89R8293 GP-D
By: Olcott H.B. No. 2592
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the operation of a juvenile justice alternative
education program in certain counties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. 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 200,000 [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 2. Sections 37.011(a), (a-1), (a-3), (a-4), (k),
and (m), Education Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The juvenile board of a county with a population greater
than 200,000 [125,000] shall develop a juvenile justice alternative
education program, subject to the approval of the Texas Juvenile
Justice Department. The juvenile board of a county with a
population of 200,000 [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 200,000 [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).
(a-1) For purposes of this section and Section 37.010(a), a
county with a population greater than 200,000 [125,000] is
considered to be a county with a population of 200,000 [125,000] or
less if:
(1) the county had a population of 125,000 or less
according to the 2000 federal census; and
(2) the juvenile board of the county enters into, with
the approval of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, a memorandum
of understanding with each school district within the county that:
(A) outlines the responsibilities of the board
and school districts in minimizing the number of students expelled
without receiving alternative educational services; and
(B) includes the coordination procedures
required by Section 37.013.
(a-3) For purposes of this section and Section 37.010(a), a
county with a population greater than 200,000 [125,000] is
considered to be a county with a population of 200,000 [125,000] or
less if the county:
(1) has a population of more than 200,000 and less than
233,500;
(2) has five or more school districts located wholly
within the county's boundaries; and
(3) has located in the county a juvenile justice
alternative education program that, on May 1, 2011, served fewer
than 15 students.
(a-4) A school district located in a county considered to be
a county with a population of 200,000 [125,000] or less under
Subsection (a-3) shall provide educational services to a student
who is expelled from school under this chapter. The district is
entitled to count the student in the district's average daily
attendance for purposes of receipt of state funds under the
Foundation School Program. An educational placement under this
section may include:
(1) the district's disciplinary alternative education
program; or
(2) a contracted placement with:
(A) another school district;
(B) an open-enrollment charter school;
(C) an institution of higher education;
(D) an adult literacy council; or
(E) a community organization that can provide an
educational program that allows the student to complete the credits
required for high school graduation.
(k) Each school district in a county with a population
greater than 200,000 [125,000] 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 200,000 [125,000] 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 3. 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 200,000 [125,000], 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 4. 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 200,000 [125,000], 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 37.011(a-2), Education Code, is
repealed.
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 not 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
academic 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.