Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1488 Compare Versions

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1	1	88R9585 MCF-D
2	2	By: Creighton S.B. No. 1488
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to truancy and the offense of a parent contributing to
8	8	nonattendance; creating an offense; increasing a criminal penalty.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Article 45.0541(a), Code of Criminal Procedure,
11	11	is amended to read as follows:
12	12	(a) In this article, "truancy offense" means an offense
13	13	committed under:
14	14	(1) the former Section 25.094, Education Code; or
15	15	(2) Section 65.003, Family Code.
16	16	SECTION 2. Section 25.093(c), Education Code, is amended to
17	17	read as follows:
18	18	(c) An offense under Subsection (a) is a Class C
19	19	misdemeanor[, punishable by fine only, in an amount not to exceed:
20	20	[(1) $100 for a first offense;
21	21	[(2) $200 for a second offense;
22	22	[(3) $300 for a third offense;
23	23	[(4) $400 for a fourth offense; or
24	24	[(5) $500 for a fifth or subsequent offense].
25	25	SECTION 3. Section 25.095(a), Education Code, is amended to
26	26	read as follows:
27	27	(a) A school district or open-enrollment charter school
28	28	shall notify a student's parent in writing at the beginning of the
29	29	school year that if the student is absent from school on 10 or more
30	30	days or parts of days within a six-month period in the same school
31	31	year:
32	32	(1) the student's parent is subject to prosecution
33	33	under Section 25.093; and
34	34	(2) the student is subject to referral to and
35	35	prosecution by a truancy court for truant conduct under Section
36	36	65.003(a), Family Code.
37	37	SECTION 4. Section 65.001(b), Family Code, is amended to
38	38	read as follows:
39	39	(b) The purpose of this chapter is to encourage school
40	40	attendance by creating simple [civil judicial] procedures through
41	41	which children are held accountable for excessive school absences.
42	42	SECTION 5. The heading to Section 65.003, Family Code, is
43	43	amended to read as follows:
44	44	Sec. 65.003. TRUANT CONDUCT; OFFENSE.
45	45	SECTION 6. Sections 65.003(a), (b), (c), and (d), Family
46	46	Code, are amended to read as follows:
47	47	(a) Notwithstanding any other law, a [A] child commits an
48	48	offense [engages in truant conduct] if the child is required to
49	49	attend school under Section 25.085, Education Code, and fails to
50	50	attend school on 10 or more days or parts of days within a six-month
51	51	period in the same school year.
52	52	(b) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor
53	53	[Truant conduct may be prosecuted only as a civil case in a truancy
54	54	court].
55	55	(c) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this
56	56	section [an allegation of truant conduct] that one or more of the
57	57	absences required to be proven:
58	58	(1) have been excused by a school official or by the
59	59	court;
60	60	(2) were involuntary; or
61	61	(3) were due to the child's voluntary absence from the
62	62	child's home because of abuse, as defined by Section 261.001.
63	63	(d) The affirmative defense provided by Subsection (c) is
64	64	not available if, after deducting the absences described by that
65	65	subsection, there remains a sufficient number of absences to
66	66	constitute an offense under this section [truant conduct].
67	67	SECTION 7. Section 65.101(a), Family Code, is amended to
68	68	read as follows:
69	69	(a) A child may be found to have committed an offense under
70	70	Section 65.003 [engaged in truant conduct] only after an
71	71	adjudication hearing conducted in accordance with the provisions of
72	72	this chapter.
73	73	SECTION 8. Section 65.103, Family Code, is amended to read
74	74	as follows:
75	75	Sec. 65.103. REMEDIAL ORDER. (a) A truancy court may enter
76	76	a remedial order requiring a child who has committed an offense
77	77	under Section 65.003 [been found to have engaged in truant conduct]
78	78	to:
79	79	(1) attend school without unexcused absences;
80	80	(2) attend a preparatory class for the high school
81	81	equivalency examination administered under Section 7.111,
82	82	Education Code, if the court determines that the individual is
83	83	unlikely to do well in a formal classroom environment due to the
84	84	individual's age;
85	85	(3) if the child is at least 16 years of age, take the
86	86	high school equivalency examination administered under Section
87	87	7.111, Education Code, if that is in the best interest of the child;
88	88	(4) attend a nonprofit, community-based special
89	89	program that the court determines to be in the best interest of the
90	90	child, including:
91	91	(A) an alcohol and drug abuse program;
92	92	(B) a rehabilitation program;
93	93	(C) a counseling program, including a
94	94	self-improvement program;
95	95	(D) a program that provides training in
96	96	self-esteem and leadership;
97	97	(E) a work and job skills training program;
98	98	(F) a program that provides training in
99	99	parenting, including parental responsibility;
100	100	(G) a program that provides training in manners;
101	101	(H) a program that provides training in violence
102	102	avoidance;
103	103	(I) a program that provides sensitivity
104	104	training; and
105	105	(J) a program that provides training in advocacy
106	106	and mentoring;
107	107	(5) complete not more than 50 hours of community
108	108	service on a project acceptable to the court; and
109	109	(6) participate for a specified number of hours in a
110	110	tutorial program covering the academic subjects in which the child
111	111	is enrolled that are provided by the school the child attends.
112	112	(b) A truancy court may not order a child who has committed
113	113	an offense under Section 65.003 [been found to have engaged in
114	114	truant conduct] to[:
115	115	[(1)] attend a juvenile justice alternative education
116	116	program, a boot camp, or a for-profit truancy class[; or
117	117	[(2) perform more than 16 hours of community service
118	118	per week under this section].
119	119	(c) In addition to any other order authorized by this
120	120	section, a truancy court may order the Department of Public Safety
121	121	to suspend the driver's license or permit of a child who has
122	122	committed an offense under Section 65.003 [been found to have
123	123	engaged in truant conduct]. If the child does not have a driver's
124	124	license or permit, the court may order the Department of Public
125	125	Safety to deny the issuance of a license or permit to the child. The
126	126	period of the license or permit suspension or the order that the
127	127	issuance of a license or permit be denied may not extend beyond the
128	128	maximum time period that a remedial order is effective as provided
129	129	by Section 65.104.
130	130	SECTION 9. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
131	131	an offense committed or conduct that occurs on or after the
132	132	effective date of this Act. An offense committed or conduct that
133	133	occurs before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law
134	134	in effect on the date the offense was committed or the conduct
135	135	occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for that
136	136	purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense is committed or
137	137	conduct occurs before the effective date of this Act if any element
138	138	of the offense or conduct occurs before that date.
139	139	SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.