| 1 | 1 | | 88R3168 MEW-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: VanDeaver H.B. No. 1066 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to a psychological assessment of homicidal risk of a |
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| 8 | 8 | | public school student following the student's expulsion or |
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| 9 | 9 | | placement in a disciplinary alternative education program for |
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| 10 | 10 | | certain conduct. |
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| 11 | 11 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 12 | 12 | | SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 37, Education Code, is |
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| 13 | 13 | | amended by adding Section 37.025 to read as follows: |
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| 14 | 14 | | Sec. 37.025. PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF HOMICIDAL RISK |
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| 15 | 15 | | REQUIRED FOR CERTAIN STUDENTS TO RETURN TO REGULAR CLASSROOM OR |
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| 16 | 16 | | CAMPUS. (a) This section applies to a student who was expelled or |
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| 17 | 17 | | placed in a disciplinary alternative education program for: |
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| 18 | 18 | | (1) engaging in conduct that contains the elements of |
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| 19 | 19 | | the offense of unlawfully carrying weapons under Section 46.02, |
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| 20 | 20 | | Penal Code, or an offense relating to prohibited weapons under |
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| 21 | 21 | | Section 46.05, Penal Code; or |
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| 22 | 22 | | (2) engaging in conduct involving a public school that |
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| 23 | 23 | | contains the elements of the offense of false alarm or report under |
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| 24 | 24 | | Section 42.06, Penal Code, or terroristic threat under Section |
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| 25 | 25 | | 22.07, Penal Code. |
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| 26 | 26 | | (b) Not later than the seventh day before the proposed date |
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| 27 | 27 | | of the transition of a student described by Subsection (a) to a |
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| 28 | 28 | | regular classroom or campus, the school district shall require the |
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| 29 | 29 | | student to undergo a psychological assessment of homicidal risk. |
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| 30 | 30 | | The assessment must be conducted by a psychologist, and the results |
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| 31 | 31 | | of the assessment must be provided to the district. |
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| 32 | 32 | | (c) Not later than the third day after the date on which a |
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| 33 | 33 | | school district receives the results of a student's psychological |
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| 34 | 34 | | assessment of homicidal risk under Subsection (b), the campus |
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| 35 | 35 | | behavior coordinator or other appropriate administrator at the |
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| 36 | 36 | | student's assigned campus shall schedule a conference among the |
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| 37 | 37 | | campus behavior coordinator or other appropriate administrator, |
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| 38 | 38 | | the student, the student's parent or person standing in parental |
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| 39 | 39 | | relation to the student, and the psychologist who conducted the |
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| 40 | 40 | | assessment. At the conference, the student is entitled to a written |
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| 41 | 41 | | copy of the results of the student's assessment and an opportunity |
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| 42 | 42 | | to respond to those results. The student may not be returned to a |
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| 43 | 43 | | regular classroom or campus pending the conference. |
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| 44 | 44 | | (d) Following a conference under Subsection (c), the campus |
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| 45 | 45 | | behavior coordinator or other appropriate administrator shall |
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| 46 | 46 | | determine whether, based on the results of the student's assessment |
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| 47 | 47 | | and information provided at the conference, the student's presence |
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| 48 | 48 | | in a regular classroom or at a regular campus would pose a risk |
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| 49 | 49 | | because the student's presence would: |
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| 50 | 50 | | (1) threaten the safety of other students or district |
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| 51 | 51 | | employees; or |
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| 52 | 52 | | (2) be detrimental to the educational process. |
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| 53 | 53 | | (e) If the campus behavior coordinator or other appropriate |
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| 54 | 54 | | administrator makes a determination that a student's presence in a |
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| 55 | 55 | | regular classroom or at a regular campus would pose a risk under |
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| 56 | 56 | | Subsection (d), the student may not be returned to a regular |
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| 57 | 57 | | classroom or campus. |
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| 58 | 58 | | (f) If school district policy allows a student to appeal to |
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| 59 | 59 | | the board of trustees or the board's designee a determination of the |
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| 60 | 60 | | campus behavior coordinator or other appropriate administrator |
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| 61 | 61 | | under Subsection (d), the decision of the board or the board's |
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| 62 | 62 | | designee is final and may not be appealed. |
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| 63 | 63 | | (g) Not later than the 45th day after the date a campus |
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| 64 | 64 | | behavior coordinator or other appropriate administrator makes a |
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| 65 | 65 | | determination described by Subsection (e) regarding a student, the |
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| 66 | 66 | | school district in which the student resides shall require the |
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| 67 | 67 | | student to undergo another psychological assessment of homicidal |
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| 68 | 68 | | risk in accordance with this section. |
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| 69 | 69 | | (h) A psychological assessment of homicidal risk conducted |
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| 70 | 70 | | under this section shall be provided to a student at no cost to the |
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| 71 | 71 | | student or the student's parent or person standing in parental |
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| 72 | 72 | | relation to the student. |
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| 73 | 73 | | (i) The commissioner shall adopt rules necessary to |
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| 74 | 74 | | implement this section. |
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| 75 | 75 | | SECTION 2. This Act applies beginning with the 2023-2024 |
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| 76 | 76 | | school year. |
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| 77 | 77 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 78 | 78 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 79 | 79 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 80 | 80 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 81 | 81 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |
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