Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3754 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R14633 GP-D
2	2	By: Cunningham H.B. No. 3754
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to a school district conference or hearing following a
10	10	public school student's removal from a classroom or expulsion.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Sections 37.009(a) and (f), Education Code, are
13	13	amended to read as follows:
14	14	(a) Not later than the third class day after the day on which
15	15	a student is removed from class by the teacher under Section
16	16	37.002(b) or (d) or by the school principal or other appropriate
17	17	administrator under Section 37.001(a)(2) or 37.006, the campus
18	18	behavior coordinator or other appropriate administrator shall
19	19	schedule a conference among the campus behavior coordinator or
20	20	other appropriate administrator, a parent or guardian of the
21	21	student or another adult who can provide guidance to the student and
22	22	who is not an employee of the school district, the teacher removing
23	23	the student from class, if any, and the student. At the conference,
24	24	the student is entitled to written or oral notice of the reasons for
25	25	the removal, an explanation of the basis for the removal, and an
26	26	opportunity to respond to the reasons for the removal. The student
27	27	may not be returned to the regular classroom pending the
28	28	conference. Following the conference, [and whether or not each
29	29	requested person is in attendance after valid attempts to require
30	30	the person's attendance,] the campus behavior coordinator, after
31	31	consideration of the factors under Section 37.001(a)(4), shall
32	32	order the placement of the student for a period consistent with the
33	33	student code of conduct. Before ordering the suspension,
34	34	expulsion, removal to a disciplinary alternative education
35	35	program, or placement in a juvenile justice alternative education
36	36	program of a student, the behavior coordinator must consider
37	37	whether the student acted in self-defense, the intent or lack of
38	38	intent at the time the student engaged in the conduct, the student's
39	39	disciplinary history, and whether the student has a disability that
40	40	substantially impairs the student's capacity to appreciate the
41	41	wrongfulness of the student's conduct, regardless of whether the
42	42	decision of the behavior coordinator concerns a mandatory or
43	43	discretionary action. If school district policy allows a student
44	44	to appeal to the board of trustees or the board's designee a
45	45	decision of the campus behavior coordinator or other appropriate
46	46	administrator, other than an expulsion under Section 37.007, the
47	47	decision of the board or the board's designee is final and may not
48	48	be appealed. If the period of the placement is inconsistent with
49	49	the guidelines included in the student code of conduct under
50	50	Section 37.001(a)(5), the order must give notice of the
51	51	inconsistency. The period of the placement may not exceed one year
52	52	unless, after a review, the district determines that the student is
53	53	a threat to the safety of other students or to district employees.
54	54	(f) Before a student may be expelled under Section 37.007,
55	55	the board or the board's designee must provide the student a hearing
56	56	at which the student is afforded appropriate due process as
57	57	required by the federal constitution and which the student's parent
58	58	or guardian is invited, in writing, to attend. At the hearing, the
59	59	student is entitled to be represented by the student's parent or
60	60	guardian or another adult who can provide guidance to the student
61	61	and who is not an employee of the school district. [If the school
62	62	district makes a good-faith effort to inform the student and the
63	63	student's parent or guardian of the time and place of the hearing,
64	64	the district may hold the hearing regardless of whether the
65	65	student, the student's parent or guardian, or another adult
66	66	representing the student attends.] Before ordering the expulsion
67	67	of a student, the board of trustees must consider whether the
68	68	student acted in self-defense, the intent or lack of intent at the
69	69	time the student engaged in the conduct, the student's disciplinary
70	70	history, and whether the student has a disability that
71	71	substantially impairs the student's capacity to appreciate the
72	72	wrongfulness of the student's conduct, regardless of whether the
73	73	decision of the board concerns a mandatory or discretionary action.
74	74	If the decision to expel a student is made by the board's designee,
75	75	the decision may be appealed to the board. The decision of the
76	76	board may be appealed by trial de novo to a district court of the
77	77	county in which the school district's central administrative office
78	78	is located.
79	79	SECTION 2. This Act applies beginning with the 2025-2026
80	80	school year.
81	81	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
82	82	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
83	83	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
84	84	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
85	85	Act takes effect September 1, 2025.