89R11640 MM-D
By: Noble H.B. No. 2378
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to certain misconduct committed by an employee or security
personnel of a public school or certain other educational entities,
including the criminal offense of improper relationship with a
student.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
ARTICLE 1. PROCEDURES RELATED TO EMPLOYEE AND SECURITY PERSONNEL
MISCONDUCT
SECTION 1.01. The heading to Subchapter C-1, Chapter 22,
Education Code, is amended to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER C-1. PERSONS NOT ELIGIBLE TO BE EMPLOYED OR PROVIDE
SECURITY OR LAW ENFORCEMENT SERVICES [FOR EMPLOYMENT] IN PUBLIC
SCHOOLS
SECTION 1.02. The heading to Section 22.092, Education
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 22.092. REGISTRY OF PERSONS NOT ELIGIBLE TO BE
EMPLOYED OR PROVIDE SECURITY OR LAW ENFORCEMENT SERVICES [FOR
EMPLOYMENT] IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
SECTION 1.03. Sections 22.092(a), (b), and (c), Education
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The agency shall maintain and make available through the
Internet portal developed and maintained by the agency under
Section 22.095 a registry of persons who are not eligible to be
employed by or to provide security or law enforcement services at a
school district, district of innovation, open-enrollment charter
school, other charter entity, regional education service center, or
shared services arrangement.
(b) A school district, district of innovation,
open-enrollment charter school, other charter entity, regional
education service center, or shared services arrangement shall
discharge, terminate the contract or assignment of, or refuse to
hire, contract with, or accept the assignment of a person listed on
the registry maintained under this section.
(c) The registry maintained under this section must list the
following persons as not eligible to be employed by or provide
security or law enforcement services at public schools:
(1) a person determined by the agency under Section
22.0832 as a person who would not be eligible for educator
certification under Subchapter B, Chapter 21;
(2) a person determined by the agency to be not
eligible for employment based on the person's criminal history
record information review, as provided by Section 22.0833;
(3) a person who is not eligible for employment based
on criminal history record information received by the agency under
Section 21.058(b);
(4) a person whose certification or permit issued
under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, is revoked by the State Board for
Educator Certification on a finding that the person engaged in
misconduct described by Section 21.006(b)(2)(A) or (A-1); and
(5) a person who is determined by the commissioner
under Section 22.094 to have engaged in misconduct described by
Section 22.093(c)(1)(A) or (B).
SECTION 1.04. The heading to Section 22.093, Education
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 22.093. REQUIREMENT TO REPORT EMPLOYEE OR SECURITY
PERSONNEL MISCONDUCT.
SECTION 1.05. Sections 22.093(b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g),
(j), and (k), Education Code, are amended to read as follows:
(b) This section applies to a person who is:
(1) employed by a school district, district of
innovation, open-enrollment charter school, other charter entity,
regional education service center, or shared services arrangement
[and] who does not hold a certification or permit issued under
Subchapter B, Chapter 21; or
(2) a peace officer, school resource officer, or other
security officer who provides security or law enforcement services
for a school district, district of innovation, open-enrollment
charter school, other charter entity, regional education service
center, or shared services arrangement, regardless of whether the
officer is employed by one of those entities, a contractor, or a
local law enforcement agency.
(c) In addition to the reporting requirement under Section
261.101, Family Code, the superintendent or director of a school
district, district of innovation, open-enrollment charter school,
other charter entity, regional education service center, or shared
services arrangement shall notify the commissioner if:
(1) an employee's employment, security officer's
contract, or school resource officer's assignment at the school
district, district of innovation, charter school, other charter
entity, service center, or shared services arrangement was
terminated and there is evidence that the employee, security
officer, or school resource officer:
(A) abused or otherwise committed an unlawful act
with a student or minor; or
(B) was involved in a romantic relationship with
or solicited or engaged in sexual contact with a student or minor;
or
(2) the employee resigned or the security officer's
contract or school resource officer's assignment was terminated and
there is evidence that the employee, security officer, or school
resource officer engaged in misconduct described by Subdivision
(1).
(d) A superintendent or director of a school district,
district of innovation, open-enrollment charter school, other
charter entity, regional education service center, or shared
services arrangement shall complete an investigation of an
employee, security officer, or school resource officer that
involves evidence that the employee or officer may have engaged in
misconduct described by Subsection (c)(1)(A) or (B), despite the
employee's resignation from employment or termination of the
officer's contract or assignment before completion of the
investigation.
(e) The principal of a school district, district of
innovation, open-enrollment charter school, or other charter
entity campus must notify the superintendent or director of the
school district, district of innovation, charter school, or other
charter entity not later than the seventh business day after the
date of an employee's termination of employment or resignation or
the termination of a security officer's contract or school resource
officer's assignment following an alleged incident of misconduct
described by Subsection (c)(1)(A) or (B).
