89R8292 GP-D
By: Olcott H.B. No. 2591
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the operation of a juvenile justice alternative
education program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 25.086(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) A child is exempt from the requirements of compulsory
school attendance if the child:
(1) attends a private or parochial school that
includes in its course a study of good citizenship;
(2) is eligible to participate in a school district's
special education program under Section 29.003 and cannot be
appropriately served by the resident district;
(3) has a physical or mental condition of a temporary
and remediable nature that makes the child's attendance infeasible
and holds a certificate from a qualified physician specifying the
temporary condition, indicating the treatment prescribed to remedy
the temporary condition, and covering the anticipated period of the
child's absence from school for the purpose of receiving and
recuperating from that remedial treatment;
(4) is expelled in accordance with the requirements of
law in a school district that does not participate in a [mandatory]
juvenile justice alternative education program under Section
37.011;
(5) is at least 17 years of age and:
(A) is attending a course of instruction to
prepare for the high school equivalency examination, and:
(i) has the permission of the child's parent
or guardian to attend the course;
(ii) is required by court order to attend
the course;
(iii) has established a residence separate
and apart from the child's parent, guardian, or other person having
lawful control of the child; or
(iv) is homeless; or
(B) has received a high school diploma or high
school equivalency certificate;
(6) is at least 16 years of age and is attending a
course of instruction to prepare for the high school equivalency
examination, if:
(A) the child is recommended to take the course
of instruction by a public agency that has supervision or custody of
the child under a court order; or
(B) the child is enrolled in a Job Corps training
program under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C.
Section 2801 et seq.);
(7) is at least 16 years of age and is enrolled in a
high school diploma program under Chapter 18;
(8) is enrolled in the Texas Academy of Mathematics
and Science under Subchapter G, Chapter 105;
(9) is enrolled in the Texas Academy of Leadership in
the Humanities;
(10) is enrolled in the Texas Academy of Mathematics
and Science at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley;
(11) is enrolled in the Texas Academy of International
Studies; or
(12) is specifically exempted under another law.
SECTION 2. Section 37.010(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Not later than the second business day after the date a
hearing is held under Section 37.009, the board of trustees of a
school district or the board's designee shall deliver a copy of the
order placing a student in a disciplinary alternative education
program under Section 37.006 or expelling a student under Section
37.007 and any information required under Section 52.04, Family
Code, to the authorized officer of the juvenile court in the county
in which the student resides. In a county that operates a program
under Section 37.011, an expelled student shall to the extent
provided by law or by the memorandum of understanding immediately
attend the educational program from the date of expulsion[, except
that in a county with a population greater than 125,000, every
expelled student who is not detained or receiving treatment under
an order of the juvenile court must be enrolled in an educational
program].
SECTION 3. Sections 37.011(a), (k), and (m), Education
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The juvenile board of a county may [with a population
greater than 125,000 shall] develop a juvenile justice alternative
education program. A juvenile justice alternative education
program in county with a population greater than 125,000 is [,]
subject to the approval of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department.
[The juvenile board of a county with a population of 125,000 or less
may develop a juvenile justice alternative education program.] For
the purposes of this subchapter, only a disciplinary alternative
education program operated under the authority of a juvenile board
of a county is considered a juvenile justice alternative education
program. A juvenile justice alternative education program in a
county with a population of 125,000 or less:
(1) is not required to be approved by the department;
and
(2) is not subject to Subsection (c), (d), (f), or (g).
(k) Each school district in a county with a population
greater than 125,000 that operates a juvenile justice alternative
education program and the county juvenile board shall annually
enter into a joint memorandum of understanding that:
(1) outlines the responsibilities of the juvenile
board concerning the establishment and operation of a juvenile
justice alternative education program under this section;
(2) defines the amount and conditions on payments from
the school district to the juvenile board for students of the school
district served in the juvenile justice alternative education
program whose placement was not made on the basis of an expulsion
required under Section 37.007(a), (d), or (e);
(3) establishes that a student may be placed in the
juvenile justice alternative education program if the student
engages in serious misbehavior, as defined by Section 37.007(c);
(4) identifies and requires a timely placement and
specifies a term of placement for expelled students for whom the
school district has received a notice under Section 52.041(d),
Family Code;
(5) establishes services for the transitioning of
expelled students to the school district prior to the completion of
the student's placement in the juvenile justice alternative
education program;
(6) establishes a plan that provides transportation
services for students placed in the juvenile justice alternative
education program;
(7) establishes the circumstances and conditions
under which a juvenile may be allowed to remain in the juvenile
justice alternative education program setting once the juvenile is
no longer under juvenile court jurisdiction; and
(8) establishes a plan to address special education
services required by law.
(m) Each school district in a county with a population
greater than 125,000 that operates a juvenile justice alternative
education program and the county juvenile board shall adopt a joint
memorandum of understanding as required by this section not later
than September 1 of each school year.
SECTION 4. Section 53.02(e), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(e) Unless otherwise agreed in the memorandum of
understanding under Section 37.011, Education Code, in a county
with a population greater than 125,000 that operates a juvenile
justice alternative education program under Section 37.011,
Education Code, if a child being released under this section is
expelled under Section 37.007, Education Code, the release shall be
conditioned on the child's attending a juvenile justice alternative
education program pending a deferred prosecution or formal court
disposition of the child's case.
SECTION 5. Section 54.01(f), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(f) Unless otherwise agreed in the memorandum of
understanding under Section 37.011, Education Code, a release may
be conditioned on requirements reasonably necessary to insure the
child's appearance at later proceedings, but the conditions of the
release must be in writing and a copy furnished to the child. In a
county with a population greater than 125,000 that operates a
juvenile justice alternative education program under Section
37.011, Education Code, if a child being released under this
section is expelled under Section 37.007, Education Code, the
release shall be conditioned on the child's attending a juvenile
justice alternative education program pending a deferred
prosecution or formal court disposition of the child's case.
SECTION 6. A juvenile court that has placed a child on
juvenile probation or deferred prosecution under Title 3, Family
Code, and required as a condition of probation or deferred
prosecution, as described by Section 37.011(b), Education Code,
that the child attend a juvenile justice alternative education
program in a county that is no longer required to operate a juvenile
justice alternative education program under Section 37.011,
Education Code, as amended by this Act, shall modify the conditions
of probation or deferred prosecution if the county discontinues
operation of the juvenile justice alternative education program.
SECTION 7. This Act applies beginning with the 2025-2026
school year.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2025.