Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB5507 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R5283 MCF-D
2	2	By: Louderback H.B. No. 5507
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to truancy and the offense of a parent contributing to
10	10	nonattendance; creating a criminal offense; increasing a criminal
11	11	penalty.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Article 102.014(d), Code of Criminal Procedure,
14	14	is amended to read as follows:
15	15	(d) A person convicted of an offense under Section 25.093,
16	16	Education Code, or Section 65.003, Family Code, shall pay a fine of
17	17	$20.
18	18	SECTION 2. Section 25.093(c), Education Code, is amended to
19	19	read as follows:
20	20	(c) An offense under Subsection (a) is a Class C
21	21	misdemeanor[, punishable by fine only, in an amount not to exceed:
22	22	[(1) $100 for a first offense;
23	23	[(2) $200 for a second offense;
24	24	[(3) $300 for a third offense;
25	25	[(4) $400 for a fourth offense; or
26	26	[(5) $500 for a fifth or subsequent offense].
27	27	SECTION 3. Section 25.095(a), Education Code, is amended to
28	28	read as follows:
29	29	(a) A school district or open-enrollment charter school
30	30	shall notify a student's parent in writing at the beginning of the
31	31	school year that if the student is absent from school on 10 or more
32	32	days or parts of days within a six-month period in the same school
33	33	year:
34	34	(1) the student's parent is subject to prosecution
35	35	under Section 25.093; and
36	36	(2) the student is subject to referral to a truancy
37	37	court for prosecution for truant conduct under Section 65.003(a),
38	38	Family Code.
39	39	SECTION 4. Section 65.001(b), Family Code, is amended to
40	40	read as follows:
41	41	(b) The purpose of this chapter is to encourage school
42	42	attendance by creating simple [civil judicial] procedures through
43	43	which children are held accountable for excessive school absences.
44	44	SECTION 5. The heading to Section 65.003, Family Code, is
45	45	amended to read as follows:
46	46	Sec. 65.003. TRUANT CONDUCT; OFFENSE.
47	47	SECTION 6. Section 65.003, Family Code, is amended by
48	48	amending Subsections (a), (b), (c), and (d) and adding Subsection
49	49	(g) to read as follows:
50	50	(a) Notwithstanding any other law, a [A] child commits an
51	51	offense [engages in truant conduct] if the child is required to
52	52	attend school under Section 25.085, Education Code, and fails to
53	53	attend school on 10 or more days or parts of days within a six-month
54	54	period in the same school year.
55	55	(b) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor
56	56	[Truant conduct may be prosecuted only as a civil case in a truancy
57	57	court].
58	58	(c) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this
59	59	section [an allegation of truant conduct] that one or more of the
60	60	absences required to be proven:
61	61	(1) have been excused by a school official or by the
62	62	court;
63	63	(2) were involuntary; or
64	64	(3) were due to the child's voluntary absence from the
65	65	child's home because of abuse, as defined by Section 261.001.
66	66	(d) The affirmative defense provided by Subsection (c) is
67	67	not available if, after deducting the absences described by that
68	68	subsection, there remains a sufficient number of absences to
69	69	constitute an offense under this section [truant conduct].
70	70	(g) A reference in law to truant conduct means an offense
71	71	committed under this section.
72	72	SECTION 7. Section 65.101(a), Family Code, is amended to
73	73	read as follows:
74	74	(a) A child may be found to have committed an offense under
75	75	Section 65.003 [engaged in truant conduct] only after an
76	76	adjudication hearing conducted in accordance with the provisions of
77	77	this chapter.
78	78	SECTION 8. Section 65.103, Family Code, is amended to read
79	79	as follows:
80	80	Sec. 65.103. REMEDIAL ORDER. (a) A truancy court may enter
81	81	a remedial order requiring a child who has committed an offense
82	82	under Section 65.003 [been found to have engaged in truant conduct]
83	83	to:
84	84	(1) attend school without unexcused absences;
85	85	(2) attend a preparatory class for the high school
86	86	equivalency examination administered under Section 7.111,
87	87	Education Code, if the court determines that the individual is
88	88	unlikely to do well in a formal classroom environment due to the
89	89	individual's age;
90	90	(3) if the child is at least 16 years of age, take the
91	91	high school equivalency examination administered under Section
92	92	7.111, Education Code, if that is in the best interest of the child;
93	93	(4) attend a nonprofit, community-based special
94	94	program that the court determines to be in the best interest of the
95	95	child, including:
96	96	(A) an alcohol and drug abuse program;
97	97	(B) a rehabilitation program;
98	98	(C) a counseling program, including a
99	99	self-improvement program;
100	100	(D) a program that provides training in
101	101	self-esteem and leadership;
102	102	(E) a work and job skills training program;
103	103	(F) a program that provides training in
104	104	parenting, including parental responsibility;
105	105	(G) a program that provides training in manners;
106	106	(H) a program that provides training in violence
107	107	avoidance;
108	108	(I) a program that provides sensitivity
109	109	training; and
110	110	(J) a program that provides training in advocacy
111	111	and mentoring;
112	112	(5) complete not more than 50 hours of community
113	113	service on a project acceptable to the court; and
114	114	(6) participate for a specified number of hours in a
115	115	tutorial program covering the academic subjects in which the child
116	116	is enrolled that are provided by the school the child attends.
117	117	(b) A truancy court may not order a child who has committed
118	118	an offense under Section 65.003 [been found to have engaged in
119	119	truant conduct] to[:
120	120	[(1)] attend a juvenile justice alternative education
121	121	program, a boot camp, or a for-profit truancy class[; or
122	122	[(2) perform more than 16 hours of community service
123	123	per week under this section].
124	124	(c) In addition to any other order authorized by this
125	125	section, a truancy court may order the Department of Public Safety
126	126	to suspend the driver's license or permit of a child who has
127	127	committed an offense under Section 65.003 [been found to have
128	128	engaged in truant conduct]. If the child does not have a driver's
129	129	license or permit, the court may order the Department of Public
130	130	Safety to deny the issuance of a license or permit to the child. The
131	131	period of the license or permit suspension or the order that the
132	132	issuance of a license or permit be denied may not extend beyond the
133	133	maximum time period that a remedial order is effective as provided
134	134	by Section 65.104.
135	135	SECTION 9. The following provisions are repealed:
136	136	(1) Article 45A.464, Code of Criminal Procedure;
137	137	(2) Sections 65.101(d) and 65.151(b) and (c), Family
138	138	Code; and
139	139	(3) Sections 65.009, 65.010, 65.012, 65.109, and
140	140	65.152, Family Code.
141	141	SECTION 10. The changes in law made by this Act apply only
142	142	to an offense committed or conduct that occurs on or after the
143	143	effective date of this Act. An offense committed or conduct that
144	144	occurs before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law
145	145	in effect on the date the offense was committed or the conduct
146	146	occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for that
147	147	purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense is committed or
148	148	conduct occurs before the effective date of this Act if any element
149	149	of the offense or conduct occurs before that date.
150	150	SECTION 11. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.