(f) The superintendent or director must notify the
commissioner by filing a report with the commissioner not later
than the seventh business day after the date the superintendent or
director receives a report from a principal under Subsection (e) or
knew about an employee's termination of employment or resignation
or the termination of a security officer's contract or school
resource officer's assignment following an alleged incident of
misconduct described by Subsection (c)(1)(A) or (B). The report
must be:
(1) in writing; and
(2) in a form prescribed by the commissioner.
(g) The superintendent or director shall notify the board of
trustees or governing body of the school district, district of
innovation, open-enrollment charter school, other charter entity,
regional education service center, or shared services arrangement
and the employee, security officer, or school resource officer of
the filing of the report required by Subsection (f).
(j) The name of a student or minor who is the victim of abuse
or unlawful conduct by an employee, security officer, or school
resource officer must be included in a report filed under this
section, but the name of the student or minor is not public
information under Chapter 552, Government Code.
(k) A superintendent or director required to file a report
under Subsection (f) commits an offense if the superintendent or
director fails to file the report by the date required by that
subsection with intent to conceal an employee's, security
officer's, or school resource officer's criminal record or alleged
incident of misconduct. A principal required to notify a
superintendent or director about an employee's or officer's alleged
incident of misconduct under Subsection (e) commits an offense if
the principal fails to provide the notice by the date required by
that subsection with intent to conceal an employee's or officer's
alleged incident of misconduct. An offense under this subsection
is a state jail felony.
SECTION 1.06. Section 21.0061, Education Code, is
transferred to Subchapter C-1, Chapter 22, Education Code,
redesignated as Section 22.0935, Education Code, and amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 22.0935 [21.0061]. NOTICE TO PARENT OR GUARDIAN ABOUT
EMPLOYEE OR SECURITY PERSONNEL [EDUCATOR] MISCONDUCT. (a) The
board of trustees or governing body of a school district, district
of innovation, open-enrollment charter school, other charter
entity, regional education service center, or shared services
arrangement shall adopt a policy under which notice is provided to
the parent or guardian of a student with whom an employee, security
officer, or school resource officer [educator] is alleged to have
engaged in misconduct described by Section 21.006(b)(2)(A) or (A-1)
or 22.093(c)(1)(A) or (B), as applicable, informing the parent or
guardian:
(1) that the alleged misconduct occurred;
(2) whether the employee's employment, security
officer's contract, or school resource officer's assignment
[educator] was terminated following an investigation of the alleged
misconduct or that the employee, security officer, or school
resource officer resigned before completion of the investigation;
and
(3) if the individual alleged to have engaged in
misconduct was an educator, whether a report was submitted to the
State Board for Educator Certification concerning the alleged
misconduct.
(b) The policy required by this section must require that
information specified by Subsection (a)(1) be provided as soon as
feasible after the [employing] entity described by Subsection (a)
becomes aware that alleged misconduct may have occurred.
(c) In this section, "other charter entity" has the meaning
assigned by Section 21.006.
SECTION 1.07. Section 22.095, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 22.095. INTERNET PORTAL. The agency shall develop and
maintain an Internet portal through which:
(1) a report required under Section 22.093(f) may be
confidentially and securely filed; and
(2) the agency makes available:
(A) the registry of persons who are not eligible
to be employed by or to provide security or law enforcement services
at [in] public schools as described by Section 22.092; and
(B) information indicating that a person is under
investigation for alleged misconduct in accordance with Section
22.094(d), provided that the agency must provide the information
through a procedure other than the registry described under
Paragraph (A).
SECTION 1.08. The heading to Section 21.12, Penal Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 21.12. IMPROPER RELATIONSHIP WITH A [BETWEEN EDUCATOR
AND] STUDENT.
SECTION 1.09. Sections 21.12(a), (d), and (d-1), Penal
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) An employee of a public or private primary or secondary
school, a school security officer contracted under Section 37.081,
Education Code, to provide security services at a public school, or
a school resource officer assigned to provide law enforcement at a
public school under that section commits an offense if the person
[employee]:
(1) engages in sexual contact, sexual intercourse, or
deviate sexual intercourse with a person who is enrolled in a public
or private primary or secondary school at which the person
[employee] works or provides security or law enforcement services;
(2) holds a position described by Section 21.003(a) or
(b), Education Code, regardless of whether the employee holds the
appropriate certificate, permit, license, or credential for the
position, and engages in sexual contact, sexual intercourse, or
deviate sexual intercourse with a person the employee knows is:
(A) enrolled in a public or private primary or
secondary school, other than a school described by Subdivision (1);
or
(B) a student participant in an educational
activity that is sponsored by a school district or a public or
private primary or secondary school, if students enrolled in a
public or private primary or secondary school are the primary
participants in the activity; or
(3) engages in conduct described by Section 33.021,
with a person described by Subdivision (1), or a person the actor
[employee] knows is a person described by Subdivision (2)(A) or
(B), regardless of the age of that person.
