Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3198 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	88R10128 MLH-F
2	2	By: Noble H.B. No. 3198
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to criminal history record information and certain
8	8	registry information accessible to certain educational and
9	9	child-care entities and information required for employment in
10	10	certain child-care facilities.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Section 22.0825(b), Education Code, is amended
13	13	to read as follows:
14	14	(b) The agency shall subscribe to the criminal history
15	15	clearinghouse as provided by Section 411.0845, Government Code, and
16	16	may obtain from any law enforcement or criminal justice agency all
17	17	criminal history record information and all records contained in
18	18	any closed criminal investigation file that relate to a specific
19	19	applicant for employment or current or former employee of a school
20	20	district, district of innovation, open-enrollment charter school,
21	21	other charter entity, private school that is accredited by an
22	22	accrediting agency that is a member of the Texas Private School
23	23	Accreditation Commission, regional education service center, or
24	24	shared services arrangement.
25	25	SECTION 2. Section 22.083, Education Code, is amended by
26	26	adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:
27	27	(b-1) A private school that is accredited by an accrediting
28	28	agency that is a member of the Texas Private School Accreditation
29	29	Commission may obtain the criminal history record information
30	30	described by Subsection (b) from the agency.
31	31	SECTION 3. Section 22.092(d), Education Code, is amended to
32	32	read as follows:
33	33	(d) The agency shall provide equivalent access to the
34	34	registry maintained under this section to:
35	35	(1) private schools;
36	36	(2) public schools; [and]
37	37	(3) child-care facilities and family homes licensed,
38	38	certified, registered, or listed under Chapter 42, Human Resources
39	39	Code; and
40	40	(4) nonprofit teacher organizations approved by the
41	41	commissioner for the purpose of participating in the tutoring
42	42	program established under Section 33.913.
43	43	SECTION 4. Section 261.002, Family Code, is amended by
44	44	amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (d), (e), and (f) to
45	45	read as follows:
46	46	(b) The executive commissioner shall adopt rules necessary
47	47	to carry out this section. The rules shall:
48	48	(1) prohibit the department from making a finding of
49	49	abuse or neglect against a person in a case in which the department
50	50	is named managing conservator of a child who has a severe emotional
51	51	disturbance only because the child's family is unable to obtain
52	52	mental health services for the child;
53	53	(2) establish guidelines for reviewing the records in
54	54	the registry and removing those records in which the department was
55	55	named managing conservator of a child who has a severe emotional
56	56	disturbance only because the child's family was unable to obtain
57	57	mental health services for the child;
58	58	(3) require the department to remove a person's name
59	59	from the central registry maintained under this section not later
60	60	than the 10th business day after the date the department receives
61	61	notice that a finding of abuse and neglect against the person is
62	62	overturned in:
63	63	(A) an administrative review or an appeal of the
64	64	review conducted under Section 261.309(c);
65	65	(B) a review or an appeal of the review conducted
66	66	by the office of consumer affairs of the department; or
67	67	(C) a hearing or an appeal conducted by the State
68	68	Office of Administrative Hearings; [and]
69	69	(4) require the department to update any relevant
70	70	department files to reflect an overturned finding of abuse or
71	71	neglect against a person not later than the 10th business day after
72	72	the date the finding is overturned in a review, hearing, or appeal
73	73	described by Subdivision (3); and
74	74	(5) establish guidelines for providing access to the
75	75	registry to entities as required by Subsection (d).
76	76	(d) The department shall provide access to the central
77	77	registry maintained under this section to:
78	78	(1) a facility, home, or agency:
79	79	(A) licensed, certified, registered, or listed
80	80	under Chapter 42, Human Resources Code; or
81	81	(B) exempt from the licensing requirements under
82	82	Section 42.041(b), Human Resources Code;
83	83	(2) an independent school district;
84	84	(3) an open-enrollment charter school; and
85	85	(4) a private school accredited by an organization
86	86	recognized by:
87	87	(A) the Texas Education Agency; or
88	88	(B) the Texas Private School Accreditation
89	89	Commission.
90	90	(e) A state agency that maintains records of abuse and
91	91	neglect findings, including the Texas Education Agency, shall:
92	92	(1) provide a copy of the records to the department not
93	93	later than the 10th day after the date the state agency receives the
94	94	records; or
95	95	(2) if the state agency makes a finding of abuse or
96	96	neglect, provide a copy of the record to the department not later
97	97	than the 10th day after the date the agency makes the finding.
98	98	(f) The department shall include information from a record
99	99	provided under Subsection (e) in the central registry under this
100	100	section.
101	101	SECTION 5. Subchapter C, Chapter 42, Human Resources Code,
102	102	is amended by adding Section 42.0563 to read as follows:
103	103	Sec. 42.0563. PRE-EMPLOYMENT AFFIDAVIT. (a) An applicant
104	104	for a position with a child-care facility must submit, using a form
105	105	adopted by the department, a pre-employment affidavit disclosing
106	106	whether the applicant has ever been charged with, adjudicated for,
107	107	or convicted of having an inappropriate relationship with a minor.
108	108	(b) An applicant who answers affirmatively concerning an
109	109	inappropriate relationship with a minor must disclose in the
110	110	affidavit all relevant facts pertaining to the charge,
111	111	adjudication, or conviction, including, for a charge, whether the
112	112	charge was determined to be true or false.
113	113	(c) An applicant is not precluded from being employed based
114	114	on a disclosed charge if the employing entity determines based on
115	115	the information disclosed in the affidavit that the charge was
116	116	false.
117	117	(d) A determination that an employee failed to disclose
118	118	information required to be disclosed by an applicant under this
119	119	section is grounds for termination of employment.
120	120	SECTION 6. Section 411.0901(a), Government Code, is amended
121	121	to read as follows:
122	122	(a) The Texas Education Agency is entitled to obtain
123	123	criminal history record information maintained by the department
124	124	about a person who:
125	125	(1) is employed or is an applicant for employment by a
126	126	school district, [or] open-enrollment charter school, or private
127	127	school that is accredited by an accrediting agency that is a member
128	128	of the Texas Private School Accreditation Commission;
129	129	(2) is employed or is an applicant for employment by a
130	130	shared services arrangement, if the employee's or applicant's
131	131	duties are or will be performed on school property or at another
132	132	location where students are regularly present; or
133	133	(3) is employed or is an applicant for employment by an
134	134	entity that contracts with a school district, open-enrollment
135	135	charter school, or shared services arrangement if:
136	136	(A) the employee or applicant has or will have
137	137	continuing duties relating to the contracted services; and
138	138	(B) the employee or applicant has or will have
139	139	direct contact with students.
140	140	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
141	141	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
142	142	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
143	143	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
144	144	Act takes effect September 1, 2023.