By: Lowe H.B. No. 5371
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to reporting on students not lawfully present in the
United States enrolled in a public school; creating a criminal
offense.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 12.104(b), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) An open-enrollment charter school is subject to:
(1) a provision of this title establishing a criminal
offense;
(2) the provisions in Chapter 554, Government Code;
and
(3) a prohibition, restriction, or requirement, as
applicable, imposed by this title or a rule adopted under this
title, relating to:
(A) the Public Education Information Management
System (PEIMS) to the extent necessary to monitor compliance with
this subchapter as determined by the commissioner;
(B) criminal history records under Subchapter C,
Chapter 22;
(C) reading instruments and accelerated reading
instruction programs under Section 28.006;
(D) accelerated instruction under Section
28.0211;
(E) high school graduation requirements under
Section 28.025;
(F) special education programs under Subchapter
A, Chapter 29;
(G) bilingual education under Subchapter B,
Chapter 29;
(H) prekindergarten programs under Subchapter E
or E-1, Chapter 29, except class size limits for prekindergarten
classes imposed under Section 25.112, which do not apply;
(I) extracurricular activities under Section
33.081;
(J) discipline management practices or behavior
management techniques under Section 37.0021;
(K) health and safety under Chapter 38;
(L) the provisions of Subchapter A, Chapter 39;
(M) public school accountability and special
investigations under Subchapters A, B, C, D, F, G, and J, Chapter
39, and Chapter 39A;
(N) the requirement under Section 21.006 to
report an educator's misconduct;
(O) intensive programs of instruction under
Section 28.0213;
(P) the right of a school employee to report a
crime, as provided by Section 37.148;
(Q) bullying prevention policies and procedures
under Section 37.0832;
(R) the right of a school under Section 37.0052
to place a student who has engaged in certain bullying behavior in a
disciplinary alternative education program or to expel the student;
(S) the right under Section 37.0151 to report to
local law enforcement certain conduct constituting assault or
harassment;
(T) a parent's right to information regarding the
provision of assistance for learning difficulties to the parent's
child as provided by Sections 26.004(b)(11) and 26.0081(c) and (d);
(U) establishment of residency under Section
25.001;
(V) school safety requirements under Sections
37.0814, 37.108, 37.1081, 37.1082, 37.1083, 37.1084, 37.1085,
37.1086, 37.109, 37.113, 37.114, 37.1141, 37.115, 37.207, and
37.2071 and Subchapter J, Chapter 37;
(W) the early childhood literacy and mathematics
proficiency plans under Section 11.185;
(X) the college, career, and military readiness
plans under Section 11.186; [and]
(Y) parental options to retain a student under
Section 28.02124; and
(Z) the requirement to collect and report
information under Section 25.0023.
SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 25, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 25.0023 to read as follows:
Sec. 25.0023. COLLECTION OF CITIZENSHIP OR IMMIGRATION
STATUS INFORMATION AS PART OF ENROLLMENT; CRIMINAL OFFENSE. (a) In
this section, "student not lawfully present" means a student who is
not:
(1) a citizen or national of the United States; or
(2) an alien who is lawfully admitted for permanent
residence in the United States under the federal Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. Section 1101 et seq.).
(b) To the extent allowed by state or federal law, a school
district shall include on an enrollment form questions regarding
the citizenship or immigration status of the person seeking
admission to the district under Section 25.001. The form must
include a statement that the person's response to the questions
will not affect admission to the district.
(c) A school district that enrolls a person who does not
submit on the enrollment form answers to the questions described by
Subsection (b) shall place on the person's permanent school record
a designation of "no available citizenship or immigration status."
Documentation must be provided concerning immigration status with
proof of such. Reporting must include two distinct categories
regarding "students not lawfully present". Reporting must include
clear and separate numbers for a non-citizen who is not a national
of the United States and an alien who is lawfully admitted for
permanent residence in the United States.
(d) A school district shall prepare and submit to the agency
a quarterly report regarding:
(1) the number of students not lawfully present or
with a designation itemized by the categories in this Section
enrolled in the district; and
(2) for each student described by Subdivision (1):
(A) the cost of educating the student, including
costs associated with the need to hire additional classroom
teachers or other employees; and
(B) whether the student requires additional
services, including services for:
(i) a disability; or
(ii) the student's status as educationally
disadvantaged.
(e) A person commits an offense if the person:
(1) provides a false statement on the enrollment form
in answering the questions described by Subsection (b); or
(2) is an employee of a school district who enrolls a
student not lawfully present in the district without placing the
designation required by Subsection (c) on the student's permanent
school record.
(f) An offense under Subsection (e) is a Class A
misdemeanor.
(g) This section may not be construed to permit a school
district to consider a person's citizenship or immigration status
for purposes of admission.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.