(d) The name of a person who is enrolled in a public or
private primary or secondary school and involved in an improper
relationship [with an educator] as provided by Subsection (a) may
not be released to the public and is not public information under
Chapter 552, Government Code.
(d-1) Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, a
public or private primary or secondary school, or a person or entity
that operates a public or private primary or secondary school, may
not release externally to the general public the name of a person
[an employee of the school] who is accused of committing an offense
under this section until the person [employee] is indicted for the
offense. The school, or the person or entity that operates the
school, may release the name of the accused person [employee]
regardless of whether the accused person [employee] has been
indicted for the offense as necessary for the school to:
(1) report the accusation:
(A) to the Texas Education Agency, another state
agency, or local law enforcement or as otherwise required by law; or
(B) to the school's members or community in
accordance with the school's policies or procedures or with the
religious law observed by the school; or
(2) conduct an investigation of the accusation.
ARTICLE 2. CONFORMING CHANGES
SECTION 2.01. Article 2B.0202(a), Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
(a) Unless good cause exists that makes electronic
recording infeasible, a law enforcement agency shall make a
complete and contemporaneous electronic recording of any custodial
interrogation that occurs in a place of detention and is of an
individual suspected of committing or charged with the commission
of an offense under the following provisions of the Penal Code:
(1) Section 19.02 (murder);
(2) Section 19.03 (capital murder);
(3) Section 20.03 (kidnapping);
(4) Section 20.04 (aggravated kidnapping);
(5) Section 20A.02 (trafficking of persons);
(6) Section 20A.03 (continuous trafficking of
persons);
(7) Section 21.02 (continuous sexual abuse of young
child or disabled individual);
(8) Section 21.11 (indecency with a child);
(9) Section 21.12 (improper relationship with a
[between educator and] student);
(10) Section 22.011 (sexual assault);
(11) Section 22.021 (aggravated sexual assault); or
(12) Section 43.25 (sexual performance by a child).
SECTION 2.02. Section 12.0271, Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 12.0271. FAILURE TO DISCHARGE, TERMINATE CONTRACT OR
ASSIGNMENT OF, OR REFUSE TO HIRE, CONTRACT WITH, OR ACCEPT
ASSIGNMENT OF CERTAIN EMPLOYEES, [OR] APPLICANTS, OR SECURITY
PERSONNEL. A home-rule school district commits a material
violation of the school district's charter if the school district
fails to comply with the duty to:
(1) discharge or refuse to hire certain employees or
applicants for employment under Section 22.085; or
(2) discharge, terminate the contract or assignment
of, or refuse to hire, contract with, or accept the assignment of a
person listed on the registry maintained under Section 22.092.
SECTION 2.03. Section 12.0631, Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 12.0631. FAILURE TO DISCHARGE, TERMINATE CONTRACT OR
ASSIGNMENT OF, OR REFUSE TO HIRE, CONTRACT WITH, OR ACCEPT
ASSIGNMENT OF CERTAIN EMPLOYEES, [OR] APPLICANTS, OR SECURITY
PERSONNEL. A campus or campus program granted a charter under this
subchapter commits a material violation of its charter if the
campus or program fails to comply with the duty to:
(1) discharge or refuse to hire certain employees or
applicants for employment under Section 12.1059 or[,] 22.085;[,] or
(2) discharge, terminate the contract or assignment
of, or refuse to hire, contract with, or accept the assignment of a
person listed on the registry maintained under Section 22.092.
SECTION 2.04. Section 12.1151, Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 12.1151. FAILURE TO DISCHARGE, TERMINATE CONTRACT OR
ASSIGNMENT OF, OR REFUSE TO HIRE, CONTRACT WITH, OR ACCEPT
ASSIGNMENT OF CERTAIN EMPLOYEES, [OR] APPLICANTS, OR SECURITY
PERSONNEL. An open-enrollment charter school commits a material
violation of the school's charter if the school fails to comply with
the duty to:
(1) discharge or refuse to hire certain employees or
applicants for employment under Section 12.1059 or[,] 22.085;[,] or
(2) discharge, terminate the contract or assignment
of, or refuse to hire, contract with, or accept the assignment of a
person listed on the registry maintained under Section 22.092.
SECTION 2.05. Section 12A.008(b-1), Education Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b-1) The commissioner may terminate a district's
designation as a district of innovation if the district fails to
comply with the duty to:
(1) discharge or refuse to hire certain employees or
applicants for employment under Section 12.1059, applicable to the
district under Section 12A.004(a)(1), or Section 22.085; or
(2) discharge, terminate the contract or assignment
of, or refuse to hire, contract with, or accept the assignment of a
person listed on the registry maintained under Section 22.092.
