| 1 | 1 | | 89R16090 KJE-D |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | By: Harris Davila H.B. No. 4758 |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
|---|
| 8 | 8 | | AN ACT |
|---|
| 9 | 9 | | relating to a public school policy to allow a student with a |
|---|
| 10 | 10 | | disability to be accompanied by a handler for the student's service |
|---|
| 11 | 11 | | animal. |
|---|
| 12 | 12 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 29, Education Code, is |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | amended by adding Section 29.0054 to read as follows: |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | Sec. 29.0054. ACCOMMODATION FOR STUDENT WITH SERVICE ANIMAL |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | WHO NEEDS HANDLER. (a) In this section, "service animal" has the |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | meaning assigned by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | U.S.C. Section 12101 et seq.). |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | (b) A school district may adopt a policy allowing a student |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | to be accompanied by a service animal and a handler for the animal |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | at a district campus if: |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | (1) the student's admission, review, and dismissal |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | committee or team established under Section 504, Rehabilitation Act |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794), has determined that the student |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | needs to be accompanied by a service animal to access the district's |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | educational program; and |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | (2) the student requires a handler to handle the |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | animal. |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | (c) A school district that adopts a policy under Subsection |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | (b) may require the handler of a service animal to be unobtrusive in |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | the classroom. |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |
|---|