a
99	99	disciplinary alternative education program or to expel the student;
100	100	(R) the right under Section 37.0151 to report to
101	101	local law enforcement certain conduct constituting assault or
102	102	harassment;
103	103	(S) a parent's right to information regarding the
104	104	provision of assistance for learning difficulties to the parent's
105	105	child as provided by Sections 26.004(b)(11) and 26.0081(c) and (d);
106	106	(T) establishment of residency under Section
107	107	25.001;
108	108	(U) [(T)] school safety requirements under
109	109	Sections 37.108, 37.1081, 37.1082, 37.109, 37.113, 37.114, 37.115,
110	110	37.207, and 37.2071;
111	111	(V) [(T)] the early childhood literacy and
112	112	mathematics proficiency plans under Section 11.185; [and]
113	113	(W) [(U)] the college, career, and military
114	114	readiness plans under Section 11.186; and
115	115	(X) speech protections for student publications
116	116	under Section 25.903.
117	117	SECTION 3. This Act applies beginning with the 2021-2022
118	118	school year.
119	119	SECTION 4. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails
120	120	over another Act of the 87th Legislature, Regular Session, 2021,
121	121	relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
122	122	codes.
123	123	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
124	124	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
125	125	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
126	126	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
127	127	Act takes effect September 1, 2021.