SECTION 2.06. Section 21.054(e), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(e) Continuing education requirements for a principal must
provide that not more than 25 percent of the training required every
five years include instruction regarding:
(1) effective and efficient management, including:
(A) collecting and analyzing information;
(B) making decisions and managing time; and
(C) supervising student discipline and managing
behavior;
(2) recognizing early warning indicators that a
student may be at risk of dropping out of school;
(3) digital learning, digital teaching, and
integrating technology into campus curriculum and instruction;
(4) effective implementation of a comprehensive
school counseling program under Section 33.005;
(5) mental health programs addressing a mental health
condition;
(6) educating diverse student populations, including:
(A) students who are educationally
disadvantaged;
(B) emergent bilingual students; and
(C) students at risk of dropping out of school;
and
(7) preventing, recognizing, and reporting any
improper relationship with a [sexual conduct between an educator
and] student that is prohibited under Section 21.12, Penal Code, or
any other conduct for which reporting is required under Section
21.006 of this code.
SECTION 2.07. Section 33.913(b), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) To participate in the program as a tutor, a person must:
(1) be an active or retired teacher;
(2) apply for the position in a manner specified by the
nonprofit organization;
(3) designate in the application whether the person
plans to provide tutoring:
(A) for compensation, on a volunteer basis, or
both; and
(B) in person, online, or both; and
(4) not be included in the registry of persons not
eligible to be employed by or provide security or law enforcement
services at [for employment by] a public school under Section
22.092.
SECTION 2.08. Section 824.009(a), Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) In this section, "qualifying felony" means an offense
that is punishable as a felony under the following sections of the
Penal Code:
(1) Section 21.02 (continuous sexual abuse of young
child or disabled individual);
(2) Section 21.12 (improper relationship with a
[between educator and] student);
(3) Section 22.011 (sexual assault) or Section 22.021
(aggravated sexual assault); or
(4) Section 43.24 (sale, distribution, or display of
harmful material to minor).
SECTION 2.09. Section 250.006(a), Health and Safety Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(a) A person for whom the facility or the individual
employer is entitled to obtain criminal history record information
may not be employed in a facility or by an individual employer if
the person has been convicted of an offense listed in this
subsection:
(1) an offense under Chapter 19, Penal Code (criminal
homicide);
(2) an offense under Chapter 20, Penal Code
(kidnapping, unlawful restraint, and smuggling of persons);
(3) an offense under Section 21.02, Penal Code
(continuous sexual abuse of young child or disabled individual), or
Section 21.11, Penal Code (indecency with a child);
(4) an offense under Section 22.011, Penal Code
(sexual assault);
(5) an offense under Section 22.02, Penal Code
(aggravated assault);
(6) an offense under Section 22.04, Penal Code (injury
to a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual);
(7) an offense under Section 22.041, Penal Code
(abandoning or endangering a child, elderly individual, or disabled
individual);
(8) an offense under Section 22.08, Penal Code (aiding
suicide);
(9) an offense under Section 25.031, Penal Code
(agreement to abduct from custody);
(10) an offense under Section 25.08, Penal Code (sale
or purchase of child);
(11) an offense under Section 28.02, Penal Code
(arson);
(12) an offense under Section 29.02, Penal Code
(robbery);
(13) an offense under Section 29.03, Penal Code
(aggravated robbery);
(14) an offense under Section 21.08, Penal Code
(indecent exposure);
(15) an offense under Section 21.12, Penal Code
(improper relationship with a [between educator and] student);
(16) an offense under Section 21.15, Penal Code
(invasive visual recording);
(17) an offense under Section 22.05, Penal Code
(deadly conduct);
(18) an offense under Section 22.021, Penal Code
(aggravated sexual assault);
(19) an offense under Section 22.07, Penal Code
(terroristic threat);
(20) an offense under Section 32.53, Penal Code
(exploitation of child, elderly individual, or disabled
individual);
(21) an offense under Section 33.021, Penal Code
(online solicitation of a minor);
(22) an offense under Section 34.02, Penal Code (money
laundering);
(23) an offense under Section 35A.02, Penal Code
(health care fraud);
(24) an offense under Section 36.06, Penal Code
(obstruction or retaliation);
(25) an offense under Section 42.09, Penal Code
(cruelty to livestock animals), or under Section 42.092, Penal Code
(cruelty to nonlivestock animals); or
(26) a conviction under the laws of another state,
federal law, or the Uniform Code of Military Justice for an offense
containing elements that are substantially similar to the elements
of an offense listed by this subsection.
ARTICLE 3. TRANSITION; EFFECTIVE DATE
SECTION 3.01. The change in law made by this Act applies
only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this
Act. An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed,
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
before that date.
SECTION 3.02. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.