Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1760 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	88R1285 MEW-F
2	2	By: Middleton S.B. No. 1760
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to a public school classroom safety review and referral
8	8	program for students who engage in violent criminal conduct;
9	9	creating a criminal offense.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
12	12	amended by adding Section 37.088 to read as follows:
13	13	Sec. 37.088. CLASSROOM SAFETY REVIEW AND REFERRAL PROGRAM.
14	14	(a) If, after an investigation is completed, the principal of a
15	15	public primary or secondary school has reasonable grounds to
16	16	believe that a student engaged in violent criminal conduct,
17	17	including assaultive conduct, the principal shall:
18	18	(1) refer the student to the classroom safety review
19	19	committee established under Subsection (b); or
20	20	(2) make a report to any school district police
21	21	department, if applicable, or the police department of the
22	22	municipality in which the school is located or, if the school is not
23	23	in a municipality, the sheriff of the county in which the school is
24	24	located.
25	25	(b) Before the beginning of each school year, a public
26	26	primary or secondary school shall establish a classroom safety
27	27	review committee that consists of five classroom teachers who are
28	28	selected from all classroom teachers employed by the school through
29	29	a nomination and election process, as determined by the school.
30	30	(c) If a student is referred to the classroom safety review
31	31	committee under Subsection (a)(1), the committee shall review all
32	32	electronic, written, and verbal evidence or testimony or video
33	33	provided to the committee and interview any eyewitnesses. After
34	34	review, the committee shall, by majority vote, refer the student
35	35	to:
36	36	(1) a person designated by the school as the juvenile
37	37	diversion administrator under Subsection (d); or
38	38	(2) the classroom safety referral board established
39	39	under Subsection (e).
40	40	(d) A public primary or secondary school shall designate a
41	41	person as the juvenile diversion administrator for the school. If
42	42	the classroom safety review committee refers a student to the
43	43	juvenile diversion administrator under Subsection (c)(1), the
44	44	juvenile diversion administrator shall:
45	45	(1) require the student to perform a certain number of
46	46	hours of community service;
47	47	(2) require the student to participate in tutoring; or
48	48	(3) make a determination that the student is not
49	49	required to take any additional actions.
50	50	(e) A public primary or secondary school shall establish a
51	51	classroom safety referral board that consists of:
52	52	(1) two teachers who serve on the classroom safety
53	53	review committee;
54	54	(2) an assistant district attorney of the county in
55	55	which the school is located;
56	56	(3) an investigator from the sheriff's office in the
57	57	county in which the school is located; and
58	58	(4) a parent of a student enrolled at the school
59	59	selected by the board of trustees of the school district.
60	60	(f) If the classroom safety review committee refers a
61	61	student to the classroom safety referral board, the board shall
62	62	review all electronic, written, and verbal evidence or testimony or
63	63	video provided to the board and may hear new testimony from the
64	64	student or an eyewitness of the conduct. After review, the board, by
65	65	majority vote, shall:
66	66	(1) report the student's conduct to the local law
67	67	enforcement agency; or
68	68	(2) refer the student to the juvenile diversion
69	69	administrator under Subsection (d).
70	70	(g) Materials and information provided to or produced by the
71	71	classroom safety review committee or the classroom safety referral
72	72	board during a student review under this section must be maintained
73	73	in the student's school record until the student's 24th birthday.
74	74	(h) A person commits an offense if the person destroys
75	75	material or information described by Subsection (g) before the
76	76	period of maintenance required under that subsection has expired.
77	77	An offense under this subsection is a Class A misdemeanor.
78	78	(i) If an educator commits an offense under Subsection (h),
79	79	the educator may be subject to termination or suspension of the
80	80	educator's contract.
81	81	(j) Any testimony provided by an educator to the classroom
82	82	safety review committee or the classroom safety referral board
83	83	under this section is confidential and may not be disclosed to any
84	84	other person.
85	85	SECTION 2. This Act applies beginning with the 2023-2024
86	86	school year.
87	87	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
88	88	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
89	89	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
90	90	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
91	91	Act takes effect September 1, 2023.